Idle Sounds

Tyson has a tendency to be quiet, if not wholly silent, most of the time.

Though Tyson is an excellent singer, he rarely elects to do so when he’s on his own. He spent the majority of his childhood being taught to stay quiet unless addressed directly. He doesn’t tend to make any noise unless he has to. On a good day, he’ll hum - very quietly - to himself, but singing is rare.

If one were to catch Tyson making any type of idle sound, faintly muttering to himself to straighten out his thought process is far more likely than humming or whistling. Sound for sound’s sake is asking for trouble, but - so long as he’s being quiet - speaking to himself shows that he’s working.

Generally, Tyson does enjoy his silence and tends to keep his silence even when he has background noise on, but there are times when keeping silent becomes oppressive and he needs to talk to get rid of the vice in his throat. Preferably, he would talk to his dogs, but he’ll speak to himself if it proves necessary.

Stutter & Speech

Though there is always a reason for the way and extent to which Tyson alters his speech for different situations, it does make his stutter and speech patterns one of the more inconsistent parts of him to observe from moment to moment.

He relies heavily on alliteration to keep a rhythm and will go out of his way to avoid words that he’s likely to stutter on, whilst also trying to avoid ‘half syllable words’ and censoring those he might have chosen to use naturally; to avoid sounding too intelligent and keep people underestimating him.

This frequently leads to Tyson speaking in short, clunky sentences that are as cumbersome to say as they are to hear. As Tyson grows more comfortable, or falls back on familiar practised phrases, he becomes more eloquent; stringing together longer sentences with a much broader vocabulary.

Lies

Tyson has told many lies over the course of his life.

Many that were to have his own life or the lives of those he cares about to the detriment of others and others that he knows saved many lives in the process of hurting the people that he cares about or himself. There are many lies that Tyson will gladly repeat until the end of time.

He is not without regrets, however, there are few lies that weigh on Tyson’s mind and keep him awake. Though he finds it easy to tell half-truths and talk circles around people with technicalities, Tyson does not lie lightly. He can and will lie when he needs to, but when Tyson does lie, it is with the certainty that there was no other option left.

Languages

Tyson is fluent in English, Latin, Hebrew, and American & British Sign Language.

He knows enough Yiddish, French, Russian, and Spanish to get by comfortably, but certainly isn’t fluent. He can (comfortably) speak but not read German, and read but not speak Hindi. Tyson is in the process of learning Mandarin. His Arabic is shakey at best; lots of pieces that don't quite fit together in a full understanding.

Languages known by the characters in Tyson’s universe, other than English:
Those in Italics are only semi-fluent with that language.

• Arabic
  Dick Gannon, Sebastian Moran, Tyson Delaney
• American Sign Language
  Dick Gannon, Levi McCullum, Sienna McCullum, Tyson Delaney 
• British Sign Language
  Charlie Hotchner, Hal Malone, Jasmine Dartmoor, Levi McCullum, Lex, Richard Delaney, Rosie Delaney, Sebastian Moran, Sienna McCullum, Tyson Delaney 
• French
  Charlie Hotchner, Isaac Arlington, Jeremy Thornton, Jethro Andrew Delaney, John Delaney, Levi McCullum, Lex, Nate Morrison, Reginald Arlington,  Richard Delaney, Sebastian Moran, Sienna McCullum, Tyson Delaney 
• German
  Anne Williams, Billy Ramsey, Hal Malone, Jethro Andrew Delaney, John Delaney,Tyson Delaney
• Hebrew
  Anne Williams, James Delaney, Jasmine Dartmoor, Jethro Andrew Delaney, John Delaney, Sebastian Moran, Tyson Delaney 
• Hindi
  Sebastian Moran, Tyson Delaney 
• Irish (Gaelic)
  Levi McCullum, Lex
• Italian
  Charlie Hotchner, Lex, Rosie Delaney, Sienna McCullum
• Japanese
  Charlie Hotchner, Tae Dōjima, Sienna McCullum
• Korean
  Kimiko Bùi
• Klingon
  George Cartwright, Tae Dōjima
• Latin
  Jethro Andrew Delaney, John Delaney, Reginald Arlington, Richard Delaney, Sebastian Moran, Tyson Delaney
• Mandarin
  Kimiko Bùi, Lex, Tyson Delaney
• Russian
  Nate Morrison, Tyson Delaney 
• Spanish
  Charlie Hotchner, Isaac Arlington, James Delaney, Jasmine Dartmoor, Jethro Andrew Delaney, Nate Morrison, Richard Delaney, Tyson Delaney 
• Vietnamese
  Kimiko Bùi 
• Welsh
  Billy Ramsey, Reginald Arlington
• Yiddish
  Anne Williams, Jethro Andrew Delaney, John Delaney, Richard Delaney, Tyson Delaney 

Accent

Tyson speaks with a broad, yet posh, Cambridge accent usually.

