Ventriloquist (Riley)

Peyton Riley (Scenesys ID: 7498)
Quote
"Don't worry, lover. It only hurts for a moment... Then, it's agony."
Profile
Full Name:	Peyton Riley
Gender:	Female
Species:	Human
Theme:	DC (VFC)
Occupation:	Performer / Crimelord
Citizenship:	United States of America
Residence:	Downtown Apartments, Gotham City
Education:	Private Tutor
Status:	Dropped
Groups:	Gotham-OOC
Other Information
Apparent Age:	30	Actual Age:	30
Date of Birth	1 April 2000	Actor:	Scarlett Johansson
Height:	174 cm	Weight:	57.6 kg
Hair Color:	Blonde	Eye Color:	Blue
Theme Song:	"Crying Over You" by Dead By April

Profile

Peyton Riley is the new vessel for Scarface, having been present when the last vessel (Wesker) was executed. Scarface is a mobster who is confined to the reaches of the mind, although he typically inhabits any ventroliquism dummy that Peyton happens to be operating or near at the time. Scarface is a violent criminal, emotionally abusive, and some would say, adorable.

Peyton is known in criminal circles as the Ventriloquist, as without her hand Scarface will not be able to move, without her eyes he cannot see, without her ears he cannot listen, and without her lips Scarface cannot talk.

There's at least some truth to the position that when Scarface has been removed from her, Peyton is not a villain. Her last stay in Arkham was ethically challenging, as what could be easily cast as an innocent victim was sitting in a cell purely so she could not be contacted by the mobster. But maybe, it's all an act.

Sheet

Description

Click to expand.

Not just tall for a lady, but wearing it well. From rich curves, to perfectly smooth white skin, Peyton is welcome sight in almost anyone's eyes. Long blonde hair cascades down onto her shoulders, a gentle bounce before it falls the rest of the way down to the middle of her back. Parted at her temple, and brushed until the silken strands cover her right eye, running alongside her nose and then following the defined shape of her cheekbone - Much like Jessica Rabbit. And in keeping with the theme, her make-up features intense red lipstick and light purple eyeshadow. Her visible eye is a piercing blue, resolute.

Peyton's figure is wrapped in a strapless dress, tight around her chest with a brooch that helps attract eyes to the cleavage it creates. It would be floor length, were it not for the daring slit that advances all the way up her thigh, loose enough to allow for free movement. The outfit is normally capped with a slightly stepped pair of heels, and long satin opera gloves that match her dress.

History

Click to expand.

Peyton Riley was born into a life of organized crime, with her father, Sean Riley, being one of Gotham City's most notorious Irish gangsters. In an attempt to unite the Irish and Italian mobs, Peyton's father married her off to his enemy's heir, Johnny Sabatino. Peyton wound up being trapped in an abusive and loveless marriage with Sabatino, who also wound up being an inept mobster and did nothing to help unite the gangs.

When Sabatino was caught stealing money from Scarface and Arnold Wesker - the Ventriloquist, he and Peyton were about to be executed by Rhino until Peyton began pleading with Scarface. The Ventriloquist took a liking to her and decided to let the two of them live, given that Sabatino gave him a 30% cut of all his future profits. This encounter allowed Sabatino to turn his life around and he became a much more successful criminal. Success went to his head however, and he decided to have Peyton and her father killed. Sean Riley was gunned down in a church, while Peyton was brought to an old tenement to be taken out by Sabatino and his thugs. Sabatino shot her in the head, while his thugs shot her several more times and then left her bleeding on the floor as they left. Shortly afterward, Peyton heard two more shots coming from the next room, where it turned out Wesker and Scarface had been apparently murdered by the second Tally Man.

After laboriously dragging herself into the next room, Peyton surprisingly found Scarface had begun talking to her - although she suspected she was simply hallucinating. Despite her doubts, she dragged herself and Scarface out of the building and to a hospital. After months of plastic surgery and rehabilitation, Peyton made a full recovery, repaired Scarface, and became the new Ventriloquist.

