Bird or the cage?

Elizabeth: Mr. DeWitt–here!
A Gentleman: Bird?
A Lady: Or the cage?
A Gentleman: Or perhaps the bird?
A Lady: Nothing beats the cage.
Booker: These two again? How do– …Never mind.
Elizabeth: Look at these, they’re amazing! Which one do you like more? This one…or this? The bird is beautiful, and… the cage is somber, but there’s really something special about it. I just can’t decide.
- Bioshock Infinite

Does it even need to be said?

Our little Icarus would rather rip his own wings off, if it prevented them from getting clipped again or if he thought the cage door was closing.

He will not be caged. Even the illusion to putting him in a cage, literal or metaphorical, will make sure that Tyson never returns.

Tyson would rather fly free, and have the trust from someone else that he will always come back. That so long as the door remains open, Tyson will tumble in through the window instead.

He assumes that it’s part of being a soldier: the romance of being on the road, always having someone waiting back home, et cetera. That’s more of a commitment to him, than being tied down: having to trust that whilst the other is away, they’re happy and that they’ll be coming back home eventually.

Tyson isn’t someone who will move in with you, but he will climb through your fourth-floor apartment window with a cavalier - devil may care - smile and stay for as long as he can, then leave the way he came with a promise to come back soon.

Which is why his arrangement with the Moriarty Mirrors works.

Employment to the web is for life. You cannot leave.

And yet, The Moriarty Mirrors can tell Tyson with complete sincerity that ‘he is free to leave at any time’, because he never will. And they all know it. There is no danger in allowing Tyson to remove his leash. He will always come back. He will not betray them.

Tyson knows that it’s a far bigger trap than an actual cage. That his loyalty will be his undoing. Yet so long as he has the choice to leave, Tyson will always remain as their loyal Pup instead.

Loyalty

Loyalty is Tyson’s greatest strength and his greatest weakness.

He is, quite literally, loyal to a fault. It will be his downfall.

Though he will continue to give until his confusingly big heart has nothing left to give, Tyson does not trust easily. He expects to get hurt and gives anyway. That in and of itself makes him vulnerable to manipulation.

What makes him more vulnerable is that once his trust is gained, it is near impossible to break his loyalty. His trust may be broken, but Tyson will still come when called and follow that person’s moral code as though it were his own. He will go to any length for those that he is loyal to.

The worst part is that Tyson knows this. Our little Icarus knows that he’s going to burn himself up, and does it gladly, because - to him - it is entirely worth whatever pain may come to bask in the sun; whether that is The Colonel or the Moriarty Mirrors, Tyson will gladly take that leap of faith every time.

Tyson would never believe for even a second that his loyalty isn’t a strength. He is glad that he cares, glad to plant his feet and hold fast in his ideals, but that doesn’t mean that Tyson is naïve about the way it causes him to expose his throat.

His loyalty is a strength. It makes his dependable. A good friend. Valuable to keep around. No matter how far he wanders, Tyson will always come home; just as loyal and dedicated as when he left. This earns his more freedom, in his utter obedience; if one chooses to ignore all the ways that he is disobedient.

The Moriarty Mirrors can tell Tyson with complete sincerity that ‘he is free to leave at any time’, because he never will. And they all know it. There is no danger in allowing Tyson to remove his leash. He will always come back. He will not betray them.

If Sebastian had shown that trust, things would have ended up differently.

That knowledge means that Tyson can be trusted to do as he likes. He isn’t chomping at the bit to rebel or waiting for an opportunity to run. He doesn’t need to be reminded of his place. Tyson knows it. He chose to be there. He is content there.

One day, his loyalty to dangerous, amoral people will get him killed.

It will be his downfall and Tyson is okay with that. Genuinely. He welcomes it.

Rivalry

A good to way to visualise how Tyson handles rivalry is the dual-meanings of the slang, “Come on, snake. Let’s rattle!”

He is competitive with Sebastian in a rival like way, during the times when he isn’t cowering from The Colonel. He pushes Sebastian to be the best possible version of himself; Tyson will drag Moran, kicking and screaming, if he has to.

The difference between working together and against each other is the difference between a single step in the dance, and back again.

Rivalry to Tyson takes the form of a rival from the Pokémon series. Not an adversary or antagonist, but a challenger; someone competing with another to push them to try harder and be better - competing with, rather than against - towards a common goal.

This is most obvious with his Love/Hate relationship with Sebastian Moran, but also applies to his relationship with the Moriarty Mirrors. It’s give and take. Maybe that means dancing over rooftops with Sebastian to bamboozle the police, or matching him blow for blow in an alleyway brawl.

Maybe that means joining the Moriarty Mirrors in whatever convoluted tango they have gotten caught up in, or maybe it means fighting tooth and claw to make them understand - and accept - a different solution when their gaze is already set on a shiny prize.

He doesn’t want to cage Sebastian or deny the Moriarty Mirrors their prize, but Tyson will never allow any of them to rest on their laurels or stray too far from the path. When he agrees with the goal, Tyson will match them step for step. When he disagrees, Tyson won’t dig his heels in and refuse to help. He will fight for a better solution, or for a justification for their decision, that satisfies everyone.

Tyson caught The Colonel’s interest and keeps the Moriarty Mirrors’ interests as their loyal Pup - not by being a ‘yes man’, but - by challenging them. He doesn’t disagree for the sake of disagreeing, of being disobedient and stomping his feet to maintain independence. Tyson fights to make sure everyone stays sharp and becomes the best version of themselves.

He doesn’t wait for an opening, a ‘does anyone disagree?’ or ‘are there any objections?’ Tyson will speak up whenever he needs to. He will bring the challenge to table himself: Come on, snake. Let’s rattle!

