‘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.
Tyson has a soft spot in his head for the spy/detective genres as a whole, but especially Noire.
The concept of ‘It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it’ appeals strongly to Tyson in his current line of work. Even - and perhaps especially - the parts that he is good at, Tyson hates the work he does for the Moriarty Mirrors and he’s never hidden that, but he will keep doing it for them untiringly.
The bittersweet sentiment that even when everything is horrible, grim and dark, there is still hope. Still a silver lining and a reason to keep marching forward. The idea that, however slim it may be, that silver lining is worth fighting for is a great comfort to Tyson.
He finds noire to be incredibly cathartic. He is trying to do as much good as possible, by minimising collateral damage and redirecting the crosshairs into better places. Tyson doesn’t think that makes him a good person, but he’s trying his best and, when he can’t find a silver lining, forging them himself.
That counts for something. His battle might be in vain, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not a fight work taking.
As a child Tyson had a Grumpy Bear stuffed toy, until Tyson’s father forced him to give it away - along with other toys - when he was twelve. Tyson’s Kipper the Dog stuffed toy was also taken and the Superman action figure that Jethro had gotten Tyson for his tenth birthday.
It was one of the few times that his father decided to jointly punish them for something one had done. Jethro had lashed out publicly at one of the Professors attending a dinner party hosted at the family manor, condemning Christianity for its treatment of the Jewish people in a less than delicate way.
Even as a child Tyson understood why his father had reacted so strongly, but he also knew that it didn’t justify this father’s decision. Tyson keenly understood the kind of danger that could put their family in. It wasn’t the right choice, not even close, but he understands that John acted out of fear.
Predictably, Tyson was allowed to keep his chess, draughts, and backgammon sets. He was also permitted to keep two sets of playing cards and the Rubik’s Cube, but all other games were taken away. The broken slinky and a rather dented hula hoop weren’t exactly losses.
Given how many times Jethro had almost broken something with them, Tyson was honestly surprised that it had taken so long for the Devil’s Sticks to get confiscated. The Diabolo that had come with the same set was saved by virtue of being in their attic hiding place when the purge occurred.
Tyson managed to make a good argument for various balls as practising hand-eye coordination for his various lessons, but that still reduced them down to only one ball of each type; which somewhat defeated the point of the juggling balls. His fencing equipment was left untouched, but various toy swords were taken away.
He honestly can’t remember what argument that made that caused him to keep his skateboard, but he knows that the bike was kept as a way of letting Tyson get to and from school. The scooter was rarely used and had become too small anyway, but Tyson was sad to see the roller-blades go.
It was that moment that caused Tyson and Jethro to move their more valued personal items up into the attic permanently, just in case one of them managed to anger their father that much again.
Though he rarely bothers to open the shop, Tyson does own Pup’s Pet Store; named by his nephew. It’s largely a cover story to convince his brother that Tyson does have a normal life and it can help cover his activities within the web if he gains too much police attention.
As well as selling pet supplies, Tyson offers a service where he helps people track down their ideal pet from the various shelters and breeders around London, and he will occasionally offer training if he likes the person enough.
He has a …deal of sorts with Jeremy, the owner of the butcher’s shop two doors down from Tyson’s pet shop. Tyson buys his meat there and recommends it to other people, and in turn Jeremy offers him a safe place to hide whilst making unsubtle comments about favours that Tyson might owe him.
The top floor of Tyson’s pet store is largely used as a place for Tyson to make his maps, as Tyson’s apartment lacks floor space to work on them and he keeps most of his supplies at the store. That isn’t to say that Tyson has a lot of space at his store either.
As the majority of the upper floor is often covered in drying maps, Tyson has a pair of long wooden planks and four rubber bricks to walk around the room without disrupting anything; and, naturally, has trained his dogs to walk over them too. Lily and Bobby will sometimes hop onto the planks even when nothing else is on the floor.
Tyson can pivot around the maps and sometimes when he’s working on too many at once, he will move the planks out of the way to free up more floor space, but he honestly finds it fun to balance on the blanks and it helps prevent any accidents from happening.
Tyson’s favourite type of weather is coincidentally one of his favourite phrases in Hebrew: שמש חולה (Shemesh Khola : sick sun), or שמש שקרנית (Shemesh Shakranit : lying sun), the weather when the sun is out, yet the atmosphere is cold.
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 raindrop will fall. His view on rain does improve once he’s inside, however.
He hates bright sunlight, though he doesn’t need his sunglasses anywhere near as much as he pretends to. He is generally happier after he has been exposed to bright sunlight and his eyes shift to green, however. Or, rather, Tyson is happier when he actually gets any degree of sunlight instead of hiding inside.
Hot weather is his bane. He has too many bad memories surround hot places to tolerate it. Though thunder and lightning will get to him, Tyson’s memories of Sebastian’s assault in the monsoon don’t pass onto storms quite as strongly. Storms - and strong winds in general - put Tyson on edge, but they don’t provoke such a visceral reaction.