Personality

Click to expand.

Make no mistake. Peyton might not be the Gangster that Scarface is, but she's a different kind of criminal. Money laundering, ordered hits, drug trafficking - High level crime, the kind that is hard to trace back to the boss, that's her interest. Scarface handles most of the intrigue, the gangland wars, and the dirty stuff. Although she considers him something of a partner in crime at points, he considers her more like a tool than anything else. Peyton has fluid morals with regards to crime, but that doesn't necessarily make her a bad 'person' as a whole.

Peyton's priority though, has and always will be appearance. After the death of her father, she needed to be the strong survivor of that branch of the Riley family. She needs to be, and feel beautiful, despite her scars. She won't let anyone close though, except for Scarface.

Abilities

Click to expand.

SCARFACE
"Yer here for one reason and one reason only, ya dumb broad. Ya keep ya hand up my backside, and ya don't speak unless spoken ta. Get me?"

Don Scarelli was a violent criminal who ruled Gotham's underworld, who was executed by hanging at Gallows Tree. After the tree was felled by lighting, a dummy was carved from it - A dummy that can speak directly to it's 'ventriloquist,' that seems possessed by the spirit of the dead mobster. Scarface's relationship with the world is debatable because his abilities appear directly tied to his 'ventriloquist.'

Arkham Notes - While psychometric drugs appeared to both affect and ultimately 'banish' the Scarface personality, it seems many of the abilities that Scarface possesses are not able to be used by Miss Riley. Additional articulation of various puppets was not possible. Although Miss Riley is capable of 'manifesting' Scarface without a puppet being present and actively controlled by him, he appears to be centered in the puppet at this point - Removal and subsequent destruction of the puppet can create a small window of time (4-24) hours in which Peyton's behaviour is drastically changed, which is theorized as being a 'refractory' period before Scarface manifests again.

Actions - Scarface only requires an approximation of himself in order to 'act' - Anything that Peyton can shove her hand into that is vaguely doll-like will become as articulated as it is able to be, and function like his own doll. He can speak to Peyton whether there is a doll present or not, however unless he is either out with her or has something to tell her to do he wouldn't bother with keeping tabs on her.

Boom! - Scarface dolls are /always/ wired to blow if they come off Peyton's hand without both of their direct consent. These explosives are normally enough to clear forty feet in every direction, with shrapnel from the detonated doll travelling further.

Desc - Isn't he Cute! The chubby wooden face, the little blue dots for eyes, those cute red lips and the tiny cigar that is stuck to the corner of his mouth, the little wooden click whenever he speaks. That custom made Italian suit, the wide brimmed hat! And even a cute little Thompson that sits in his hands, wooden digits curved around what is obviously fake metal. All the details of tender love and care are here, his clothed finely pressed, his leather shoes polished. He'd be in perfect condition if it wasn't for the damage from just beneath his eye, chip that's turned into a long scratch.

SCARSENSES
Scarface is aware of Peyton's surroundings, and isn't limited to what she can see or hear - Although he is limited in how he can communicate it.

• Sight - Scarface can see what's in Peyton's immediate area - Roughly 50 feet in any given direction from her, regardless of obstruction. He isn't bound by whether she can physically see at the time - Only that she be at least partially awake.
• Smell - Significantly improved over Peyton's, but not superhuman. Like sight, it's reliant on Peyton being 'aware' but not limited to her 'smelling' things.
• Hearing - Significantly improved over Peyton's, but not superhuman. It's not reliant on Peyton being 'aware' - But noted that she cannot /hear/ whatever Scarface has to tell her until she can /hear/ again and he has the time to tell her, aloud.

SF CRIMELORD
"Ya think I got 'dis far by bein' polite?"

Scarface's criminal life didn't die when he did. When Scarface emerged and laid claim to the Scarelli family, few challenges him, and soon he re-established himself. Following attaching himself to Riley, he has consolidated his position with smaller gangs and the Irish mob.

