Let’s talk on-stage mannerisms for a minute here. Those of you who have been with me on Rabbit etc. and have been subjected to my commentary might already have paid attention to this, but if there is one thing that’s absolutely clear from these gifs is that Dylan Shrike is a very inexperienced performer. These are all — purposefully — shots that are happening between Dylan’s lines, group hugs, synchronised waves and the like: the moments that they have not felt the need or (more likely) had the time to practice, the moments that are not scripted.
For you, love and friendship are almost the same thing And your love tends to be the enduring, long lasting kind (You’ve been known to still have connections with ex’s) But sometimes your love is not the most passionate Leap before you look, and you’ll find that fire you crave
❝ [hands]: are they large or small, do they have pianist's fingers or short stubby ones, do they tend to get sweaty or are they always dry, is the skin rough or delicate, are the nails painted or chewed or sharp, etc. (the obvi one first ) ❞
SEND A WORD TO LEARN ABOUT DYLAN’S PHYSIQUE. — accepting!
Unlike those of his fellow Horsemen, Dylan’s hands are more fit for holding a weapon than a playing card — only years and years of practice where no one would either see or ask questions has he maintained the needed dexterity for the few sleight of hand tricks he does have ingrained in his muscle memory more used to pressing around a handgun. His hands have been fitted through handcuffs on a regular basis, thumbs broken again and again in training so there would be no scenario where he could not escape, even if alternative methods failed him. Large hands make this task even more difficult than it needs to be, leaving him more likely to trust the agility of his wrists and the length of his fingers to help him unlock his cuffs.
They’re a tool, above all, and one that needs to constantly have a purpose. If there is nothing he can hold or use them for, he doesn’t know what to do with them and simply shoves them to the pockets of his coats or jackets — or on his hips, when he’s pretending to be someone he isn’t. Both the FBI agent and the rogue magician require hands that don’t sweat easily and strength in his fingers and an adulthood spent climbing, scratching against rough surfaces and taking the recoil of gunshots has supplied him with just that.
SEND A WORD TO LEARN ABOUT DYLAN’S PHYSIQUE. — accepting!
He tries to stay grounded, he does — it gives him authority, especially crucial inside the bureau — but there’s a sway in how he stands, weight shifting from one foot to another the minute he can afford to drop the role of the FBI agent. It’s a nervous tick slithered its way into his everyday mannerisms as the places he considered safe and places he needed to be on alert started to blur together. It gets worse and worse when he’s worried for someone he’s close to, finding himself completely unable to stand still or keep his body in one position. When he’s scared for himself he focuses on controlling it, forcing himself to lock his knees and mask the shifts with full-body turns.
FBI training changed his walking pace, from cautious steps to long strides, focus on keeping his weight near the ground to avoid getting jumped when he’s closing in on a suspect. To be able to move fast, certain, and quiet requires a specific way to walk, and it carries out to his personal life. When he’s moving knowingly, he doesn’t stop or slow down — if he talks, he expects the person to whom he’s talking to keep up. Often, to stay unnoticed in a crowd or to sneak up on someone, Dylan needs to move slower ( a fast-paced individual will always attract attention ), but that’s always a decision made for that specific situation, most often directly imitated from another person.
SEND A WORD TO LEARN ABOUT DYLAN’S PHYSIQUE. — accepting! Mouth.
The lower lip is fuller, thicker than his upper one, often appearing multiple times so because of his habit of pursing his lips when something has his whole focus — most often when that something is a person who manages to captivate his full attention with their actions or their words. The thinness of his upper lip makes it seem as if his cupid bow cuts it in half, especially when he talks, or when he smiles and shows his teeth. In the FBI, he’s well deserved his reputation of a grump, but in his natural state there is a hint of a smile carved into the lines of his face often slips the second he feels like he doesn’t have to hide it.
When he smiles properly, more than just the amused smirk or proud and affectionate lift, he doesn’t bother hiding his teeth — a real sign of glee, easier to get from him than laughter. He rarely if ever fakes this: in his conscious mind, showing teeth is a way to intimidate rather than show happiness. He can elect to show his teeth with a smile to bring unease but never to show happiness: if he grins, you can rest assured the smile is genuine.