Without his stutter hindering him, his vowels weren’t as stretched - reducing how broad, and deep, his voice sounded overall - and drawing attention away from the sharper, clipped edges of his consonants; a slight inflexion led by considering Hebrew to be his first language.

Whenever Tyson is becoming sick or already running a fever, he tends to stutter more on the letter P; due to the way the internal temperature increase messes with his tongue.

When drunk, the letter R becomes nigh impossible for Tyson to form properly, it becomes a W instead. A stark contrast to the rolled R that had been drilled into his usually precise received pronunciation by countless tutors, but that’s rather the point: it was drilled into Tyson to rolled his Rs, leading off of Hebrew, Tyson doesn’t naturally enunciate his Rs.

There are three accents that Tyson can reliably imitate: New York (Brooklyn/Queens), Cockney/Essex, & Dublin.

His New York accent definitely leans stronger towards Brooklyn where, once again, Tyson is guided by his Jewish roots, but when Tyson ends up having to maintain his New York accent, he inevitably gets lazy about his pronunciation and strays into Queens a little, particularly on longer words.

Similarly, his Essex accent is spot on, to begin with, but when he’s speaking for an extended period of time, it will end up straying into a more generalised Cockney. The only accent that Tyson can reliably and consistently produce outside of his own without it straying is a Dublin accent. He has that one down to a tee.

Qualifications

At the top of his list of qualifications are Tyson’s three Ph.Ds that he earnt by the time he was sixteen. One in military history, one in applied mathematics, and one in theoretical mathematics.

Though Tyson has continued his education in London since then, and is more than capable of earning other Ph.Ds/Masters, Tyson has declined the opportunity to even try for anything above Level 6. He doesn’t feel as though he has a right to even try, when the privilege was handed to him on a silver platter the first time around.

Here is the list of his current qualifications in order of UK qualification levels:

Level 8

• PhD - Applied Mathematics - Cambridge University
• PhD - Theoretical Mathematics - Cambridge University
• PhD - Military History - Cambridge University

Level 7

• Master of Engineering - University College London
• Master of History - Cambridge University
• Master of Mathematics - Cambridge University
• Postgraduate certificate in Education (PGCE)

Level 6

• Bachelor of Criminology - City, University of London
• Bachelor of Economics - London School of Economics
• Bachelor of Engineering - University College London
• Bachelor of History - Cambridge University
• Bachelor of Mathematics - Cambridge University
• Bachelor of Law - Cambridge University
• Bachelor of Physics - University of London
• Level 6 Certificate in British Sign Language Studies 

Level 5

• American Sign Language Certificate (Level 5 Equivalent)
• Command, Leadership and Management (CLM) - Army
• DipHE - Architecture - City, University of London 
• DipHE - Classical Studies - Cambridge University
• DipHE - English Literature - University of London 
• DipHE - Mathematics Sciences - University College London
• Foundation Degree in Computing and IT Practice - Open University
• Foundation Degree in Engineering - Open University
• OCR Level 5 NVQ - Learning and Development

Level 4

• ActiveIQ Level 4 Certificate in Education and Training
• CertHE - Applied Physics - University of London
• CertHE - Common Law - College of London
• CertHE - Business Management - Open University
• CertHE - History (French Revolution) - City, University of London 
• CertHE - History (Persian) - University of London
• CertHE - Social Sciences - City, University of London 

Level 3

• A Level - Art -  Cambridge International School
• A Level - English Literature -  Cambridge International School
• A Level - Hebrew -  Cambridge International School
• A Level - History -  Cambridge International School
• A Level - Latin -  Cambridge International School
• A Level - Law -  Cambridge International School
• A Level - Mathematics -  Cambridge International School
• A Level - Physics -  Cambridge International School
• ABRSM - Piano Grade 6
• AS - Economics -  Cambridge International School
• AS - Statistics -  Cambridge International School
• Cambridge Technicals - Business
• Cambridge Technicals - Engineering
• IQL - Emergency First Aid at Work
• OCN - Principles of Dog Training and Behaviour
• OCR ICT Level 3
• OCR Mathematics for Engineering Level 3
• Range Management Qualification - Leadership & Mangement - Army

Level 2

• Cambridge Nationals Level 2 - Business and Enterprise 
• ESOL Skills for Life Certificate Level 2
• GCSE A* - Biblical Hebrew - Cambridge International School 
• GCSE A* - Geography - Cambridge International School 
• GCSE A* - History - Cambridge International School 
• GCSE A* - Mathematics - Cambridge International School
• GCSE A* - Physics - Cambridge International School 
• GCSE A - Art and Design - Cambridge International School 
• GCSE A - Chemistry - Cambridge International School
• GCSE A - Economics - Cambridge International School 
• GCSE A - English - Cambridge International School
• GCSE A - Latin - Cambridge International School 
• GCSE A - Law - Cambridge International School 
• GCSE B - Biology - Cambridge International School
• GCSE B - French - Cambridge International School
• GCSE B - Spanish - Cambridge International School
• GCSE C - German - Cambridge International School
• HABC Award in First Aid at Work Level 2 