SF ESCAPE ARTIST
"You'll never catch me alive, copper!"

Scarface is an accomplished escape artist, and this extends to Peyton. Able to move faster and disappear in a way that is frankly uncanny for an elegantly dressed woman carrying a puppet on one arm.

SF PSYCHOMETRY
As an inanimate object, Scarface can (When holding an inanimate object) make relevant associations and discoveries about it's history and ownership, in a limited sense. This ability is not effective is said objects associations/discoveries are more than 50 years previous, and associations/discoveries are often bound to how 'important' the object is in relation to it's history or owner. Something of little importance might only give him the vaguest image, a treasured family heirloom would give him detailed pictures.

OOC Note - Subject to player consent regarding information learned.

SF WEAPONMASTER
"Cute, huh? Wanna see what it can do?"

Scarface is a master of weapons. Not only is the 'toy' gun in his lap generally QUITE real and QUITE lethal, it seems to have a ridiculous amount of ammunition and he seems to be an amazing shot with it, recoil is minimal and projectile size is either normal or slightly oversized.

SF WEAPONMASTER
"Help!" "Seems like you've got bigger problems."

When Scarface bound himself to Peyton, she found that she could throw her voice - Astounding well in fact, most people would have a hard time telling she was even speaking.

Skills

Click to expand.

AGILE
"Fitting through there wasn't a challenge. This outfit, on the other hand..."

Despite going hand-in-hand with keeping herself looking fit and beautiful, Peyton has prioritized making sure she was agile - Learning to fall well, squeeze through tight spaces, run fast and avoid situations that might get her hurt.

CRIMINAL EXPERTISE
"It's nothing personal. It's just business."

As well as her private tutoring, Peyton was taught the ins and outs of the family business - Money Laundering, handling rats, bribery and corruption.

INTELLECT
Peyton has never been an idiot. A private education allows her to capitalize on her intelligence.

LEADERSHIP
Peyton was being groomed to take over the family before she was married off instead. Scarface captilizes off this.

MIMIC
"You should hear my Batman."

Peyton has learned how to mimic other voices quite well, both as a diversion and as self defense. Scarface is unable to do this.

UNARMED COMBAT
"You'll find no scared little girl here."

As well as her private tutoring, Peyton was forced to undertake hours of self-defense classes that eventually lead to a wide array of experience that makes her more difficult to take down than the average brawler. Especially considering she has now practiced with a puppet on her arm.

Resources

Click to expand.

CRIMINAL EMPIRE
"Jus' sayin'. Either ya do's what ya is told, or while I's having my cigar, someone's gonna tell me all 'bout how sorry ya were 'fore ya died."

Scarface's extensive criminal empire that serves at his order, and by extension, hers. As such, money, cars and favour are all easily hers to have. Even when she is out by herself, a couple of muscled bodyguards are generally lingering not far away, in case of vigilantism. Orders from Scarface are simple - No Harm is to come to Riley, or the meathead that allowed it is going to spend his last hours in Gotham as a different kind of puppet.

CRIMINAL FAMILY
"Riley. If that name doesn't mean anything to you you're not gonna last in Gotham much longer."

Daughter of Sean Riley, infamous Gotham Crime Lord, and heir to whatever loyalty remains amoungst thieves. Those who weren't killed, imprisoned or otherwise turned tail.

EXPLOSIVES
"Bad move."

Scarface's favourite party piece is being stuffed with explosives, so that he can be left behind to cause all kinds of havoc for whoever wants him. As such, Peyton seems to hoard the dangerous compounds.

SF INSANELY RICH
"Money don't lie, sweetcheeks. I got stacks beyond countin'."

Scarface's living fortune has been added to the masses of money he has made with Wesker, and now with Riley. With money beyond counting in hundreds of places in hundreds of formats, it's not like it's a concern of his - But he doesn't throw it around without a good reason, and only spends what he thinks he should to have someone bumped off, a shipment of drugs or weapons.