Build.
His weight and body shape has and always will be a direct indication of his psyche, and as a result, he loses and gains weight more than a man of his age should. Dylan is prone to overeating — his body could handle it just fine when he was young, but as his metabolism slowed down, it started to show as constant few extra pounds and a roundness in his figure, even with a highly physical job that needs muscle mass. He’s chubby almost all the time, the problems start when he isn’t: the most obvious sign of depression on him is how quickly he loses weight. At barely average height and widely built, it takes a while for the weight loss to be noticeable, and by the time it does, he definitely needs to be pulled out of whatever it is that’s consuming him.
Beneath the apparent softness, he’s built strong — his muscles aren’t all that defined, but they’re there. He’s used to landing hard on his back, he’s used to running long distances and jumping where he can’t reach, and above all he’s a fighter. It’s been years since he’s last looked like it, but there’s no mistaking the muscle mass needed for that isn’t still there.
dylan imprints like a fucking duckling to anyone of authority with a connection — no matter how distant and how hard to prove — to lionel. ur parents knew him? u was his stage hand? u watched his show once? anything goes. sign here, u are now dylan shrike’s legal guardian. congratulations.
tagged by :@stormnamed 1ST RULE : tag 9 muses you would like to know better / do i even follow nine people 2ND RULE :bold the statements that are true for your muse / italicise what sort of applies.
APPEARANCE :
i am 5'7" or taller i wear glasses i have at least one tattoo i have at least one piercing i have blonde hair i have brown eyes i have short hair my abs are at least somewhat defined i have or have had braces
PERSONALITY :
i love meeting new people people tell me that i’m funny helping others with their problems is a big priority for me i enjoy physical challenges i enjoy mental challenges i’m playfully rude with people i know well i started saying something ironically and now i can’t stop saying it there is something i would change about my personality
ABILITY :
i can sing well i can play an instrument i can do over 30 push-ups without stopping i’m a fast runner i can draw well i have a good memory i’m good at doing math in my head i can hold my breath underwater for over a minute i have beaten at least two people in arm wrestling i know how to cook at least three meals from scratch i know how to throw a proper punch
HOBBIES :
i enjoy playing sports i am on a sports team at my school or somewhere else i’m in an orchestra or choir at my school or somewhere else i have learned a new song in the past week i work out at least once a week i’ve gone for runs at least once a week in the warmer months i have drawn something in the past month i enjoy writing i do or have done martial arts
EXPERIENCES :
i have had my first kiss i have had alcohol i have scored the winning goal in a sports game i have watched an entire season of a TV show in one sitting i have been at an overnight event i have been in a taxi i have been in the hospital or er in the past year i have beaten a video game in one day i have visited another country i have been to one of my favourite band’s concerts
RELATIONSHIPS :
i’m in a relationship i have a crush on a celebrity i have a crush on someone i know i have been in at least three relationships i have never been in a relationship i have asked someone out or admitted my feelings to them i get crushes easily i have had a crush on someone for over a year i have been in a relationship for at least a year i have had feelings for a friend
MY LIFE :
i have at least one person i consider a “best friend” i live close to my school or on campus my parents are still together i have at least one sibling i live in the united states there is snow right now where i live i have hung out with a friend in the past month i have a smartphone i have at least fifteen cd’s i share my room with someone
RANDOM SHIT :
i have break-danced i know a person named jamie i have had a teacher with a last name that’s hard to pronounce i have dyed my hair i’m listening to one song on repeat right now i have punched someone in the past week i know someone who has gone to jail i have broken a bone i have eaten a waffle today i know what I want to do with my life i speak at least two languages
Hello, my name is Aurora, I’m 21 years old and Finnish. EET time zone, naturally not a native speaker — if my replies make no sense, please let me know, it’s either because of me being tired or fucking up grammar. Please tag choking, somnophilia, eating disorders, suicide and bluespace, including screenshots of the dash: essentially, if the sides of the picture are the same colour as the dash, tag it.
