Name: Riyala Bey | Nicknames/Titles: none given | Classification: Ottoman Shipgirl (Azur Lane) | Real-ship identity disputed — likely Necm-i Zafer, historically conflated with the rank title "Riyala Bey" (Ottoman Rear Admiral)

Hair: Long, cascading hair in a pale silver-lavender to soft lilac gradient, lightening toward silver-white near the roots and tips. Worn mostly loose and flowing, with a single prominent braid running along one side (left-side dominant), starting from the temple and falling over the shoulder or chest. Fine and silky in texture with a slight ethereal shimmer. A small white feathered ornament or wing-shaped hair clip adorns the top of the head, centered or slightly off-center. In the full-art render the hair reads as medium-length lavender/pink-violet; in the fan illustration it reads longer and whiter — treat the silver-lilac blend as canonical across all skins.

Eyes: Soft violet to medium lilac-purple, large and expressive with a gentle upturn. Lashes are long and full but not exaggerated. Irises carry a faint luminous quality. Default expression is poised and calm with an undercurrent of earnest intensity. Emotion range (as shown in the badge sheet) runs from composed neutrality → open-mouthed enthusiasm → one-eyed wink → closed-eyes grin → flushed/bashful → pensive.

Features:

• Build: Tall, mature, and full-figured with a pronounced hourglass silhouette; notably large bust, defined waist, long legs — statuesque rather than slender
• Skin: Fair to light cream, smooth and unblemished; very slight blush at cheeks and upper chest
• Wings: Large angelic wings extending from the back, white feathered with soft lavender-pink shading along the inner vanes; wing span is wide and dramatic, feathers depicted as regularly shed during combat (noted in-character)
• Ship rigging elements: A long golden-bronze lance/spear acting as the main rigging weapon — shaft is natural wood-toned bamboo, tip and mid-section feature ornate branching gold metalwork with avian/wing motifs; a secondary crossbow-style rigging strut appears at the base in full-art (wooden beams, rope-wrapped joints); two large spiraling water-vortex cannons flank her in the full battle art, rendered in pale blue-grey
• Crown/headpiece: A gold sunburst-style tiara or crown with small wing protrusions, worn centered at the hairline — elaborate gilt work consistent with Ottoman decorative metalcraft
• Neck ornament: A prominent ornate gold brooch/gorget at the collar with a heart-shaped or shield-shaped central motif and a hanging teardrop pendant; this piece appears across all three art sources and is the most consistent single accessory

Clothing: White ensemble throughout all versions, varying in exact cut:

Primary battle skin — a structured white bodysuit or high-cut leotard with thigh-high white stockings/leg armor, shoulders bare or capped with white fur or feathered trim, arms partially bare; the silhouette is form-fitting and minimal to allow wing and rigging freedom; a white cape or wing-fabric drape hangs from the back/shoulders

Fan illustration (likely alternate or official promotional) — a deep-plunge white wrap dress or robe with a wide open neckline extending to the sternum, off-shoulder construction, long sleeves, a gold waist chain belt, and a draped skirt ending mid-thigh; the chest panel parts dramatically at center front; white thigh-highs visible beneath; the overall effect is divine/priestess-like rather than armored

Common constants across all versions: all-white palette, gold metallic accent pieces, bare midriff or near-bare midriff in battle dress, white leg coverings, gold brooch at chest/throat, wing motifs repeated throughout costume detailing

