Sherlock boys

Tyson’s opinions of the main Sherlock boys are as follows: my brother by all but blood, "I can’t stand you - I promise", and ‘I don’t love you, but I could’.

John Watson
↳ Former fellow service man and brother-in-arms.

It is a generally accepted head canon that at some point in their army careers Sebastian Moran and John Watson served together. In Tyson’s main timeline he served in the First Bangalore Pioneers with Sebastian. It stands to reason that he would have met Watson at the same time as Moran did. Therefore Tyson knows John from the army.

Most people who served with Tyson in the army didn’t believe that he was innocent when he abandoned after the shooting of General Clarkson. The only people who believed Tyson was innocent were General Clarkson and Sebastian Moran - because they were there at the time - and John. John believed Tyson was innocent, that he wasn’t involved.

When Tyson got back to Britain he hid for a long time before he crossed paths with John again, in London. After a brief conversation where John said he knew Tyson was innocent they went their separate ways. They got on well in the past and John is one of Tyson’s few connections to his previous life in the army that he still has.

Their paths cross every now and again, briefly, and Tyson suspects John knows who he works for but chooses to ignore it for the sake of preserving a friendship. They occasionally talk about the ‘bloody flatmate’ and the 'damn Irishman’ when, once a blue moon, they meet up intentionally but its brief and often avoided; out of a sense of protective guilt at ending up on opposite sides.

Most of their interactions are just a nod of understanding across the street, but it’s enough to keep part of their former companionship alive. It’s a bittersweet reminder of what they once had, and how much has changed since then. Tyson and John were more than brothers in arms, they were brothers-by-all-but-blood.

And they still are. When they can spend time together, Tyson and John are still perfectly in sync with each other. Trading quips and insults without a worry. However, conflicted interests and a desire not to see the other hurt by those interests keep them apart. Pretending to be no more than passing acquaintances.

Mycroft Holmes
↳ The government, begrudgingly accepted acquaintance.

Tyson’s encounters with Mycroft Holmes have all been short, and rather uncomfortable for the former Lieutenant. He knows that Mycroft was ‘aware of’ Tyson’s innocence in the shooting of General Clarkson, and allowed Tyson to enter the lion’s den of the Moriarty Mirrors in the hopes of getting information out of him.

He doesn’t begrudge Mycroft for wanting to take out the Moriarty Mirrors. It comes with the territory, but he does object to the way Mycroft tried to use him - and other people - as pawns.

Mycroft made the decision to force Tyson to live as a fugitive on the off-chance that the Moriarty Mirrors would be interested in him, rather than letting Tyson make the decision himself and clear his name.

From what Tyson now knows about the Moriarty Mirrors? It would not have mattered to them in the slightest if he was working for Mycroft when he was recruited, and Tyson is pretty confident that Mycroft knew that. It was simply more convenient for him to let Tyson suffer.

As far as Tyson is concerned, Mycroft Holmes is a coward who always takes the path of least resistance, least effort, least conviction. And he will keep telling himself that until it rings true, because staying angry at Mycroft is Tyson's only real defense against him.

Sherlock Holmes
↳ John's flatmate, begrudgingly accepted acquaintance.

Most of what Tyson knows about Sherlock Holmes comes from Jim. Tyson doesn’t share his owners’ fixation with the detective, but he stays up-to-date enough to understand what the Jims are talking about in relation to Sherlock. He tries to keep his distance from Sherlock, he doesn’t need the Moriarty Mirrors game with the detective to get anymore complicated by altering his own - largely - neutral opinions towards Sherlock.

He does not like Holmes, but Tyson knows that he has a paper thin defence against caring for him; that defence is avoiding him like the plague. He purposefully keeps a distance from the detective, because he does not need the Moriarty Mirrors game to become any more complicated by falling for another genius determined to burn themselves up.

Holmes Verses Watson

There is a fundamental difference between ‘I could love you, but I don’t’ and ‘I don’t love you, but I could’. That is the crux of the difference between Tyson’s thoughts about John Watson and Sherlock Holmes. The type of love differs, but the point remains.

Tyson absolutely does love John. They are simpatico, brothers-in-arms, brothers by all but blood. Romantically? Oh, Tyson knows that he could have fallen for John, easily, but he doesn’t love him romantically. And that’s fine. Whatever alternative path they could have taken, Tyson is happy where he stands with John.

Sherlock, on the other hand, is a more complicated feeling for Tyson. He does not like Holmes, but Tyson knows that he has a paper thin defence against caring for him; and that defence is avoiding him like the plague. He purposefully keeps a distance from the detective, because he does not need the Moriarty Mirrors game to become any more complicated by fallnig for another genius determinded to burn themselves up.

Within Canon

Though it’s ultimately academic as Tyson exists in a world with (limited) magical influence and duplicate Moriartys, within the timeline of BBC Sherlock canon, Tyson technically becomes an AU after Series 2.

That said, elements of Series 3 and Series 4 exist within Tyson’s world.

On the rooftop of St Bartholomew’s Hospital, Mischief earnt that nickname from his previous CCT. He faked his death with hyper-realistic blood packs and nanobots to ensure his vital signs were absent for any checks, should his clean-up team be delayed or his body intercepted before they could arrive.

Meanwhile, Sunshine was the one pulling the strings of the web to make sure Sherlock had to follow through with his half of the ‘deal’. Theoretically, Tyson was doing his part to make sure everything went to plan, but in truth, he was having his heart ripped out listening to John’s anguish.

Sherlock then went on to dismantle parts of the web, that is true. However, the Moriarty Mirrors viewed this more as a spring cleaning. They laid low for a while, protected what was essential, and allowed Holmes to tidy up anything that wasn’t clever enough to survive without linking back to them.

For now, with Sherlock’s return to London and notoriety, the Moriarty Mirrors are content to leave him alone to his own devices. If Sherlock is aware of their continued existences, he has also left them alone. Tyson doesn’t expect that peace to last indefinitely nor for the next round to end so bloodlessly.

Though John didn’t know that Sherlock lived before he returned, he knew that Moriarty was still around. Simply due to the fact that Tyson hadn’t fled London or committed suicide to escape The Colonel once more. Now that Sherlock is back, they’ve returned to pretend not to know who the other is talking about in relation to a maddening flatmate and an insufferable Irish boss.

Charles Augustus Magnussen is alive and occasionally has dealings with the Moriarty Mirrors, but the events of Series 3 around Sherlock have not happened yet in Tyson’s timeline; and aren’t ever likely to. The Moriarty Mirrors would not take kindly to him poking their consulting curiosity.

Though Mary Morstan exists, in Tyson’s main universe Mary is not currently married to John Watson; who moved back into 221B Baker Street a few months after Sherlock’s return to London. Tyson won’t even pretend to know the current dynamic of their on and off again relationship, but he can say with certainty that John doesn’t have a child with Mary.

However, John does have a beagle called Toby, previously called Gladstone at the shelter. He was adopted as a way to help John grieve after Sherlock ‘died’ and has since started working with Sherlock during his detective cases; having already received some training from Tyson during that year where Tyson could pretend that he and John weren’t still on opposite sides and could see his former brother in arms a little more frequently.

If she exists, Tyson has never heard of Eurus Holmes and the Moriarty Mirrors have never mentioned her either. It wouldn’t have been the first time they had kept secrets from him, especially concerned their obsession with Holmes, but to date, there is no reason for Tyson to know of Eurus.