hey friends! call me bright (he/they, 24, gmt+8) i’m buzzing in excitement, i can’t wait for you to meet my angy lil snaek boy nero hwang. i’ve written a tldr of his background, personality, and appearance. you can view them under the cut. i’m cool with messaging over tumblr ims or through discord (available upon request), so just reach out (or leave a ❤️ on this post) if you want to plot!
THE BOY WHO BECAME A VIPER: A LIFE UNRAVELING.
tw: fire, attempted murder, child abuse, body horror, themes of abandonment and isolation.
nero was born into a family of hunters, a bloodline that saw monsters in the dark and made it their duty to destroy them. his father, a man of ruthless precision, believed in purity above all else—even above his own son. when nero was thirteen, his father discovered the truth: the boy carried the blood of a familiar, a demon in human skin. the solution was simple. burn it out of him.
his mother, a woman of quiet defiance, had spent years hiding nero’s strange habits—his fascination with shadows, the way his eyes sometimes flickered like a serpent’s, the way he could sit still for hours, as if waiting to strike. but when his father dragged him to the courtyard, dousing him in oil and striking a match, she made her choice. “run,” she whispered, shoving him toward the forest as the flames licked at his heels. his father’s screams of betrayal followed him into the dark.
nero didn’t just escape the fire. he changed in it. his transformation was not a gift but a survival instinct—his bones twisting, his skin splitting, his human form dissolving into the sleek, deadly body of a salazar pit viper. the pain was excruciating, but the betrayal was worse. his mother had saved him, but his father had tried to erase him.
the forest became his refuge, but it was a harsh one. he learned to hunt, to hide, to trust nothing and no one. the cold seeped into his bones, and the silence became his only companion. he was no longer a boy. he was a predator. and the forest whispered that he was exactly what his father had feared—a monster.
from the moment he shifted, nero felt it—the invisible thread tugging him toward something. he resisted it with every hiss, every strike, every scar he carved into the hunters who dared to follow him. he did not want to be found. he did not want to be bound. but the thread only pulled tighter, and the forest whispered her name like a curse: dove.
nero remembers his mother’s hands, the way she smelled of lavender and ash, the way she pushed him into the dark to save him. he remembers his father’s voice, the way he called him abomination, the way the flames roared like a living thing. he does not know if the boy he was is still alive. he does not know if he wants him to be.
THE CURSE OF THE SHIFTING SKIN: A FAMILIAR’S BURDEN.
nero is bound to shift between human and salazar pit viper forms, neither of which feels entirely like him.
human form: tall, lean, with sharp features that never settle. his eyes are slit-pupiled, his tongue forked, and his canines elongated into fangs. his skin is cool to the touch, and his movements are fluid, almost unnervingly silent. he hates the way people flinch when they see him.
viper form: a salazar pit viper—jet black scales with iridescent green patterns, a rattle that hums like a warning, and eyes that glow like embers in the dark. his venom is a living thing, coiled in his fangs, waiting to be unleashed.
THE SERPENT’S NATURE: A STUDY IN CONTRADICTIONS.
protective to a fault: nero will destroy anything or anyone that threatens dove, his witch. his venom is a weapon, but it is also a shield.
observant and patient: he notices details others miss, and he waits for the perfect moment to strike—whether with fangs or words.
loyal (when he chooses to be): once nero commits to someone, he is all in. his loyalty is not given lightly, but once given, it is absolute.
adaptable: he thrives in chaos and order, shifting between human and viper forms as needed, though neither feels like home.
prone to brooding: nero carries the weight of his past like a second skin. he broods in silence, his thoughts a storm of venom and regret.
self-destructive: he has a habit of lashing out—at himself, at others, at the world—when he feels trapped or overwhelmed.
possessive and paranoid: he struggles with the idea of losing control, of becoming the monster others see in him. this fear manifests as possessiveness and distrust.
emotionally guarded: nero does not trust easily. he keeps his emotions locked away, revealing them only in fragments or through actions rather than words.
THE VIPER’S TEETH: CONNECTIONS FORGED IN VENOM AND FIRE.
tba. right now, i don’t have anything mapped out for his potential connections. though he’s definitely open to anything and everything. let’s brainstorm!
jbbartram-illu
vaporwave
stormborns
theartofmadeline
ellievsbear
