In the dim and distant past, our cast of stock characters was expanded to include a sinister swamp denizen, the Dread Least Grebe.
Terrifying, right? Beware the hypnotic stare of a bird about 8 or 10 inches long.…
It is obvious on the face of it that the one thing the Dread Least Grebe can NOT be is a natural bird. He couldn't be a threat to our characters without being, at a minimum, sentient, and with some type of power. Magical, psychic, political, military?? [An army of waterbirds swimming into battle....]
Ah, but in how many ways can he be UN-natural? That's where tonight’s fun starts. Since our shared universe is, in fact, a world for each of us, our visions of the Grebe can be as varied as we are.
Was he a real bird, magically or genetically altered? ["bitten by a radioactive leech, this mild-mannered bird becomes...."] Is he larger than normal? What, if any, sort of hands does he have?
Maybe he's a shape-shifter. Is the bird form the original or the assumed form, or one of many assumable forms? What is he originally? One post had him breathing fire, is he really a dragon? And does he take bird form at will, involuntarily like a werewolf at full moon, or did he somehow get stuck that way?
Or maybe the Least Grebe is a pseudonym or nom de guerre, like Stalin (so much easier to spell and pronounce than Dzhugashvili) Why would he choose it? What is he really?
What is his character? Is he a take-over-the-world evil genius, or somewhat less ambitious? Or just a violently misanthropic recluse, as in "trespassers will be toads"? Maybe he has a reason to keep people away from his lair, like the old guy in Monster House. Maybe he's protecting something more dangerous than he is? Or just keeping something unusual for himself?
What is his power? What makes him dangerous? Is he alone or part of a group, or does he have servants/henchmen/zombies/?? at his command?
For the time being, I have been treating the Grebe as a human or humanoid member of a criminal organization that assigns bird names to its recruits for anonymity. The "least grebe" shows how little they thought of him when he joined. "Jumped-up swamp dweller" indeed. The "Dread" got tacked on as he clawed his way to or near the top, spreading payback for those early slights as he rose. Magic ability is as yet undefined. But he's definitely smart, and ruthless, with a lot of henchmen he can call on.
Who's YOUR Grebe? Describe or show him in action that defines him.