Elemental AU: Book I (Water)

Tyson is most naturally aligned with Earth, but how would Tyson manage with the other four elements?

Tyson loves water and he’s a great stamina swimmer, but Tyson doesn’t mesh with water as an element.

Water is the element of change and adaptability. Whilst it’s true that Tyson is incredibly adaptable, that is a combination of always having a backup plan for every backup plan and thinking quickly on his feet, rather than an agree-ability to change. Tyson is very resistant to change.

He will roll with the punches like an expert, but it is far more in Tyson’s nature to plant his feet and endure whatever is thrown at him than to change his form.

In combat, he does prefer to use his opponents’ strength against them, but the way Tyson utilises that it more direct - in using it to force an opening for him to exploit, taking advantage of a moment - rather than his primary fighting style.

As a fighter, Tyson wants to be darting in-and-out of the mid-to-close range. Defending until an opportunity opens, then doing as much damage as possible before waiting again. A largely reactionary style doesn’t suit him. He’s an opportunity fighter.

He has the self-control and discipline that water demands as well as the poise and patience, but Tyson simply does not work with the slower more graceful style of water. He is more comfortable planting his feet in one place between bursts of movement. Stop and start fighting, rather than flowing from one movement to the next.

Water is something that Tyson can admire and understand, but it’s not an element that Tyson could comfortably wield.

So, that’s water coming in third.

Cold Water

One of the worst triggers for Tyson’s PTSD is cold water over his head.

Cold water is never fun for him, given the hypersensitive nature of the dog bite scar on his shoulder and the dent in his torso, but cold water pouring over his head is especially triggering for the former Lieutenant.

It’s a mix of his most traumatic memories of Sebastian’s attacks during the monsoon in India and memories of being waterboarded, during his time spent captive in Afghanistan and by his former brothers-in-arms once captured after Moran abandoned Tyson to save his own skin.

Swimming

Though Tyson rarely swims anywhere other than a private pool to avoid people seeing his scars, he genuinely loves swimming.

He feels reinvigorated when he’s swimming. He can only really float whilst facing downwards, but he’s a strong stamina swimmer and his best stroke is front stroke.

He loves swimming underwater and exploring the things around him. He’s pretty easy to keep out of trouble for a few hours by repeatedly throwing things into the water for him to fetch.

Some of Tyson’s most treasured memories are of sneaking out to swim with Jethro in the creak by the family manor or swimming in the rivers in India with Sebastian to cool off, and then heat up, after a day escaping pursuit.

There’s a freedom to it that Tyson can’t fully explain. That weightlessness, yet also resistance in the water, reminding Tyson that he’s still solid, that he’s not drifting off. It’s like having a safety net around his entire body.

Coral

Where Tyson’s opinion of coral is largely lukewarm, Jethro is fascinated by it.

Between Tyson’s army deployments and when Rosie & Jethro were engaged, they all went on holiday together and went diving. Or rather, Jethro went diving, Tyson was strong-armed into following him, and Rosie stayed up on the boat to sunbathe.

Until that boat trip out, Tyson had forgotten quite how much Jethro enjoyed coral. Or perhaps a better way of putting it would be that Tyson had suppressed the memory of how much Jethro knew about coral.

The expected whining of his anxiety about being his oxygen tank exploding every few minutes aside, Tyson actually found diving to be rather peaceful. He always enjoys water, and especially when he gets the enjoy the experience with his older brother.

It was a good holiday all around, actually. They got a little tipsy, found the time for a BBQ, lost and subsequently found a pair of Rosie’s shoes, managed to break a rented bike, and Rosie & Tyson learned more about coral than they ever really wanted to.

Hot Springs

Though many things that Tyson found enjoyment in from his time in the army with The Colonel and their escape across the Middle East have been sullied by bad memories, there are ones that only conjure up good memories of those days.

One of those is hot-springs, hot tubs, and saunas; of the conventional forms of stress relief, Tyson does tends to get good results from those that require heat. Since those days, there is an added benefit in helping to soothe the pain from his old wounds.

Something that Tyson has observed when travelling around is that certain people have a ‘radar’ for finding certain places within a city. Dick and Sebastian, and many others with a dependency on alcohol, will immediate narrow in on the location of a bar.

Without failure, Kim would make a beeline for any stall selling sweet, sticky treats in the ever-changing and rearranging marketplace in Turkmenistan. He can always trust Billy to track down the best Italian restaurants and Nate seems to have a magnetic connection to any place that sells brunch.

One of the other places that Tyson could reliably expect The Colonel to home in on as reliably as Tyson’s Synesthesia could were hot-springs and saunas. He has good memories of team bonding exercises, The Colonel dragging the First Bangalore Pioneers out during a week break between deployments to go to an artificial hot-spring he’d managed to track down.

Tyson remembers passing through one of the few larger towns that Sebastian and he dared to brave during their escape, his entire body aching and being surprised when Sebastian decided on impulse to spent their scraps of money on a hotel room/suite. Looking back, he should have guessed that there would be a hot tub on the balcony. The hot food that they absolutely did not pay for was also a nice treat.

