Sebastian Moran

UNIVERAL TRUTHS

• Blood Type: O Positive
• Date of Birth: November 14th 1956 – Scorpio – Monkey (Fire)
• DnD Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
• Dominant Hand: Left
• Ethnicity: White, British
• Myers Briggs Type: ENTJ-A | The Commander
• Orientation: Homosexual
• Religion: Non-Observant Catholic
• Signature:

FAVOURITE

• Favourite Animal: Tiger
• Favourite Author: Charles Dickens
• Favourite Colour: Blue
• Favourite Film: A Street Car Named Desire
• Favourite Food: Chicken Tikka Masala
• Favourite Plant: Cherry Blossom
• Favourite Poem: I Speak Not, I Trace Not, I Breathe Not Thy Name - Lord Byron

VERSE DEPENDANT

• Avatar Element: Fire
• His Dark Material’s Dæmon: Siberian Tiger
• Hogwarts House: Slytherin
• Hybrid!Verse Pairing: Siberian Tiger
• Mass Effect Species: Human Biotic L2
• Pokémon Team: Alolan Marowak, Gyarados, Scizor, Tyranitar, Gardevoir, & Toxicroak.

Colour Tyson’s Synesthesia Projects Onto Them:

The Colonel

Though Sebastian Moran is the man who abused Tyson, The Colonel in his main!universe is based on a very specific AU version of Moran; with the face claim of Jeremy Irons and originally written by my dear friend Peter. Though he isn’t interested in RP anymore, he’s given me carte blanche to continue Ty & Seb’s story however I see fit.

So, let’s learn a little about the elusive Colonel.

Rather than working for the Moriarty Mirrors, Sebastian hates them for stealing his Kitten and making him their Pup. If he had met them before they ‘took Tyson away’, Moran still would have taken issues for working for someone so much younger than him, but he would have served loyally once he started.

If Sebastian isn’t the best at something, he will work for the web or take complete control over them. Annoyingly enough, there is a lot that Sebastian is good at. He’s egotistical, but he can back up his claims which is why he’s as infuriating as he is. It’s grating that he constantly claims to be the world’s greatest sniper, but he has the record to prove it; and his bloody grin proves that he knows that.

He mentions his age a lot: You wouldn’t attack an old man, now would you?Sebastian is in damn good shape. His age doesn’t make him any less deadly, but that simple comment is enough to make people assume that he’s weaker than he actually is and can trick them into pulling their punches. Tyson’s own tactics to make people underestimate him are largely learnt from The Colonel.

Similarly, Tyson’s habit of drawling - to take more control over a situation and minimise his stutter as much as possible - comes from Sebastian. He drawls, in a voice Tyson would often describe as mellifluous, to waste people’s time. It’s his time to waste. He is in control. No one else.

Sebastian is a gambler and an adrenaline junkie, but his main vice is alcohol and Moran is an incredibly aggressive drunk. Without a doubt, the man is an alcoholic. Some of his worst attacks on Tyson were done in a drunken rage. He leans more toward Scotch and Whiskey, but he also likes wine and rum.

Of everything he demanded of Tyson, Sebastian never forced Tyson to have sex with him. This was more about Moran’s ego, about not needing to force anyone to bed him than a moral standing, but the point remains. He enjoys sex and has a stronger drive for it than Tyson, but he prefers having control rather than companionship with people.

Sebastian is homosexual. In his own words, he has ‘nothing against the fairer sex, you see. They’re simply… not for me. I can understand the surprise. Most things should be for me, after all.’ That said, Sebastian has slept with plenty of women; as a younger man to hide his homosexuality and in later life for gain, such as information.

He was born to Sir Augustus Moran & Alissa Moran. His mother died in childbirth four years later and took his baby brother, Severin, with her. His father passed away when Sebastian was seven, leaving him in the care of his Auntie Delilah: the widow of his father’s older brother, Bartholomew Moran.

The mourning Sebastian enjoyed the company of his cousin Katherine, until he was sent away to Eton boarding school. He found himself in trouble frequently, but excellent grades - and his Auntie being willing to throw any amount of money into not needing to care for Sebastian herself - kept him from getting expelled.