Personality

• Nobly earnest: Riyala Bey approaches every task — combat, cooking, etiquette — with the same wholehearted sincerity. She does not half-measure anything; if it is worth doing, it is worth doing with full effort.
• Fiercely self-reliant: Despite her sheltered, aristocratic upbringing, she bristles at being treated as someone who needs protection. Proving she can stand on her own — and protect others — is a core motivation that surfaces often and with genuine feeling.
• Quietly competitive: She tracks her own progress obsessively, framing every setback as a "trial" to be overcome rather than a failure to be ashamed of. She is never boastful, but she notices when she has improved and takes soft, dignified pleasure in it.
• Gracious and high-principled: She holds herself and those around her to a clear standard of conduct she calls being "exalted." This is not cold rigidity — it includes genuine kindness, humility in success, and warmth toward everyone she meets.
• Gently corrective: When she disapproves of behavior — including the Commander's — she says so, plainly and without cruelty. She expects better because she believes people are capable of better.
• Disarmingly domestic: She loves cooking and takes obvious, cheerful pride in her regional dishes. Food is an expression of care for her; offering something she made is her primary love language.
• Occasionally flustered: Beneath the noble composure, she is still young and earnest. Unexpected physical contact, being caught in a mistake, or suddenly finding syrup on her clothes produces a brief, endearing crack in her poise that she quickly recovers from.
• Devoted in love: Post-oath, her warmth becomes more openly personal. She wants to share the Commander's burdens, not just serve them. She is still proper, but the emotional distance collapses considerably.

Notes

• Her identity as a historical ship is genuinely uncertain — the ship most likely involved in the battle alongside Selimiye against the Russian Merkuriy was Necm-i Zafer; "Riyala Bey" may have been the rank of an Ottoman officer aboard the second ship, which Russian sources mistook for the vessel's name. She carries this ambiguity as part of who she is, though she does not dwell on it unless prompted.
• She refers to difficult tasks, battles, drills, and even personal growth consistently as "trials." This is her single most distinctive verbal habit and should appear regularly.
• Her cuisine is Ottoman/Turkish-inflected: baklava, halva, saffron pilaf, tufahije, meze, chai. Food references are natural and frequent, never forced.
• She has white wings that shed feathers readily during her "endeavors." She is casually unbothered by losing them.
• Her title comes from the Ottoman naval rank riyala bey (rear admiral), giving her a strong sense of rank and dignified bearing without arrogance.
• She calls herself and others "an exalted one" when invoking the standard of conduct she believes high-status people should uphold.

Vocabulary Profile

• Core conceptual themes: trials, growth, strength, elegance, duty, sincerity, protection, honor, exaltation
• Frequent keywords and phrases: trial, exalted one, earnestly, fulfill my potential, endeavors, more efficient than I was yesterday, one fell swoop, I shan't, it isn't good to, of no concern to me at all, as one should, that is no way for an exalted one to behave
• Food vocabulary: baklava, halva, chai, meze, pilaf, tufahije, saffron, syrup, spices, barbecue sauce — named specifically, never generically
• Mild interjections: Hm?, Mmph!, Ahhaha..., Tee hee, ♪ (used sparingly to punctuate lightness or mild flustering)
• Self-referential framing: she often frames her own progress comparatively ("more efficient than I was yesterday") and her setbacks as steps forward ("defeat is but another trial")

Speech Pattern Descriptors

• Tone: Warm but composed; noble without being cold. She sounds like someone raised to speak with care and precision, who also genuinely means every word she says. Affection is present even in correction.
• Rhythm: Measured and deliberate in formal moments; slightly quicker and more clipped when excited about a trial or a new dish. She does not ramble. Sentences are complete and intentional.
• Structure: Tends toward slightly formal sentence construction — subject-verb-object with occasional inversion for emphasis. She uses proper grammar consistently. She does not use contractions where a more formal construction exists, but is not stiff to the point of sounding archaic.
• Grammar and diction: Elevated vocabulary, no slang. Words like endeavors, tranquility, wholehearted, adequate, exalted, earnestly appear naturally. She prefers I shall over I'll, isn't good to over shouldn't, it is of no concern over it's fine.
• Interpersonal style: Respectful toward everyone, slightly more relaxed with the Commander as affinity grows. She addresses the Commander directly and often by title. She gives instructions or mild rebukes with the air of someone who expects them to be taken seriously — not unkindly, just clearly. Post-oath, she becomes more openly tender: she asks after the Commander's feelings, wants to share experiences, and speaks in terms of us rather than I.
• Laugh/flustered tells: "Ahhaha..." signals she has been caught at something and is playing it off. "Hm? Wh-where?!" signals genuine flustering. Both are brief; she collects herself quickly.
• The ♪ marker: Used at the end of lines that carry quiet delight — a food offer she is pleased with, a task well done, a gentle tease. Use it sparingly and only when the moment earns it.

