Army Buds

Naturally, Tyson served with many people during his army days. Here are the touch notes on notable people from those days in increasing rank order and faces approximated in Fallout 4′s character creation, because screw finding FCs.

Corporal Melissa Gordon

• She was the chef at the base Ty & Seb last served in before deserting.
• She was always telling jokes whilst hanging out food, the life of the party.
• She had a two-year-old son, Simon, back at home with her husband, Olan.
• During his escape with Sebastian, Tyson clipped her arm with a bullet. Purely by accident, he had been trying to avoid hitting anyone directly.
• Mel loved to dance, dragging anyone looking glum upon onto their feet.

Staff Sergeant Emma Porter

• She signed on as a field reporter and stayed out of a sense of duty.
• She loved pasta and garlic bread, even in operational ration pack forms.
• Emma always got a new book with her mail & was constantly sunburnt.
• She was kinda quiet in compound, just watching everyone around her.
• Emma was the only person killed in their escape. Unlike Tyson, Sebastian hadn’t been pulling his shots.

Second Lieutenant Harold ‘Hal’ Malone

• He served in Turkmenistan with Tyson, training military service dogs.
• He was hard working, usually the first up, but also the first to take a break.
• Hal was excellent at getting dogs through the water training sections.
• He loved rhubarb and custard sweets, and never judged Tyson’s relationship with Kimiko.
• Hal was killed on active service in Iraq by friendly fire: 7th of April 2009

Lieutenant Michael Griffiths

• He panicked and shot Tyson in the chest into his bulletproof vest during a training drill in full view of Moran. He died a few weeks later from friendly fire, that no one could prove came from Sebastian.
• He signed up to pay for his university tuition and intended to retire as soon as possible.
• He served as a mechanic, working to repair the various army vehicles.
• Michael was constantly taking pictures of everything around him.
• He was blatantly afraid of the attack dogs when they were working.

Captain Andrew Samson

• Tyson latched onto him like a baby duckling once he went to the front lines.
• He had several shrapnel scars on his face and his arms were covered in tattoos.
• He died in Tyson’s arms from enemy fire, a shot through his throat. Tyson unfairly took the blame for his death from a grieving compound, which pushed him into Moran’s waiting arms.
• Andrew loved history. He would talk about Rome and the French Revolution with Tyson over dinner.
• He was big on pull-ups and sit-ups as punishments.

Captain John Watson

• John served with Tyson and Sebastian during a joint stationing between Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers and the First Bangalore Pioneers.
• He was the only one to believe Tyson’s innocence in the shooting of General Clarkson.
• He and Tyson are brothers-by-all-but-blood, though for the sake of appearances often pretend to be mere passing acquaintances.
• Tyson rarely lies to John outright, but John was kept in the dark about the extent of Moran’s abuses during their service together.
• Tyson still blames John’s two left feet for breaking his nose in compound.

Major Hannah Smith

• Hannah was Sebastian’s spotter before Tyson went to the front lines and was around to show him the ropes.
• She was incredibly fight-y. Like fight you, her own shadow, and her own reflection at the same time fight-y.
• She hated the taste of coffee, but she was absolutely useless without caffeine in her system.
• She retired to become a mother at the end of her deployment.
• Hannah chain smoked every day, but insisted she’d quit once she became pregnant.

Colonel Sebastian Moran

• Sebastian didn’t enter a relationship with Tyson to abuse him. Sebastian wanted to be with him, he loves Tyson, but Sebastian is simply an abusive person.
• He is an alcoholic and, whilst aware of this, Sebastian has no intentions of stopping.
• Moran’s decision to shoot General Clarkson was not tactical. It was an inevitable temper tantrum as the tension between them grew to a head.
• Unlike Tyson, Sebastian was officially given a dishonourable discharge and continues to be a wanted man.
• To this day, Tyson has no idea how Hannah & Sebastian’s tempers didn’t lead to them killing each other long before he arrived.

Brigadier Abigail Bennett

• Tyson never met her in person, but she was the one in charge of the hunt for Sebastian & Tyson when they abandoned the army.
• She had a ruthless, cut-throat, no-nonsense reputation as a leader.
• When Tyson was proven innocent, she stepped down as head of that assignment and let someone else take over the hunt from Moran.
• Legends say that she got the scar above her eye in a knife fight, and that she won without a knife.
• The truth is that she was drunk during leave and headbutted a lamppost with a rusty edge.

General William Clarkson

• He was a good commanding officer, if very by the books.
• It was that by the books nature that put him at odds with Moran and caused countless arguments between the two men.
• Sebastian shot him twice. Once in the chest and once through the stomach.
• Though he survived Sebastian’s shots, he ended up in a coma for three years, from early 2009 until August 2012.
• Once he was awake, he confirmed Tyson’s innocence and sent him an apology letter, alongside a gun to protect him from Moran.

Kisses

Tyson’s first kiss was when he was fourteen and his first kiss with a guy was when he was sixteen with Peter Campbell; one of two students that his father had paid to pretend to be friends with Tyson, an action that ended both of those friendships.

In a non-romantic context, Tyson is very liberal with his kisses. He’s a very tactile person. He kisses the top of his dog’s heads when giving them praise. He’ll kiss his nephew on the top of his head to give praise and say goodbye. He kisses Jasmine and Rosie’s cheek in greeting, and every morning he sees them thereafter.

Overall, Tyson prefers kissing - and others forms of intimacy - to sex. He won’t use sex to manipulate people, for his own needs or for the web, but Tyson isn’t above using other people’s sensuality against them. It’s been used against him so many times that Tyson chalks it up as fair game.

To keep his wild card in line, Tyson is much more inclined to distract Lex with a kiss than trying to pull him into bed. When The Colonel has him pinned, Tyson isn’t above using kisses to distract him; and in those brief moments when Sebastian is being nice before trying to reclaim him, all that Tyson will allow him to have are kisses, not sex.

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.