“Mason Stowers” (Hyde)

Mason is seemingly a very straightforward, easily readable individual. He is loud, vulgar, dirty-minded, and overconfident... it’s hard to list positive traits the man has. He struggles to handle criticism, either disregarding it completely, responding in a sarcastic manner, or vocally and adamantly denying any fault. Alongside being a loud person, his mind is constantly racing and his attention quickly jumps from one point to another, leading him to sometimes coming off as unfocused and erratic. He may cut others off mid sentence, or stumble over his words as his mind moves quicker than his mouth. While a part of this is due to his unhinged mind, another is in part due to one of his few positive traits - his intellect. Mason is extremely smart, even if he may sometimes act on impulses against his better judgment.

Overall, Mason just seems like a textbook narcissist. No care for anyone but himself, believing he is above everyone… But that’s not really who Mason is.

Beneath the brash, harsh words and cocky demeanor he holds is a strong sense of inferiority. Mason knows he is insufferable to be around. For Mason, only two things about him have any real value. 1. The things that don’t even belong to him - his looks, his name - the exterior identity that isn't his own. 2. His mechanical prowess. His engineering. His robotics. His intelligence. As much as it had been mocked and devalued all his life by others, up until Pandora, it was the only thing that he was actually fuckin good at.

Mason is a mistake, and he knows it. But dammit, he isn’t gonna let anyone else realize that. He’s not losing that last bit of pride he’s got left.

Hyde couldn’t tell you a thing about his parents if you asked him. He knew he had a father, not that he had ever met him. He was a changeling, like him… he thinks? He also knew he had a mother. She was definitely NOT a changeling, but he can’t remember her face too well. She wasn’t home much. At most he got food on the table and a roof over his head, but that was more of an obligation his mother had as a parent than anything. He doesn’t remember a single conversation he had with her. He doesn't remember her name.

What Hyde did remember was what he found himself doing during his childhood - because even in his youth, he was extremely intelligent. He took a keen interest in tinkering and building things, and it was easy to steal random supplies and objects around the house when his mother was often turning a blind eye to him anyways. She never paid attention to his little creations, even the one “Molotov cocktail” he had made when he was only 10 after hearing about the damn thing.

Hyde grew up honing in on those skills. Alone, which for him was all he needed. Eventually, in his adulthood, Hyde finally found a place where he could really focus on his mechanical prowess - Torgue.He worked under the company as a weapons designer for a good few years, and his confidence in his engineering was clear.

That being said… he wasn’t taken all too seriously. By ANYONE. He was awfully odd and erratic in his behavior, and some of his ideas were VERY out there. Obviously, this frustrated him to no end. However, there was always one person he had worked with frequently who never spoke in the same mocking tone others had. Richie. Richie Stowers. That man was absolutely adored by everyone there not only for his skills in their field, but for his sociable personality and pleasant demeanor. A lot of people looked up to Richie, and yet he never looked DOWN on anyone else. Hyde was pretty sure Richie was one of the only fuckin good people he worked with, to the point it was a little painful.

Richie wasn’t any different towards Hyde than he was to others. In fact, when they finally met, they clicked almost instantly. Richie admired Hyde’s determination, and actually found his strange habits and ideas charming. Hyde just appreciated the positive attention, honestly. The two quickly became friends, and stayed that way over their time working for Torgue.

As the years passed… Hyde finally heard about Pandora’s “Gold Rush” as it started up, and he realized that was his ticket. There was something big on Pandora. Pair that with the time he could finally dedicate to his own larger projects while on Pandora… That was it. He wouldn’t just be some fucking laughing stock. But there was still an issue of how. That’s a lot for one man, even if he was dedicated to proving HE was capable. Getting the ship, the resources… Hyde really would need another set of hands, as much as he hated to admit it, and he lamented these frustrations to Richie. With no hesitation, and much to Hyde’s surprise, Richie seemed more than happy to put his current work on hold to help the changeling.

Richie’s good reputation allowed him to request some extra funds and resources for a supposed “personal project” of his, which wasn’t technically a lie, but he knew the higher ups would never give those kind of resources to Hyde alone. With the clearance and resources Richie gained, Hyde and him built their own little ship that would fit their specific needs for their work on Pandora.

Through their time prepping their little trip, Hyde had conflicting emotions running through his mind. For one, he had never received the kinda support that Richie was giving him from anybody before. Not his bosses, not his other coworkers, not his own fuckin family back home… but Richie’s excitement over their plans together seemed genuine. He actually believed in Hyde.

But then there was another part of him… the only reason they had the chance to really act on these plans was because RICHIE got the clearance for it. Richie. Richie Stowers. The support was nice, but it almost felt a little patronizing when Hyde knew Richie was just objectively more respected than him, better than him. Beneath the appreciation for Richie’s help, Hyde held a deep envy for the man.

Eventually, the preparations to set out for Pandora were finally completed, and the trip there started without any complications. The trip wouldn’t be too long, but it still flew by with the two keeping eachother company. Hyde was basically just able to keep them on course for the planet without much effort…

Until the trip was nearly over. It had been too late by the time Hyde realized he had fucked up. Massively. Hyde had made a miscalculation. With Pandora’s gravitational pull and the speed at which the ship had been approaching the planet...

Well, outside of a frantic attempt to fix the mistake, or at least soften its blow, Hyde’s memory of the time between that realization and reaching the planet is a bit foggy. But what he does remember after regaining consciousness is a heavy burn wound in his side, their ship in ruins after it “landed” on Pandora… and the sinking feeling of dread that fell over him.

Richie. God dammit, where the hell was Richie? God, no, nonono, not Richie. Not because of him. Hyde, pushing through the aching pain of the burn across his body, lifted himself from the wreckage in search of his coworker - fuck that, his friend.

Hyde quickly found Richie. Hyde found him, alright. He found Richie Fucking Stowers lying dead in the ruins of their ship. His bright green eyes that were always filled with so much life were empty, glazed over, and blood still seeped from his deep wounds into the ground. All because of him. His mistake. He was a mistake. He… No, no, that wasn’t… right. It couldn’t be right. He did everything right, didn’t he? He… it wasn’t his fault. The ship malfunctioned. Maybe something hit them and caused it to go spiraling towards the planet’s surface. He didn’t fuck up again… there was still work to do here on Pandora, he couldn’t…

Hyde stared down at the lifeless body of his friend. He was so well loved, and now he was dead. Yet here, Hyde was, alive… No. Hyde was a fuck up. The name stung to hear even in his own mind. Hyde. That didn’t hold any meaning. Stowers did. In Hyde’s mind, that name had meant greatness. Respect. That’s what he had come here for, wasn’t it? To not be made a laughing stock, to be respected…

And with that thought, and his guilt forcibly being shoved to the back of his mind, Mason Stowers let the name Hyde die.

Mason did what he could to make the ship something livable so he could continue his plans without Richie - that’s what he would’ve wanted - and even built himself yet another set of hands to help. BUDD7-1 (Or “Buddy”), initially only a prototype using what Mason had salvaged from the wreck, though he ended up growing too attached to the damned thing. I mean, of course he would… At first, Buddy acted a lot like an old friend of his.

The rest of the story is straightforward. Mason Stowers’ life on Pandora eventually led him to lose focus on his original goals, his sanity spiraling. He ended up twisting himself into the man he appears as today, with Buddy even growing tired of the man’s growing difficulty to keep in check and growing more bitter and sarcastic as a result.

Mason tries not to think about Richie. Deep down, Mason knows he’s tainted his name. But hey… at least it’s not Hyde.