He was then accepted into Oxford University and studied literature, Roman history, and art. Sebastian was first drawn to the bottle during his third year, but at the time it was largely in control: a way to unwind after a long day of studying. He was argumentative with every professor, but he was a good student. Sebastian is a very intelligent man.

Sebastian didn’t plan on joining the army after graduating. He had been walking down the street one day in his final year when he was stopped by a recruiter who, more or less, dared Sebastian to sign up. His inability to avoid the bait of a challenge hasn’t changed.

Naturally, Sebastian excelled as a marksman and climbed up the ranks swiftly. He served for many years and his dependency on alcohol became worse and worse. Eventually, he joined the First Bangalore Pioneers in Afghanistan where Tyson became his spotter and they served with Captain John Watson for a time.

Moran’s alcohol dependency became worse and he began a relationship with Tyson, and then began abusing him. His temper got worse and worse until everything came to a head. Moran shot General Clarkson, putting him into a coma that would last until Tyson was already within the web, and forced Tyson to abandon the army at knifepoint.

Once the army got too close to tracking them down, Moran gave one final assault to stop Tyson from running and then abandoned him, fleeing back into India and making a name for himself hunting tigers for a short time. However, he abandoned that too and returned to England to hunt down Tyson: intending to return to rural India once he had his property under control.

Moran was always controlling of Tyson, but his ego was challenged and fed by him in equal measure. He liked that, no matter what he did, Tyson would still meet his gaze and refuse to give in. Sebastian never wanted to completely break Tyson, he wouldn’t be any fun then: a mentality he shares with the Moriarty Mirrors.

After returning to London, knowing there was only one place Tyson would have gone and would always return to, Sebastian needed money badly; his dearest auntie having cut all access to the family fortune. He began publishing the stories of his time in the army and his adventures afterwards.

As a wanted man, Sebastian couldn’t publish his memoirs under his own name. Instead, he began living off the royalties of the fictional adventures of ‘Zachary M. Cohen’ and publishing under the same pen name. Tyson has read all of those books, hoping to get an insight into what Sebastian plans next and desperate for any connection to him.

Sebastian has very old school sensibilities - especially in aesthetics things, such as three-piece suits and straight razors; something he shares with Tyson - and puts a high value on loyalty. More on people being loyal to him, than being loyal to things himself. He is very sentimental about his sniper rifles, however.

Even though he knows that the web is keeping tabs on him and letting Tyson know where he is, Sebastian doesn’t bother moving apartments until Tyson appears at one: escorting a catatonically drunk or wounded Sebastian home. His apartments are always a mix of utilitarian and luxurious.

He has the bare minimum that he needs, but the best possible version of them. Often the only seat will be an impossibly comfortable four seater settee, so that he can fully stretch out rather than have company. His bedrooms are usually only a bed and a wardrobe, but it will be the largest bed possible.

Performance

When he has familiar practised phrases to say, Tyson doesn’t stutter as much and having everyone working on a script makes it even easier for him to avoid stuttering entirely. On top of that, when addressing a large audience, Tyson is even more confident and comfortable speaking, having been groomed to do exactly that since birth.

He doesn’t enjoy acting per say, having to use it in ways that make his skin crawl to think of to survive and for the needs of the web, but when he can completely separate himself from the performance, Tyson can see the appeal. He needs to give himself completely to a role, to a single moment for that to work, and Tyson can’t afford to have such a narrow focus when working.

He found it much harder to perform in rehearsals than on stage. Tyson could still hit the required notes, he always does well under pressure, but it would take him a long time to psyche himself up beforehand and afterwards his nerves would be completely frayed.

Other than hating himself enough to never give himself a break or give up on a task started, there was no reason for Tyson to force himself through something he didn’t enjoy and affected him so badly every time.

Stars

The stars are very important to Tyson.

