(no subject)

[mithrarin]

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Player Name: Dragon
Player Journal: dragonoflife
Age: Enough, damn it
Contact: dragonoflife
Characters Played: AU!Rainbow Dash, Zetta, Zecora, Morgan Knight

IN CHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: Dust
Canon: Dust: An Elysian Tale
OU/AU/OC: OU
Canon Point: Postgame
History: It's a terrible wiki, I know. Some further insight here.
Personality:

Dust is a fusion of two souls, and those two separate souls tug at him, each of them drawing at him in different ways... but, explicitly, Dust has his own mind, created as part of the magic that created him without any influence from his souls.

The Dust that results is a decent sort -- quiet, but with a wry sense of humor that he probably picked up from Fidget herself. In his interactions with normal townsfolk, Dust rarely emotes very strongly, not really raising his voice or expressing extremes of emotion. Despite this seeming standoffishness, even Dust's quiet conversations carry force behind them; Dust has a very powerful personality, the sort that conveys his feelings without an excess of drama.

Mild though he may be, he doesn't refrain from adding his observations to a conversation, be they amusing, sardonic, or occasionally playful when he's poking fun at Fidget. He also isn't above having a little fun at someone else's expense, as is the case when he spends several conversations putting words in the mouth of a character who only grunts in response. Fidget is the general target of his humor, but he can take her jibes with equally good humor in turn.

Though he has his own mind, his two souls still pull at him. Jin's soul drives him to compassion, to aid and help others, to kindness and courtesy and to empathy. Cassius's soul urges him to seek power, to fight and to grow strong, to ignore the weak and take the expedient path. For the most part when dealing with others, Dust listens to Jin's compassion, and the game features him helping others -- but he uses Cassius's strength and power to do it, and even admits he enjoys the feeling of growing stronger.

For most of the game, Dust is characterized by uncertainty. He has no idea who he is, and that lack and his desire to know eat at him and undercut his confidence when he needs it most. When he finally learns the truth of his existence, even then he can't come to grips with it. Fidget is the one who grounds him, and who steadfastly tells him that no matter what his circumstances or his souls' pasts might be, Dust is Dust. Only at the end of the game, when he faces General Gaius directly, does he come to grips with who and what he is, accepting it. At that moment, his two souls and his mind seem to fuse at last into harmony -- Jin's righteous anger and conviction, Cassius's memory of his old friend and the deeds they did in the search for power, and Dust's choice. When Gaius begs him to remember who he once was, Dust's answer is simple: "I remember everything. And it changes nothing!"

Now, Dust has accepted his role: an implement of vengeance, but also one of protection.

Strengths:

Sword skills: Dust is a incredibly good swordsman -- probably the best one in Falana, since he defeated General Gaius, who seems to be the only person Cassius was unable to defeat. (Both of them were ultimately so damn tough it took molten lava to take them out.) He attacks with combinations of slashes, is capable of launching foes, and can slam them into the ground with raw upper body strength so violently it creates a shockwave that hurts other enemies. He is also capable of grabbing airplanes out of the air and slamming them into the ground.

Dust Storm: On the ground, Dust can spin a sword in one hand with such speed that it creates a vortex of wind. This vortex is so strong it can extinguish large fires or haul in heavy items. When jumping, Dust spins the weapon around his body instead, using the wind the attack generates to send him flying around at incredible speed. In either case, the Dust Storm can amplify the power of magic exponentially -- a few magic missiles become a foe-seeking spellstorm of power, a couple of small orbs of fire become massive columns of fire several stories high, and a bolt of lightning becomes a sustained blast of electrical doom, just as canon examples. Dust cannot maintain the Dust Storm for too long, however, or he injures himself.

Parry: Dust can knock aside almost any attack with proper timing, staggering his foe.

Platforming Skills: Dash, double-jump, iron grip (to hold onto walls covered with vines), boost jump (propelling upwards on air currents), crouch slide... the usual sort of thing.

Twin Souls: Dust has the best of both souls, and having two souls inside him generally tends to produce interesting results as well as registering to supernatural beings.

Immortality: Dust will explicitly keep coming back so long as there is more for him to do. The end of the game is his spirit and the Blade of Ahrah taking off for his next mission, in fact.

Loose Relation With the Fourth Wall: Yeah, Dust is kind of medium aware. He can save, and he knows when he's leveled up...

Weaknesses:

"Amnesia": Although in reality, it's more a literal nonexistence prior to his awakening in-game. Dust has at least some of Jin and Cassius's memories, but Dust himself has no history and no memory. In that respect, he has no experiences with other people or life itself, just ones that feel like his, and are very much at odds. This didn't come up much in game, but is much more likely to present problems in an RP.

No Fidget: Dust needs Fidget, and has even admitted it to her. Fidget has been by his side almost every conscious moment of his existence, and she kept him grounded and had faith in him when he had none in himself. As much as he might play off her being missing, he's going to have trouble without her.

Possessions:

-One hat
-One cloak
-One Blade of Ahrah. Ahrah is an intelligent sword, capable of talking. Generally, Ahrah remains quiet unless Dust needs his advice, or unless he feels obligated to add his two cents. Ahrah is a manipulative sword, who is not above presenting truth in a Certain Kind of Way, but since he was testing Dust the entire time, this had at least some justification. He remains a voice of calm advice and wisdom even now.


Pony/Animal Type: Pegasus
Cutie Mark: A drifting cloud of dust
Pony Picture: Uh, pretend he's a pegasus in this picture instead of a unicorn:



SAMPLES
First Person: The entirely wrong test drive.
Third Person:

"I still want to know how you're doing that," Dust said to the Blade of Ahrah, as he walked down the streets of Ponyville.

Ahrah had no need to ask what 'that' was, because as usual he was clinging to Dust's foreleg as if glued, despite the pegasus's lack of hooves. "A sword of Elysium is not without power, Dust. You know this."

Dust made a quiet noise in the back of his throat that might have been a laugh, or a scoff. "You also told me that wielding you is what gave me such skills. Conveniently forgetting to mention Cassius in the bargain."

Ahrah had no response to this, because none was needed. Dust knew perfectly well why the deception had occurred, since Ahrah had been testing him the entire time, judging his decisions by whether he followed Jin's compassion or Cassius's bloodlust. Pointing it out was simply Dust's way of mild revenge. If Ahrah had properties that allowed him to be wielded in this -- in this form, then Dust couldn't complain.

What he could complain about, he realized after a moment, was a lack of action. Maybe he needed to spend more time in that dungeon he kept hearing about...