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.

Water

This is a headcanon that has been told several times:

Tyson loves water.

Tyson was taught to swim by his brother, Jethro Andrew Delaney, who used to take him to a small creak near the family manor, and sometimes to the river in the family manor’s ground when it was summer and there had been a heavy rainfall making it deep enough to go in.

Though he’ll whine about being wet when he gets out of the water Tyson does love being in it, except when it comes to baths. He hates taking baths, even after a long run when he feels like he never want to stand again he’ll take a shower rather than getting into the bath, because he didn’t like just sitting in a pool of water. It’s the same reasoning he gives when his nephew wants him to join him in the sea or in a swimming pool. However, when presented with an open lagoon Tyson would gladly sit in the water for hours on end.

He likes being in fresh water with lots of room the best though, especially those near waterfalls. Tyson adores waterfalls, almost to the same level as he does mathematics, maps, and dogs. They are a source of wondrous beauty for Tyson that the man-made world cannot corrupt.

Swimming gives him a freedom. It takes him away from the world. He can’t fully meditate when floating because he has buoyancy issues. He can flow perfectly, but only face down which causes an issue if he wants to breath. If he tries to float on his back then his head would sink under water - unless he keeps pushing it up - until he rotates around to floating on his stomach.

Rain holds less affection in Tyson’s heart. The constant, dismal onslaught of rain from the British weather takes away a lot of the joy rainfall can bring, but even so he appreciates the mathematical challenge that rain can give. He knows the formulae for predicting where each rain drop will fall. His view on rain does improve once he’s inside, however.

There is a divide amongst Tyson’s pets when it comes to water.

Lily [Dalmatian/Dhole] hates water. When they first met, Lily was terrified of water; including the river she led him to for water. Since those days, Tyson has helped her calm down and taught her to swim, but she still hates taking a bath and she never wants to stay out in the rain. More often than not, Tyson will wash her in the en-suite’s walk-in shower instead.

Bobby [Dalmatian/Dhole/Beagle] - on the other hand - loves water, and swimming, and rain, and jumping in puddles, and… anything wet. When he was a smaller dog, Bobby used to swim laps in the bathtub. Whenever Tyson goes to take a shower, Bobby insists on jumping in to join him.

Jack [Doberman] is largely impartial about water. Whilst he won’t care about walking out in the rain, he also won’t jump into the water; unless it’s a very hot day or ordered in by Tyson. Bath time has always been easy with Jack.

Meg [Welsh Border Collie] also loves water, natural water anyway. Unlike Bobby, Meg would take some coaxing to get into a chlorinated pool. As soon you’ve spotted a pond, lake, or river, Meg is already in it. And pulling out the biggest stick she can find to play fetch with.

Mandy [Tabby] is continually curious about water, especially running water. However, that thought is abandoned the moment her body gets wet. Tyson can clean her legs, tail, and ears without her raising a fuss. She’s easy to calm and, unless she falls in the water, doesn’t start scratching, but she’s clearly distressed.

Felix [Ragdoll] hasn’t shown a great interest in water, but he’s largely apathetic about being wet. He won’t even bother to dry himself. He just lays his soaking wet body down on the bed for someone else to deal with later.

Draco [Dragon] responds like a tiny bird to water. 

Showers

One of hundred and one strange quirks Tyson has is showering in his swimming trunks. He lifts the waistband to put soap on himself then lets the water run through to remove the soap from his body.

Tyson has never been comfortable in his own body so showers whilst wearing his trunks because this makes him feel covered; and safer because of that. Another part of it is paranoia, and possibly also Pyscho's influence in the public mind, of feeling unsafe when he can't always hear over the sound of water/having nowhere to run. Largely his OCD makes the shower a safe calming space for Tyson, but once he's already on edge it's hard to take comfort in that.

When he's in a hurry yet needs a shower - to settle his OCD or for genuine need - he won't waste the time doing this, but this is the norm for him. Something that has only been compounded by Bobby's need to jump under any running water. Tyson isn't embarrassed about being naked around his dogs, but if he can do anything to minimise the changes of Bobby's claws catching sensitive areas, he'll take it.

Fear of water.

When they met Lily was afraid of water, Tyson taught her to swim.

Soup

Jethro used to sneak Tyson out with him on summer nights so that they could swim in the creak after the area became a national park and they couldn't go in the day time.

Once they went in the late Autumn and Tyson got hypothermia. Jethro left so guilt he stayed at home with Tyson until he got better, as their father worked all day he didn't notice and Jethro phoned the school to say they both had chicken pox so they school wouldn't tell their father they weren't at school. It was during that week the Tyson learned to cook chicken soup by watching Jethro make it for him. Now whenever Tyson is ill he makes chicken soup like Jethro made it even though the recipe isn't as nice to him as the canned soups.