River the Echidna (current version)

River is an echidna from the Casto Islands, a group of islands inhabited by society's outcasts. Burdened with amnesia from a young age, River has set out to try and find her origins in the larger world.

Concept and Creation
Okay look, I've had River for a long time. Ever since I was like 13-ish and it's been like four years since then. Not gonna lie, she's been reworked through a ton of crap. Multiple iterations, multiple stories and experiences and roles, heck one time I even made her human, but that's beside the point. After some time I was like "You know, I have nothing left for this character, I should probably just give her to someone who can do something with her."

And so I gave her to Sigma. I worked on original projects, and made little fancharacters off to the side. But then for some stupid reason I started thinking about River again after like months of being away from her. Then well, I started brainstorming, got ownership back, and now here I am working on this page again.

Personality
River is the kind of person who sees the beauty in everything. Even in the darkest, ugliest things, she will find something that makes it good. That being said, she always gives someone a second chance even when many others won't. However, this may occasionally hurt her as it's fairly stupid to put trust in just about anyone.

Regardless, she's a lover, not a fighter. River is fairly pacifist and usually tries to de-escalate tense situations. And if that's not working, she will refuse to fight, and only focus on protecting the well being of herself and others. Though she can be too peaceful for her own good, and sometimes she can't stop a conflict without physical interference. If she has to resort to violence, she will beat herself up about it and hold onto that regret. The only things she willingly harms are things that are supposedly not living or lack sentience, such as your average Egg Robot. But even then if she sees a bit of humanity in her opponent, she will refuse to fight.

However, River is not without her own set of troubles and insecurities. She has never known what she truly is, and is deeply troubled by the thought of never knowing. She has never had anyone to identify with, and thus, is very, very lonely. Even when around people who enjoy her company, she has such little confidence that she still feels utterly alone, and can't shake off the feeling that she won't belong anywhere. To cope with this, River turns to escapism, using her hobbies to try and forget her feeling of being alone.

Abilities
River has a decent control over water. She isn't all powerful though, as she can only use her powers when around a body of water like a puddle or stream. The more water around her, the more powerful she is. If say, in the middle of an ocean, she has the material and the potential to wipe out an army with a tidal wave. But in a dry desert? She's totally powerless. However, River is not a violent person, and only resorts to force if absolutely necessary. She is more capable in self defense than full out offense, and prefers to simply restrain her adversaries than destroy them.

River is also talented in various water-related activites. She is a very strong swimmer, and with addition of her powers, is entirely unable to drown. She knows how to surf, and she also is very knowledgeable on the ocean and the life that inhabits it. She has also picked up sailing in recent years, having her own (very small) boat which she likes to travel the ocean in.

Weaknesses
As previously stated, River is powerless in dry landscapes. Deserts, plains, etc. have almost no water for her to utilise, so she cannot fight. Usually if she finds herself in these situations, she would prepare herself by bringing a water cantine giving her barely enough material to fight with.

Her health is also partially linked to the Chaos Emeralds. If they are cracked, destroyed, or drained, River can fall extremely sick. She won't die, but she will frequently pass out and have fever-like symptoms.

Canon Characters
Knuckles

River encountered Knuckles sometime after arriving at Angel Island, searching for her origin. Regardless to say, they were both utterly stunned to meet each other for the fact that they have never encountered their own species for years. Since then that fact has had an odd anchor on their relationship, as one would believe that being the last two of a species who are male and female, that they would get together as a couple, right? Well… no, in fact, neither of them feel any physical attraction towards each other. They are however, good friends, and usually have each other's backs.

Sonic

River had met Sonic through Knuckles shortly after that encounter. Although she was much more thankful that Sonic didn't freak out like Knuckles did at her existence, and he acted rather nonchalant about the whole ordeal. They get along pretty well as simple friends, although they do have some conflicts when trying to work together. When needing to solve a problem, River takes a slower and more methodical approach, while Sonic runs into things without thinking, which causes a slight bit of frustration between the two of them. Even in combat they usually aren't able to cooperate very well, as River can't keep up with his speed, and Sonic does get a bit cautious when she uses her powers considering his fear of water. Nevertheless, when times are good and they just talk, there's no problem.

Tails

River is pretty chill with this little dude too, and she met him at the same time she met Sonic. She does have a little bit of admiration for Tails as he is one of the smartest people she's ever met, and they do connect on some level considering that they're both a little... different from their respective species. So they get along pretty great, are fairly respectful towards one another and help each other out from time to time. River also has found a little bit of inspiration in Tails, as he used to have no self-esteem like she does now, and he has progressed to a confident young engineer, something River could have only dreamed of doing.