Weaknesses

Click to expand.

CRIMINAL
"All I'm saying is that there's a lot of very suspicious activity around you, Miss. Lotta people go missing. Lotta money changes hands. We're watching you."

Every cop in the city with more than a few years remembers about the Riley's, even though most haven't come across their final heir. With criminals scrabbling over her family domain, and Scarface consolidating both his own power and what he can of hers, the family name is losing some reputation. The last Scion of the Riley family however is not.

MEDICATION
"... Tell me, Miss Riley, have the voices stopped since your new medication?"

Scarface infests her psyche like a disease, but certain anti-psychotics seem able to affect Scarface. Documented during her time at Arkham, where low dosages affected 'his' ability to talk, move and think, and high dosages resulted in Peyton claiming he no longer 'spoke' to her and could no longer act through her. This reinforces Arkham's documentation that Scarface seems to possess -Peyton- more than the -doll-.

PUPPET
"Get it the fuck away from me!"

Removing the puppet from Peyton forcibly has a few side-effects. Firstly, an explosion will be happening soon. Secondly, Peyton seems to 'snap back' from the spell she was under, claiming that she wants nothing more to do with Scarface and attempting to flee. For 4-24 hours following the unwilling destruction of a 'Scarface' Peyton shows no signs of being under his direct influence.

SCARS
"Oh, and we both used to be dead. Dat was da biggie."

An assassination attempt has left her with multiple scars. Notably, a .45 round was fired at her head at close range. It went through the outside of her right eye, shattered her eyesocket and nearly killed her. Scarring remains, and she has no vision out of her right eye.

Face - With her hair out of her face, the asymmetry is violently disturbed. Her right eye is milky white, unless she has a contact in, and scar tissue ripples from it's outer edge in a jagged triangle to her ear, just skirting her cheekbone.
Hand - The inside of her left palm bears a tight, star-shaped scar, and the back of her hand holds a more vicious deformation of her otherwise smooth skin.
Forearm - Just beneath the elbow, her right forearm bears a distinctive star-shaped scar.
Thigh - Pale, smooth flesh is marked by scars on her right thigh, two long-healed bullet wounds.
Ribcage - Beneath her left breast, two more gunshot scars are visible. Another scores across the outside lower right of her ribcage.
Hip - The curvature of her hip is disturbed where raised tissue heals a bullet wound from just beside her navel.

SCARVERSATION
"'ey doll. Wise guy on da left got sommat tucked into his belt. Ask him to share."

Peyton can only communicate with Scarface verbally - Or physically, when her hand is inside whatever vessel he is using. When Scarface is talking, there are subtle signs that Peyton is in fact throwing her voice. Scarface cannot talk to Peyton or vice-versa unless her lips are free to move and she is free to speak.

VANITY
"Beauty is only skin deep. Luckily people don't look any further."

Peyton is a refined, elegant, attractive woman - This is generally more important to her than anything other than a direct command from Scarface. She finds her scars disgusting, humiliating, and emotionally devastating. They remain covered.

VICTIM
"Murdered father? Abusive husband? Possessed dolls? Yes, I'd say I feel unlucky."

Starting with her arranged marriage to a rival family as a way of brokering peace, to the abusive relationship it entailed, to being shot by her former husband and then ending up bound to Scarface, Peyton is used to being a victim. She may rage against it, but she'll take a knee easily enough. And just hope to rise again.

Logs

Click to expand.

To Refresh Character's Log List Click Here. Then hit the resulting button to dump the old cached list.

Title	Date	Scene Summary
The Heist	February 15th, 2019	Summary needed
A Profession of Doubt	February 5th, 2019	Summary needed
Branching Out	January 10th, 2019	Summary needed

Cutscenes

Click to expand.

To Refresh Character's Log List Click Here. Then hit the resulting button to dump the old cached list.

Title	Date	Scene Summary
Bounty Notice - Brutale	February 5th, 2019	Summary neded

Gallery

Click to expand.

{{{Gallery}}}