selectivity
I am open to ocs and crossovers. This blog is mutuals only: threads, plotting and im are only for people who I have followed back. However, non-mutuals can send me asks and memes and reply to opens. I do tend to form mains and practice exclusivity, especially shipping exclusivity: the list can be found here. Note that I fully admit to being a lazy ass about checking my followers: I am currently using an extension that hides my follower count, so it is up to my own memory to remember to check the list: thus, it can take up to anything from a week to a month to check out a blog — more, if it’s a muse from something I haven’t seen yet.
pre-established relationships
If you have a non-romantic relationship idea (friends, colleagues, even family) between our muses, chances are I’ll be up for that, but do please run it through me first. This is twice as important for Horsemen ocs. The Horsemen and the dynamic between them form a large part of Dylan’s life, so I am more hesitant than most about writing with them because I need to understand why Dylan would have chosen them. I hope you can understand this.
shipping
Shipping-wise, Dylan is free game, but only if it happens with chemistry. This is even more highlighted by the fact that I play Dylan as demisexual, meaning that he doesn’t feel sexual attraction to anyone until he has a strong relationship with them, platonic or romantic.
Statistics
FULL NAME: Dylan Caspian Shrike
ALIAS: Dylan Rhodes (active from 1990 to 2015)
AGE: 44
BIRTH DATE: December 21, 1971
GENDER: Cis male
ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Panromantic
SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Demisexual
RELIGION: Atheist
SPOKEN LANGUAGES: English (native), Mandarin, Cantonese, French, Italian, some Greek
CURRENT HOUSING: Apartment connecting to The Eye’s headquarters in London
OCCUPATION: The “fifth” Horseman, leader of The Eye’s western base. Worked as a mole in the FBI until being exposed publicly at the end of 2015
relationships
PARENTS: Lionel Shrike (deceased in March 6, 1984), Henriette Shrike (deceased in October 20, 1988)
SIBLINGS: None
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: Currently, none
CHILDREN: Unable to have
physical traits
EYE COLOUR: Brown
HAIR COLOUR: Dark brown, greying
HEIGHT: 5'7½
BODY TYPE: Short, square, somewhere between builtfat and chubbyfat.
personality
INTELLIGENCE: Book-smarts: studied engineering in college, degree in Criminology, mathematical brain. Strategist by nature.
DISPOSITION: Intelligent and calculating. Extroverted, but prefers a small social circle. Needs to feel in control, tends to take a leadership position very easily, as well as responsibility over others. Strong moral compass and need to see justice served.
Biography
Dylan Caspian Shrike was the first and only child born to Henriette Wilson, a former actress, and Lionel Shrike, a famous magician and a member of The Eye. The family lived in an apartment New York they owned, greatly relying on Lionel’s profession to supply for them. Partly to this, Lionel was largely absent at home, always performing, practicing, or travelling to China to buy equipment for his tricks. Dylan always knew his father first as a magician, and only then as a father.
This not-ideal but functioning life came to a stop when Thaddeus Bradley revealed how all of Lionel’s magic tricks were done in the pilot of his show, leaving the family unsure how Lionel’s career would handle such a blow. In an attempt to regain spotlight, Lionel insisted on doing a trick Thaddeus had called impossible: to break out from being handcuffed in a safe in the middle of a river. Dylan watched his father go down in the safe but the metal the safe was made of warped, making the escape impossible and causing Lionel to drown. Because his body nor the safe was ever found, his life insurance claim was denied, and the family was left without a penny.
Dylan always blamed the death of his father above all on Thaddeus Bradley, and after his mother had to give him up for adoption at the age of 12, Dylan started to plan for revenge. He spent most of his teenage years in a group home and two foster families, copying his father’s tricks and practicing some of his own, never specialising in anything in particular, finding himself more interested in the behind-the-scenes work that went into the larger tricks.
He started to study engineering in college, but The Eye gave him another task: take a new identity — that of Dylan Rhodes — and move to study Criminology in order to become a mole in the FBI. This alias gave him a possibility to start working on his plan to bring those responsible for his father’s death and the hardships that followed: a group of magicians that would bring the art back to a global spotlight whilst using their abilities to deceive for a greater cause. Gathering resources, perfecting his plan, and making it possible to do without known help from The Eye — as is required from applicants — was a long process, but he finally got it to motion in February 2013.