To quote from a thread with flight-of-the-thieving-magpie:

For Tyson and his Synesthesia, star charts were the same as any other maps, though he’d needed to learn how the map changed orientation throughout the year. [x]

The Delaney family manor was outside of the city, but still close enough to Cambridge to be affected by its light pollution. It had been a mixed bag when looking up at the night sky. When looking towards the city, some stars were still visible but even the highest ones were dulled. When looking out towards the hills, however, Tyson had a clearer view. “Myb-brother, Jethro, used to sneak me outside at night t-to go swimming in the creak.” …

“It was amazing, h-how much clearer the stars were back t-there. I kept ignoring his attempts to teach m-me how to swim to watch the stars instead. H-He found a book about constellations for me when we g-got back home. Of course, as it was father’s l-library Jethro took it from, it was almost t-too old to read from, but…” Tyson let out a soft chuckle. “I fell in love with t-the tales. It was a collection of Roman and G-Greek fables about the stars. Finally there w-were maps that other people cared about like I d-did. Only they weren’t just lines on a page, but f-flickering above instead. Almost tangible.”  [x]

“Whatever tales they hold, however, s-stars are denoted by maps and maps will always b-be mathematics. Pure and miles from s-simple.” The corners of his mouth twitched into a fond smile, his gaze slipping from Jim to the space between them, as he continued, “Mathematics permeates everything. Where it n-not for mathematics those stories would mean nothing more to me than fairy tales do. Maths is the life blood of the universe, the secret to every glimmer of light above and to the void between. It is as beautiful as the stars themselves. A hidden code, a hidden language, throughout everything in existence.” [x]

To Tyson, the stars are beautiful maps that he can share with other people. That people can appreciate on, if not the same, a similar level to Tyson. It’s something Tyson can share with the Moriarty Mirrors and know that they understand each other perfectly, can see that childlike wonder in their eyes and know - whatever his doubts - he made the right choice to become their Pup.

He loves every legend, story, & fable about the stars. He loves the connection they give him to people, be it on an aesthetic, literary, mathematical, scientific, or spiritual level. Even though Tyson doesn’t believe in Astrology, he is always respectful of other people’s beliefs and any love of the stars is appreciated in Tyson’s eyes.

The stars have always been a constant comfort in his life. Untainted by the abuse of his father, Jethro running away from home, the lows and highs of his time in the army, The Colonel’s abuse, his time on the run, or his time with the Moriarty Mirrors. The stars are always there, sometimes in a different place or invisible to the naked eye but always there.

In Tyson’s Synesthesia, the stars are always bright, positive colours. By and large, constellations will all be seen in the same colour, but there are a few exceptions, when a star within a constellation is important on its own: golden Sirius in red-violet Canis Major and bright green Arcturus in pastel pink Boötes, for example.

Fishing

When on a mission for the web that requires roughing it, Tyson doesn’t bother bringing a fishing rod with him.

He prefers to travel light and finds it more efficient to simply pack a few hooks, lure, and some line, then float on top of the water and coax the fish into his hands. Tyson will fish from the shore when necessary, but he does prefer to tether a hook with a length of line and hide the hook in his finger until the fish is close enough.

There are several reasons for this, but in the case of those particular missions, it gives Tyson time to empty his mind. If he’s sent out into the wilderness, it’s usually to hunt down an enemy of the web or an employee that’s trying to run away. It’s never something good. He enjoys the opportunity to not worry for a few minutes, to stop glancing around his surrounding and simply feel the water around him.

Beaches

Though the beach isn’t to Tyson’s personal tastes, strongly disliking sand for its effects on his OCD and preferring to swim in fresh water, he will often end up visiting a beach during holidays; usually for the benefit of his nephew James, but also to give his dogs a change of scenery.

Bobby is overjoyed at the chance to swim in the sea and to dig up the sand, from a reasonable distance from Tyson to avoid getting into trouble.

Lily doesn’t like getting wet, but she adores the opportunity to run on the sand once more; having joined Tyson whilst crossing the desert in Pakistan.

Jack’s favourite toy seems to be washed up seaweed. It’s like a tug-toy that he can destroy and rip up in minutes, and always have more to play with.

Meg is in the ocean before Tyson can even register releasing her leash, swallowing salt water despite Tyson’s best efforts to discourage her.

Tyson has good memories of being at the beach with his family, having BBQ with Jethro, Rosie, James, & Charlie. Most of those good memories are during late evening or night, once most people have cleared away and Tyson can relax more. The beach always reminds him of blackcurrant drinks.

He remembers day trips to Blackpool the most. Starting the morning at Sandcastle Waterpark, then running around on the beach with James before a picnic lunch and taking a midday nap, grabbing fish & chips for dinner before going into Blackpool Pleasure Beach (theme park). Then, when the Blackpool Lights get turned on, driving back through that way until James falls asleep on the way home.

