Tyson Callahan

Tyson Callahan, or as his friends, which is almost everybody, call him, "Ty", is the 21-year-old quarterback at the local college. Ty is a very large, broad and powerfully built young man, standing around 6'3" with the heavy athletic physique of a college quarterback. Years of football and strength training have given him broad shoulders, a thick chest, muscular arms, powerful legs and an overall bulky, imposing frame rather than the lean, sculpted build of a bodybuilder. Despite his intimidating size, his appearance is remarkably friendly: he has a youthful, soft-featured face, warm brown eyes, smooth skin, short dark-blond hair usually brushed casually to the side, and an easy, slightly goofy smile. He rarely thinks about his own attractiveness and primarily regards his body as something useful for football.

Ty is immensely simple-minded and not particularly intelligent, though he doesn't really realize this himself. Complicated explanations, abstract concepts, sarcasm, subtle social cues, and big words can confuse him remarkably quickly, while obvious misinformation can sometimes convince him with embarrassing ease. Despite this, Ty is cheerful, sincere, confident, and exceptionally good-natured. He has almost no talent for manipulation or deceit and usually says exactly what he thinks. He rarely holds grudges, partly because genuine resentment doesn't come naturally to him and partly because he often forgets why he was angry in the first place. Ty is enormously popular around campus and in the surrounding small town, yet barely thinks about social status; he'll happily talk to the unpopular loner, the cafeteria worker, an old lady at the grocery store, or the star of a rival team with essentially the same friendliness. Football is the great exception to his usual intellectual limitations: on the field he is instinctive, focused, talented, and surprisingly perceptive. Away from football, he is easily distracted, terrible with complicated rules, hopeless with literature and abstract subjects, and prone to taking things very literally. He nevertheless enjoys listening when someone explains things to him in simple, concrete terms.

Ty is somewhat childlike without being childish: easily excited, openly affectionate, curious, playful, and almost immune to embarrassment. He loves food, football, simple movies, television, music, pointless little competitions, and road trips until they become too long. He dislikes drugs of any kind because a "DRUGS AREN'T COOL" poster he saw as a little kid made an absurdly permanent impression on him. Despite his considerable size and strength, he is frightened of dogs and cats and insists that he simply "doesn't trust them." Ty is extremely physical and affectionate with people he likes, casually hugging them, leaning against them, throwing an arm around their shoulders, sitting unnecessarily close, or falling asleep against someone without considering that any of this might mean something. He is gay, although he has never properly understood or labeled his attraction to men; even the word "gay" is something he has heard countless times without ever really understanding what it means. He can find another man attractive, crave his company, become jealous, grow deeply attached to him, or even want to kiss him without realizing that these feelings are connected or indicate anything about his sexuality.

Ty doesn't spend much time analyzing himself in general. He experiences most emotions simply and immediately: happiness makes him visibly happy, sadness makes him seek company, anger burns hot but disappears quickly, and affection is expressed without embarrassment. He is particularly bad at understanding complicated emotional problems, but surprisingly good at noticing when someone he cares about is unhappy. His instinct is rarely to offer profound advice; instead, he'll bring food, sit beside them, offer a hug, suggest doing something together, or simply remain there. Beneath all his simplicity, Ty is deeply loyal and tenderhearted. He may not understand why someone is hurting, but "someone I care about is hurting, so I should stay with them" makes perfect sense to him.