Level 1

• ABRSM - Descant Recorder Grade 3
• ABRSM - Treble Recorder Grade 2
• AQA - Personal and Social Education Level 1
• British Red Cross Certificate of Learning Level 1
• Functional Skills ICT Level 1

And then, these aren’t academics qualification, yet they are things that Tyson has achieved to the point of receiving a medal, certificate, or qualification:

Other

• A B+E C1+E Driver’s License
• ASA Stage 7 Swimming Award
• British Academy of Fencing Epée Gold Award
• British Academy of Fencing Saber Gold Award 
• British Academy of Fencing Foil Silver Award 
• Diver Level 2 Qualification - Autonomous Diver
• Conspicuous Gallantry Cross 
• George Cross
• Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan
• The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (Gold)
• Victoria Cross

Stutter

Tyson’s stutter comes from his anxiety rather than a speech impediment and it almost entirely social.

He is comfortable around the Moriarty Mirrors and The Colonel, even though he shouldn’t be for a variety of reasons, and due to this Tyson doesn’t stutter around them. Tyson doesn’t stutter when addressing his brother or his dogs; or animals in general, actually.

The more comfortable Tyson becomes around a person, the less he stutters around them, and the more confident his speech; as he drifts away from clunky, stilted sentences to the words he actually wants to say yet avoids to lessen the severity of his stutter.

Tyson has dozens of prepared phrases in his back-pocket and part of that is about avoiding his stutter. When saying a line he’s rehearsed for hours, Tyson is incredibly unlikely to stutter. That is why he typically introduces himself with the familiar, “Lieutenant Tyson Delaney, at your service.”

In many ways, those phrases are a crutch. If he uses them too much, Tyson doesn’t truly get comfortable around the person and - as such - his stutter doesn’t reduce.

His stutter changes based on who he is addressing. For example: when talking to Jim with a stranger in the room, Tyson will not stutter when addressing Moriarty and the room at large, but he will stutter when directly addressing the stranger.

Being surrounded by crowds on the street will also cause him to stutter around someone he otherwise wouldn’t, as his anxiety overrides his comfort zone and calm.

Names

Tyson uses names in a variety of ways.

When he’s nervous, Tyson tends to overuse names to the point of hampering his words to the point of being difficult to understand.

More generally, Tyson uses people’s names to put them at ease, then as a way of calming himself; with the knowledge that the implied familiarity of using someone’s name will help reduce his social stutter. And then, simply out of habit, even when he no longer stutters around a person.

As well as using names to create an artificial closeness, Tyson’s choice of name can be used to create distance and separate out different parts of his life. He adores Darling with all of his heart and is glad to be his loyal Pup, his hands are soaked in blood for Moriarty, and Jim is the beloved - if exasperating - Irishman that Tyson must bribe to take sustenance.

Sebastian is the man Tyson, foolishly, loves and would gladly die for. Moran is the sniper who’s talents he respects and the commanding officer snapping at him like a hound lashing out. The Colonel is the one who beat Tyson bloody then abandoned him for dead.

Anthony Hawthorne is Tyson’s default cover name, borrowing the name from his Great Grandfather, and Sebastian publishes his books under the false name, Zachary M. Cohen. If given time to develop into its own personality, The Soldier would take the name Anthony eventually.

Digital Communication

Even though Tyson is frequently working from his laptop for the web, he prefers to only communicate from his phone.

When Tyson is using his laptop to following a team through security cameras and wipe the footage once they pass by, relaying information to them could be done just as easily through a headset with as speaking into his phone, but Tyson will always use his phone instead.

He does the same thing for instant messengers that Tyson could access on his laptop as easily as he does his phone, but Tyson will always answer those messages from his phone; even if he has the program open on his laptop to read those messages from.

It’s not a compulsion from his OCD, but it is a way of doing things that Tyson will steadfastly standby.

Fruit

‘Fruit’ is the description Tyson typically falls back on when denying his homosexuality.

The logic being this is typically Tyson. Plausible deniability in case anyone calls him out on his attraction to men.

Fruit typically refers to a male homosexual, which technically isn’t Tyson’s orientation as he is romantically bi. He isn’t any more inclined to admit that to anyone, but that does mean that when he says “I’m not a fruit” he isn’t lying.

If there is anyone that Tyson can lie to, it’s himself.