Parenthood

Beyond his own thoughts on children in general or his own, Tyson stands with the side that it takes a village to raise a child and it’s nurture over nature.

He agrees that parents matter, but he doesn’t think that they’re the be all and end all. In the grand scheme of things, a teacher can end up having a bigger impact on what a child is like than their parents and vice versa. In his mind, a parental figure is more important than a parent.

After all, Jasmine is more of a maternal figure in his life than his mother was. He knows there are plenty of people in a nuclear family who would swear up and down that they were raised by their grandparents, an uncle, or family friend rather than their parents; even if they were present in their lives.

When Tyson thinks parenthood, he thinks of safe warm arms cradling; completely enveloping without fear of harm. He thinks gentle, calm voices - soothing no matter how afraid. Tyson thinks of thinks of the things he found with his brother Jethro, and later with Jasmine, rather than anything his father gave to him.

Hidden Power

Tyson goes out of his way to make sure people underestimate him, to seem weaker and less intelligent than he actually is, to gain the upper hand before the battle even begins.

He is the friendly face of the web, someone kind and gentle to coax people unwittingly into the Moriarty Mirrors’ trap. That Tyson genuinely is a kind caring person helps the authenticity, but it doesn’t change the fact that he is bait. He needs to appear harmless, approachable. He’s safe.

Don’t worry about him. Turn your back. Go on.

He is an excellent fighter and he knows how to survive better than almost anyone. However, when presented with a threat or someone he knows intends to posture about being a credible threat, Tyson’s first move will often be to curl in on himself, make himself smaller and back away.

Subconsciously people then think he’s not that bright and not a threat, especially when they know a thing or two about fighting, the most basic survival tactic people are taught is to make yourself seem bigger: to puff up your chest and stand your group.

It’s a simple trick, but it’s enough for people to dismiss him for a more obvious threat in other members of the web. Why worry about the cowering fool, when there is someone with the eyes of a killer who doesn’t flinch in the room? They call him Pup, he’s obviously not dangerous. Just a whelp.

Tyson also makes himself seem less eloquent, often avoiding the works he wants to use and ending up with short clunky sentences instead, but that’s about working around his stutter rather than a deception.

Happiness

At best, Tyson is - usually - content with his place in the world.

He hates himself, he hates the work that he does and knows that he isn’t getting a happy ending in this lifetime, but he is content to shoulder that burden, because Tyson loves the Moriarty Mirrors and he will sacrifice everything for those he loves. Especially himself.

Tyson doesn’t know what to do with happiness. Not truly. There are times when he is happy, naturally, but once he realises that he’s happy, Tyson will go out of his way to distance himself from it. To run away from it. Unless he’s already in too deep to avoid further damage. He has to be eased into happiness, like a turtle in a cooking pot.

A stupid, stupid turtle in a pot that could never hurt him. The idiot.

He thinks that he doesn’t deserve happiness. Afraid that he’ll break it, that it will shatter under his fingertips and hurt those he cares about. Tyson simply does not get nice things; not unless they were going to be ripped away from him. He would rather hurt himself now, to avoid later pain.

Tyson would rather distance himself - shove people away, snarl words that he doesn’t mean with a vitriol only ever meant for himself - than risk hurting someone else by being their bad luck charm. Happiness is overwhelming for Tyson and he doesn’t know to how to accept it without fear, without guilt.

This is most commonly overruled by Tyson’s loyalty. He is loyal to a fault. No matter how much it hurts him, he won’t abandon those he cares about. Once Tyson cares, no matter how afraid he is, he can’t abandon someone; even if he tries to distance himself, Tyson can’t stay away completely.

To Tyson, that is a sign of weakness. That he is being selfish and even more ‘proof’ that he doesn’t deserve that happiness in the first place, because Tyson isn’t a good person, he’s dangerous and being around people puts them at risk. He doesn’t want to put innocent people in the crosshairs.

Staying is a sign of weakness and proves he doesn’t deserve that happiness, whereas running shows that he’s too weak to have earnt that happiness; too weak to deserve it. It’s a no-win scenario. Whatever action Tyson takes, he will convince himself that he’s being a coward.