Amy Rose

River and Amy actually met on their own when the former was in Station Square, trying to become acquainted with the outside world. The two had bumped into each other, and shortly began casual conversation. That was when River learned that Amy had a crush (although she was unaware at the time that it was Sonic), and she began to offer advice to the hedgehog about this. When River later learned the actual nature of the relationship between Sonic and Amy, River realized the mess she got herself into and is still currently trying to help Amy out in getting close to Sonic through non-obsessive means.

Fancharacters
Laika the Dog

Laika is the one person that River has felt a truly deep emotional connection with. They both have similar backgrounds, Laika, a lone explorer of the stars, and River, a lonely voyager of the ocean. But for once, the two of them never feel alone when they're around each other, like they could say or do anything and everything will be okay. River has, dare even say, grown romantic emotions for Laika, and her crush grows ever more glaringly obvious as time goes on.

History
The Knuckles clan of Angel Island has been critically endangered for decades now. While there had once been hope to rebuild society after the attack of Perfect Chaos, plans failed and echidnas were slowly dwindling away one by one. Some dying, some leaving the island, till eventually, all that remained were a handful of families to keep the species alive. Among these families were two echidnas, Anna and Zale, with a newborn child named Eliza. Eliza, unfortunately, was very sick at birth. She was going to die without modern medicine present on the island, so, the guardian of the Master Emerald at that time had allowed a transfer of chaos energy from the emerald to her body. The power had saved her life, but as an unintended side effect, changed her fur color to a bright blue.

A few years later though, at around the age of 4 years old, Eliza's family decided that it was better for them to leave Angel Island, and try for a better life out in the modern world. Despite the protests of the few who remained alive, Anna and Zale had their minds set; they wouldn't fade away miserably here. So, the family of three descended from the island, into the ocean, with plans of sailing to the mainland. But... they would never make it. A storm had come down upon them early on, the boat capsized, and the family was separated. Eliza was knocked unconscious, and seemingly, all of three of them drowned in the ocean.

However, the chaos energy had given Eliza a power that was once exclusive to the beast that ruined her people: hydrokinesis. Even while unconscious, her power had triggered, and allowed her to breathe. Eventually, the waves carried her far off, all the way to a different set of islands known as the Casto Islands. She was found washed up on the shore of the largest island by a small group of residents. Upon awaking, the girl had received such heavy damage to her head that it had wiped away all memories of her life, even making her forget her name. The helpless girl was taken in by the islanders as a hanai, which is a child who is informally adopted. When they learned of her powers, she was renamed River Kailani, and she has been with the Castians ever since.

The people of the Casto Islands were not natives, in fact, the islands were uninhabited for quite a long time. That was, until various people who felt like outcasts in modern society began to move there and make their own life. Those who were disabled, unloved, out of the ordinary, and overall misfits populated the island. Being surrounded by so many strange people, River grew up learning how to see past all sorts of shortcomings, and judge people by their character. Yet, even in a place where everyone was an outcast, River began to grow feelings of loneliness. She had no idea where she came from, why she had these powers, or even what her species was. No one could answer any of these questions for her, and as a result, felt distant from all the others. Some days, it felt like she could never escape this loneliness.

The one thing that gave her some sense of comfort was the ocean. From all she knew, it was her only origin. It was her element. It was something she could truly connect with. To cope with this sadness, River involved herself in all sorts of things relating to the ocean- swimming, surfing, even "owning" some pet fish that she had found in there. By the time she was a teenager though, River had taken on the hobby of sailing. On small, single-person boats, she would sail to the different islands of the Casto Islands. This new mobility was liberating, and it gave River an idea. She had wanted to learn of her origin, and with the limited information in her home, she decided to sail out to the mainland and find anything that could tell her who and what she was. With that decision, River bid ado to all her friends and family on the Casto Islands, and set off...

Trivia

 * River's current appearance is almost a direct copy of my character in Pokemon Sun.
 * She has a very deep adoration for the ocean.
 * Also a really good swimmer even without using her powers.
 * Her clothes colors (red, white, and dark blue) are meant to represent the colors of the Hawaiian flag (which is totally not a nod to how Knuckles' colors reflect the Jamaican flag).
 * She is a Mercy main

100 Character Questions
Link because I don't want to make this page disgustingly long (WARNING: This is outdated and does not fit her current story)