A cute doodle done by ex o ex Snoof in the Lab 305 thread with her perching on my shoulder 4laugh
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SAY HELLO TO YOUR LION'S HEART
Dust's Name: Rhys
Gender: Male
Basic Appearance: One of the main inspirations I have for Rhys's appearance is this image that I found while researching. I would love it if he could have fluffy animal ears similar to those shown in the picture, along with them having earrings of some sort (though probably not the dangly chain type, since I see him getting those caught in something far too easily). If possible I would also like it if he could have wings, preferably big enough to allow flight. As for colors I am seeing reddish browns, cream/ivory, smoky black/grey, faded red, and hummingbird green. The different browns and blacks come from the griffin, with the colors of feathers and talons/beak, while the faded red and ivory come from the colors of the heart itself. The hummingbird green was actually inspired by the previous dust spin of this dust; I love the green that was shown on the bottle before, and I want to be able to see it used. The only specific color request I have is that the green be used for the eyes, but the rest (including other uses of the green) is up to the artist, along with the skin tone.
Powers:
Flight - whether it is to get from point a to point b or just to have fun, Rhys can soar and twirl through the air with a simple twist of the wing. At first his powers of flight will be rather low key, but with sufficient practice the griffin could become an aerial menace and skilled acrobat in the air.
Eagle Eyes - like the eagle that is an integral part of the griffin, Rhys has absurdly good eyesight that allows him to notice many little details and see long distance with the best of them. Additionally, he is temporarily able to force his sight to go above and beyond it's already amazing capabilities, but he must be careful - if he does the extreme seeing for too long he will give himself a raging eyestrain headache that will not go away for several hours.
Strength - The griffin of legend is renowned for its great strength, and Rhys is no exception. This little griffin is able to lift objects many times his size with ease, and every day heavy objects are no work at all. A good deal of energy is needed for this, which means massive meals and power naps would be paired with the largest feats of strength.
Keywords: Noble, Curious, Fierce, Self Assured
Personality: Rhys is a noble individual, but at first it is to an almost stupid degree. Early on if there is any sort of hint that someone may be in trouble or is need of help, the griffin will be there in an instant to save the day - except, the help isn't always needed, or wanted. Luckily the boy's heart is in the right place so that the worst missteps have a chance to be forgiven, and over time he will learn the correct time to save the day.
Another aspect of Rhys's nobility is how he values truth. For one thing, he has a horrible poker face, lies simply not coming to him naturally, and perhaps early on not even realizing that he can lie. Realizing the extent of lies in the world will come as a blow to the griffin, not just for the fact that so many people lie so often, but that stories aren't necessarily true, similar to a child learning the truth about Santa. After this he will make an even harder effort to be truthful, but he will also have to learn how to steel himself against lies inevitably happening in the future. At first any sort of lie will anger and annoy Rhys to some degree, but eventually he will learn that sometimes lies may be necessary. He still won't like it, but over time he will come to accept that simple truth.
The origin of Rhys's heroic aspirations is a rabid curiosity; the entire world is an amazing place the griffin wants to learn about, and in his search to learn he eventually came across story books. He instantly fell in love with the sweeping stories, fantastical worlds, and noble heroes, and from that point on he was forever lost to the magic of literature. It did not take long for him to learn to read his own books outside of what Tanaya read to him at night, and it took even less time for him to try and emulate his favorite heroes. Eventually, he will settle into his own heroic identity, but until then he will have as much fun as he can living out all the fantasies he can.
Rhys is very much a kid: energetic, loving, and a tad naive for while. Even so, there is already a hint of what is to come with an astonishing fierceness that arises in times of need. This is when the facade of play hero drops away, and the true valiant griffin can be seen. The griffin knows that there is evil in the world, and while it saddens him even when he doesn't understand it, he knows that he must, and always will, stand against it. Rhys will fight tooth and talon for those he cares about, and will continue fighting until the threat is vanquished or, if that fails, until he cannot fight any longer.
Rhys has quirks and flaws and strengths like any other individual, but at the same time he is quite content with who he is. He isn't against changing personal flaws (Tanaya disabused him from thinking otherwise fairly quickly), but he will not change himself simply to suit the perceptions of others. Rhys is who he is, and he is happy with that.
How is the bottle found? For her 35th birthday Tanaya received a great many gifts, but the most peculiar had to be the small bottle with a heart inside. That didn't mean the reason for getting it was unknown however - years ago early on in her cooking she had accidentally left the giblets inside a holiday turkey, and the heart had ended up on the plate of one of her close friends. Afterwords the friend decided to never let Tanaya live the incident down, and even since the cook has recieved various heart related gag gifts over the years. Therefore, when the friend spied the dusty little bottle hidden on the back of a curio shop shelf, she knew exactly where it must go. Tanaya had a good laugh over the bottle, and yet.... there was a sense, a feeling, that there was something much more to this little bottle than an old joke between friends.