Motorbike

Given how uncomfortable Tyson is in vehicles of any kind and how unsafe he feels, it’s odd that he feels more comfortable on his motorbike than in a car.

As with most things in Tyson’s life, it’s about having control. He doesn’t like having the control over his movement taken away from him any more than necessary.

He feels more fragile like that, very squishy on the road compared to the tin can death traps he hates so much, but Tyson has more direct control when riding his motorbike than he does when driving a car. His movements and the way he leans affects what is happening, rather than standing in the exact same position in the car.

Another factor is that Tyson doesn’t have as many bad memories related to motorbikes as he does with cars. He wasn’t stacked like sardines with other soldiers in the back of motorbikes, but in jeeps. He wasn’t having to navigate a landmine covered road whilst on a motorbike. He wasn’t watching another motorbike explode further down the road.

Tyson has two impulses related to his OCD around vehicles, only the first one applies to his motorbike as well. When stepping off or out of a vehicle Tyson will always put his left leg out first, despite being right dominant for both hands and feet.

When getting into a car he’ll buckle his seatbelt, unbuckle it, then buckle it again. When very nervous, he’ll continue that cycle several times over. Tyson isn’t aware of that tick’s origin point, only that he feels safer knowing the belt wouldn’t stick. His memories of a jammed harness locking him in place whilst under fire in the army are too hazy for him to remember now.

Smoking

Though he has largely quit to keep as much control over his own life as he can, Tyson allows the occasional indulgence towards smoking: for several reasons.

Sometimes, when his workload within the web is particularly taxing or after a month of very close encounters with The Colonel, Tyson will smoke to soothe his nerves. A quick fix to focus himself enough to stop his hands from shaking, to finish his task and get back home without having a panic attack.

At times, he can choose to smoke because he’s sharing a cigarette with another pet or employee of the web, or someone he’s undercover around. It’s can be a good way to bond with people quickly and definitely a good way to deflect suspicion away from him, by offering to share. And good cover to loiter without attracting attention.

Whenever he’s on a job with Lex, Tyson has two options: let Lex go smoke on his own and get into trouble or to keep an eye on him. Needing his wildcard in hand to be useful, Tyson nearly always chooses to accompany him. Then one of two things happen, he’ll accept his offer to share a cigarette or he’ll decline and end up shotgunning the smoke from Lex anyway.

Tyson knows how to make smoke rings, though he rarely choices to. There are too many bittersweet memories of the army associated with that for him these days. However, he does do the smoke in a bubble trick to entertain his nephew (James) every now and again.

Occasionally, Tyson will smoke others things than tobacco. That’s not the typical route Tyson takes for recreational pain relief or to escape his own mind, but when it’s available - usually when Tyson is visiting Dick in New York - Tyson is amenable to smoking marijuana.

Food

Tyson’s preference in food is plain.

He tends to eat the same food over and over again. Even when he prefers the taste of something else, Tyson will typically keep to that habit, as a way of keeping some control - however small - over his life. He needs that routine and structure.

When Tyson doesn’t like the taste of something, he will still eat it. He has such apathy towards eating things he likes that disliking it really doesn’t change much. It’s a chore, nothing more, to Tyson.

That said, raspberries are a sure fire way to get him to eat something, and Jasmine takes advantages of that whenever she can. He may not eat anything else that goes into his care package, but she can be certain that he’ll eat the raspberry and white chocolate cookies she makes.

Sandwiches are also a good way to distract Tyson into eating, something he can hold in one hand and continue working with the other, passively eating without realising he’s doing so. Once the timing is figured out, one almost finished sub sandwich can easily be swapped out for a fresh one without Tyson registering the change.

His favourite food overall is rice. Plain rice, pilau rice, brown rice, rice pudding. Doesn’t matter, just rice.

His apathy towards food and the Moriarty Mirrors lack of care for their own health has created an odd balance. Tyson has to pull himself out of long work sessions and order food to make sure that the Moriarty Mirrors eat. He makes sure to gets food that’s healthy and tastes good, because it’s not only him eating.

In turn, the Moriarty Mirrors give Tyson plates of apple slices to keep his blood sugars going during long jobs - to keep him focused and working properly, to keep him entertain and providing the ideas they want from him - which means they’ll end up getting food for themselves in the process.