After so long serving in the army and surviving on his own, Tyson is good at guessing the weather. He can certainly always feel cold weather coming in the left side of his torso.
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.
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.
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.
As mentioned in this thread, Tyson’s attraction outside of physicality is… poor.
“If you think that’s bad, you should see my taste in women,” was the flippant reply offered. Given his history with The Colonel and Moriarty, that shouldn’t have been as true as it actually was. Though, it still wasn’t an entirely fair assessment. Fewer women had actually hurt him, but a broader range of attraction to men meant more were decent people; the law of averages more than a conscientious effort on Tyson’s part.
He is a moth to a flame and cannot leave a mystery well enough alone. Tyson knows that he is generally attracted to men and women that could break him, but he isn’t particularly inclined to do anything about that. He embraces that part of him. A calculated risk, balancing how happy those people make him versus the danger.
When Tyson takes his nephew to the beach, they make the time to go crab fishing.
Though Tyson is rather lukewarm on the topic of fishing, preferring to meditate to clear his mind, James enjoys catching crabs and Tyson enjoys getting to sit quietly on the pier with Lily; whilst Bobby paddles around in the water, theoretically chasing crabs towards James.
It began as a way to keep James occupied and under the dog’s watchful eyes, whilst Tyson ‘discouraged’ some unwanted attention from enemies of the web.
Tyson can’t even remember what excuse he gave when he returned with busted knuckles, only that James didn’t believe it and decided to accept that answer anyway.
Deceiving an eight-year-old shouldn’t make fish and chips taste better.
Tyson is a non-observant Jew religiously and ethnically Jewish too, specifically Ashkenazi.
Though he is largely non-observant in his religious practices, his Jewishness is incredibly important to Tyson. He will defend it no matter what. Tyson is proud to be Jewish. He is proud of the Jewish people. His people.
It cannot be overstated how much the Delaney family legacy matters to Tyson. That as a prominently, proudly Jewish family, the Delaney family managed to forge a legacy of their own around and alongside Cambridge almost since the university was founded.
It also cannot be overstated how guilty Tyson feels for having abandoned that legacy. He would never force his nephew to walk their ‘intended’ path, but it warms his heart that James is so interested in their family history and wants to carry it on. To earn his place in Cambridge and continued their legacy.
The sharper, clipped edges of the consonants in his usual broad, yet posh, Cambridge accent is led by considering Hebrew to be his first language. He could speak in Hebrew long before English. Tyson does wish he knew more Yiddish, however.
Though Tyson isn’t secretive about his Judaism, he can be somewhat protective about sharing it with other people. Defensive. Tyson would typically call non-Jewish people ‘gentiles’, but if he even perseveres someone to be attacking Judaism, they become ‘goyim’ and nothing else.
It is one of the few areas that Tyson has a hard unyielding line about defending.
Tyson’s belief in Judaism and Adonai wavers, but his belief in the Jewish people never wavers. That kinship, that family, is far more important to him than anything else. That isn’t to say the other parts do not matter, simply that he places more importance on the enduring future of his people, on their continued questioning and celebration.
He struggles to define exactly what he believes, as it ebbs and flows as time goes on. Tyson cannot say that he believes in Adonai; he wants to believe in Adonai, but he isn’t sure that it is the same thing. It’s a similar place to his thoughts on superstition: belief in it has power, even if the thing itself does not exist.
Mathematics, the hidden language wrapped loving through all of reality, actually helps Tyson’s belief. ‘Numbers are as close as we get to the handwriting of God.’ He doesn’t think that it’s proof of Adonai, per say, but it brings him comfort in a way that he cannot untangle from his Jewishness.
Tyson does not know if prayer achieves anything, but he would never dismiss someone’s prayers or blessings; regardless of religion. He will always offer prayers of his own if he thinks it would comfort another. Sometimes it feels like lip service to Tyson, a duty to fulfil, and at other times, Tyson genuinely feels better if he prays.
Tyson has a large collection of kippahs with holes in them, where Tyson has been fiddling with them after removing them following attending Synagogue. He makes sure to attend some kind of service at least once a month, but Tyson does feel guilty about not attending more often.
With the exception of the times he decides to celebrate the high holidays, Tyson doesn’t bother keeping kosher outside of Sabbath; outside of Saturday more accurately. He struggles to eat properly enough without adding restrictions. However, sharing bread is incredibly important to Tyson.
Though he regularly falls back on parade rest from his army days, Tyson learnt to hold himself correctly from a much younger age.
Posture was a large part about having to present himself as a proper heir to the Delaney family legacy, and is the leading cause for Jethro regularly hunching over as an ingrained defiance; a bad habit that James ends up mimicking.
Following on from Tyson’s struggles to release his control enough to properly balance, Tyson struggles with slumping. Kinda. He can curl and nestle back into anything regardless of the angle it puts him in, Tyson will pretzel himself without even noticing, but he can’t comfortably hunch over without something to lean against/into.
It feels unnatural and stiff, despite his usual rigid posture.
Though Tyson’s sleep schedule is seven kinds of broken, he is absolutely a night owl by preference.