M&M&D

Tyson is intrinsically tied to the Moriarty Mirrors and The Colonel. The different ways Tyson fears and loves them have been compared before, so let’s compare some of the ways in which all four of them are similar and different.

One of the Moriarty Mirrors goes by the nickname/code name Sunshine and the other CCT/Mischief, depending on if he’s pre or post-Reichenbach. Where Tyson is their willing Pup, he was forced into being Sebastian’s Kitten. Sebastian was given the monikers of Basher and The Colonel, but he chose Tiger.

An obvious place to begin is that they are all incredibly smart people and all cliché enough to love playing chess. For all brutishness and mayhem, they are all academics to a greater or lesser extent. Always searching for a challenge, something to push the boundaries of what they know or can do.

They’re all educated to a university level and all four of them know Latin. Speak of which; though they are all attracted to men and the degree to which they’ll accept women into their beds varies, the general consensus is ‘when necessary’.

In a more serious discussion of language, all of them have English and Latin in common. Whilst Tyson can only read Hindi, Sebastian mastered it during their travels. He’s picked up a word or two, but largely any Gaelic from the Moriarty Mirrors is lost on Tyson. Not on Moran, however.

Tyson’s Russian is better than Moran’s, but Sebastian’s understanding of French and Spanish is far superior. Though Hebrew and the limited Yiddish Tyson knows is meaningless to Moran, between them the Moriarty Mirrors are competent in both.

To Tyson, loyalty is the most important thing: his greatest strength and his biggest weakness. Moran demands loyalty, instantly and unwavering. With the Moriarty Mirrors, loyalty is expected yet earnt; betrayal is not accepted, but questioning loyal doesn’t matter, so long as the correct decision is made in the end.

Tyson knows what Sebastian and Mischief’s whiskey-soaked kisses taste like, but the reverse is only true for Sebastian. He has, however, ended up shotgunning cigarettes with all three. Tyson has had all three of their blood on him, at separate times, and they have all had his blood on them: having spilt it themselves and after someone else injured him.

They share old-fashioned tastes - in suits, in whiskey, et cetera - but how far they look into the future varies wildly. Tyson is a paranoid little jackrabbit with backup plans for every backup plan, desperately trying to plan around the Moriarty Mirrors ever-changing whims and the natural ebb & flow of the web.

Moran reminisces within his own history and loves history in general, but he lives for the moment rather than the future. Where Sunshine has his focus more on the past, favouring his antiques, Mischief is more commonly looking forward to new inventions, new prizes; but both have grand plans for the future and value past victories.

Confusingly Big Heart

For all of his bountiful trust issues, Tyson is far too forgiving.

It’s summed up perfectly in this thread with flight-of-the-thieving-magpie:

What Jim finds more shocking than any of the rest of it - even the dent - is that having been bitten so badly so many times by dogs, Tyson is still so fond of them. Jim would not be nearly so tolerant. It says a lot about Tyson’s character, that he is willing to look past so much, to press on with his life and to continue facing things that by all rights should scare him or at least make him horridly uncomfortable. To have fondness for something, or someone, who has hurt him so badly is a clear sign to Jim that this man is either extremely stupid or has a confusingly big heart and a kind disposition that cannot be changed so easily. Already, Jim knows that he is not stupid.

It’s no wonder he’s been taken advantage of so easily.

And here with blackvclvct:

He’d been burned again and again. And yet, Tyson still offered out his heart and compassion - his body and soul, for friendship and love, and even that old lady down the road with a barbed tongue and far too many shopping bags - not without caution, but aboneheaded determination to give until his confusingly big heart had nothing left to offer. 

No matter what harm The Colonel does to him, Tyson will still come when he calls and will always love Sebastian Moran. No matter how much he despises the work he does for the Moriarty Mirrors, Tyson will jump through a thousand immoral hoops to please them. He is loyal to a fault.

Tyson isn’t dumb. He had always has an escape plan and a backup plan for every backup plan. He weights every risk against the reward, but Tyson has an odd reasoning for which risks are worthwhile and even if he’s bitten every time, Tyson will continue to offer his hand if there is even the slimmest chance of him helping someone else.

Once bitten, twice shy - yes, that is a core component of Tyson’s character. But Tyson still has to try. It’s compulsive. He can’t leave a friend behind. He can’t leave a good deed undone. With more caution, bandages and an escape route on hand, but Tyson will still put his hand out.

Loyalty

One of the things that makes Sebastian such a threat to Tyson is that Tyson will still do anything for him, despite all the abuse he suffered by the Colonel’s hand.

Tyson doesn’t trust easily, for obvious reasons, but once you have his trust he’ll do anything for you without a seconds thought. Jim, both Sunshine and CCT, are his priority, but as he puts it:

“My loyalty lies with the Jims. They are everything to me and have me heart, mind, and soul, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be loyal to others. I am loyal to my dogs, my brother, and those I care about. So long as they don’t wish harm upon my owners I will serve them willingly.”

This makes Sebastian so much more dangerous, because whilst Tyson’s loyalty to him had faded it still remains and, most likely, always will. If Sebastian is hurt Tyson will look after him despite knowing that the second he is better he will hurt him. This is exactly the same for anyone Tyson is loyal to [Raven, Jo AU, Castor, Eir, Gabriel] which is why it takes a while for Tyson to become loyal to people; he is afraid to because he knows that if he comes loyal to someone then he’ll always be loyal to them which puts him in a weaker position. 

If Sebastian whistles then Tyson will come running.

Brothers before all others.

When Tyson returned to Britian he stayed with his brother for three weeks but he left because he knew the army would be looking for his brother to track him down. Jethro was taken in for questioning but said he didn't know where Tyson was and that he hadn't seen him.