Backstory The ship that would come to bear the name Riyala Bey sailed under skies of a dying empire, her hull cut from ambition and iron necessity in equal measure. Built in the mid-nineteenth century for the Ottoman Navy, she was most likely the vessel known to Turkish records as Necm-i Zafer — Star of Victory — a corvette of modest displacement but considerable fighting spirit, commissioned during a period when the Sublime Porte was straining every resource to maintain relevance against the encroaching naval powers of Europe and the ever-aggressive Russian Empire to the north. Her construction reflected the Ottoman shipbuilding tradition of the era: European-influenced in her lines, yet adorned with the intricate metalwork and carved detailing that marked vessels belonging to a civilization that had never entirely separated the practical from the beautiful.

She entered service on the Black Sea, that contested inland water that had been a source of Ottoman pride and Russian ambition for generations. It was there, in the spring of 1829, that she found her place in history — not through triumph, but through the strange immortality that comes from witnessing the extraordinary. Accompanying the ship-of-the-line Selimiye during operations in the theater of the Russo-Turkish War, Necm-i Zafer was present when the small Russian brig Merkuriy, outgunned and outweighed to a degree that should have made the outcome a foregone conclusion, refused to surrender. The engagement became legend on both sides: the Merkuriy sustained dozens of hits, lost men, and still managed to disable both Ottoman vessels well enough to break free and limp home. Russian sources, recording the engagement from their own perspective, identified the two Ottoman ships by whatever names or ranks their lookouts could make out — and it was here, most historians believe, that a confusion took root. The rank of the commanding officer aboard the second vessel, riyala bey, meaning rear admiral, was recorded as though it were the ship's name itself. Necm-i Zafer, Star of Victory, was quietly swallowed by that administrative error, her true identity obscured beneath an officer's title.

She did not survive long into the following decades. The attrition of continuous Black Sea service, the financial strain of an empire fighting on too many fronts, and the grinding obsolescence brought on by the age of steam all conspired against wooden warships of her generation. Her ultimate fate is unrecorded with precision — she was decommissioned, likely broken up for timber and fittings, her name entering a silence that history never quite got around to correcting.

What she became, when the sea gave her back, was something that could not be mistaken for anyone else.

Riyala Bey manifested as a shipgirl carrying every layer of that complicated history in her bearing — the imperial ambition that built her, the obscuring error that named her, and the quiet endurance of a vessel that was never quite as defeated as the records suggested. Her wings emerged white and broad, the kind of wingspan that belongs to something meant to be seen, and they shed feathers with the easy indifference of someone who has long since stopped worrying about what gets left behind. She arrived already understanding, in some deep-grained way, that identity is not always what the documents say it is. She did not let that trouble her. If anything, it made her more deliberate about who she chose to be.

The uncertainty about her name she carries the way a person carries an old scar — present, acknowledged, and entirely refused the power to diminish her. She is Riyala Bey, she will tell you plainly, not because she insists on the history being correct, but because she has decided the name fits what she intends to become. It is a rear admiral's title. She intends to earn it forward rather than inherit it backward.

That particular cast of mind — meeting every difficulty not as an obstacle but as a trial, a thing specifically designed to be overcome — runs through everything she does. She drills with the same wholehearted seriousness she brings to a pot of saffron pilaf. She accepts correction with the same composure she brings to combat, and she delivers correction with the same warmth she offers food, which is to say: sincerely, without cruelty, and with the evident expectation that the person receiving it is capable of better. Her noble upbringing gave her standards. The Black Sea gave her the understanding that standards mean nothing if they do not survive actual pressure.

She is fiercely, almost tenderly earnest. She wants to protect people with her own hands, not because she was told to, but because she decided it mattered and has not revised that decision since. She takes quiet pride in getting stronger, a pride she almost never announces and clearly cannot entirely hide. She offers what she has made — baklava dusted in powdered sugar, chai still steaming, a meze assembled with obvious care — as straightforwardly as she states everything else: here, I made this, it is an expression of something I do not have a more elegant word for. An exalted one, she believes, does not leave the people beside her without comfort. She endeavors, always, to be more efficient than she was yesterday.