He loves seeing cities illuminated by artificial lights. He loves looking up in the countryside and seeing stars glittering above him. He likes the cooler temperature, the peace and quiet. He loves getting to see bats flitting about. Tyson lives for late night stake-outs and watching the colour leave - and return to - the sky.
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!
In this verse Tyson is “taking a break” for a year. He’s still working for his owners - who are also taking a year away from London on business - but, for once, Tyson’s taking care of his mental health too. He’s taking his medication regularly and, reluctantly, speaking with a therapist who Jethro recommended to him.
He lives in the suburbs of Chicago; in a house that conveniently has the same layout as his army!verse home. The only pets Tyson has brought over from London are Jack and Draco, the other pets are staying at the family manor.
This extended stay in Chicago is being treated as a training retreat in Tyson’s mind. Tyson has enjoyed his time in Chicago, but he is counting down the days until he and the Moriarty Mirrors can return back home.
Whilst taking care of his mental health, Tyson is also learning new skills for the web and trying to further develop the skills that he was already working on in London. To that end, Tyson is attending the University of Chicago to further his knowledge for his involvement in the American side of the web.
He is majoring in Law to help him understand how to get a better understanding of how the US legal system works, and minoring in Physics and Engineering; because he finds physics fascinating and he thinks it might help him follow along with the Moriarty Mirrors thought process when they get ahead of him.
Though he hasn’t changed his exercise route at all, Tyson is getting in better physical shape as his mental state improves. Actually eating regular meals and sleeping on a normal schedule to attend his classes has also helped improve Tyson’s health.
In this verse Tyson is living with his owners in Dublin. When the Moriarty Mirrors decided to take a break away from London, the Dublin ‘summer home’ was the obvious choice. Tyson came along at his owners’ request to keep them entertained and to keep Tyson safe from Moran.
Since they’re relocation is only intended to be temporary, Tyson doesn’t have his own apartment. Instead he’s staying in one of the spare bedrooms of his owners’ home. Whilst here Tyson doesn’t have any of his pets, they are all staying at the family manor for the time being.
Though Tyson will make use of the ground floor side entrance, he does not go up the staircase to the hallway the connects the Moriarty Mirrors’ rooms.
Between the three of them, time is relative. There is no such thing as a regular schedule and the kitchen has become a place to drop off take-out rather than a place where food is prepared.
This house is running on organised chaos, but everyone is largely happy. Business for the web is booming and having a slight distance from London is giving them a better view for untangling a few problems with restructuring their criminal empire for further expansion.
In this verse Tyson is station in Istanbul as part of a team over seeing the development of the Moriarty Mirrors’ web there. Tyson is temporarily there. The plan is that he’s only meant to be there until the web is set up there, then he’ll return to London with the other employees when a permanent team takes over.
Though Tyson isn’t in Istanbul permanently, it’s still a long term stationing. Whilst here he has all of his usual pets and is staying in a house that conveniently looks the same asearth!verse’s Appalachian Mountain’s home.
His owners appear every now and again to check on events, but mostly stay in London. This means that Tyson is generally sadder in this verse. He enjoys communicating to the Moriarty Mirrors through texts, but it’s not the same as being able to see them face to face on a regular basis.
Istanbul has always been an important trade city for its location and Tyson’s purpose there is to establish a network for the smuggling side of the criminal empire.
There are a few criminal contacts to make, but this side of the web can largely be trusted to run itself once the infrastructure is established. However, it is important to have a trusted pet - their Pup - out there to make sure that it’s a watertight system before then.
Though Tyson isn’t best pleased about the location change, he is glad that Lily and Bobby seems to have taken well to the additional heat. Lily especially. A few months in the sun is good for them; Tyson too, but he refuses to acknowledge that.
In this verse Tyson is stationed in New York rather than London. His owners are trying to branch their operation out more and wanted another pet working in New York. He does the same work he normally does, just out of his New York apartment; which conveniently has the same layout of his usual home. Tyson has all his usual pets in this verse.
His owners appear every now and again to check on events, but mostly stay in London. This means that Tyson is generally sadder in this verse. He enjoys communicating to the Moriarty Mirrors through texts, but it’s not the same as being able to see them face to face on a regular basis.
Within this verses, Tyson is working closely with his primary US contact: Dick Gannon. He isn’t certain if he’s a good influence on Dick or if Dick is a bad influence on him, but overall Tyson thinks that they work well together and have managed to find a good balance in getting the job done.
Tyson honestly really likes New York. Not as much as he does London, but it does feel like a home to him. He doesn’t want to leave London behind completely, but Tyson could be content setting down roots in New York.
Whether Tyson remains in New York permanently is still in the air. It isn’t exactly necessary for him to remain in New York, per say, but it’s not necessary for him to return to London either. For the time being, Tyson is most useful in New York.
With that in mind, Tyson has started to lay out storage boxes and safe houses around New York, like he has set up around London. Some of those are for employees of the web, and some are personal supply stashes. Starting from scratch has been an interesting learning experience for Tyson.
