Profile
- Name || Spencer Tiberius Ryder
- Called || Spencer, Colonel Ryder (later Major Ryder)
- Age || 38
- DoB || 21.09.20XX
- Gender || Male
- Sexuality || Homosexual
- Race || Human with a side of Coithian parasite
- Origin || Alabastris Empire
- Occupation || Captain of a stolen Alabastrian ship, later stay-at-home husband and father
- Status || Taken
Personality
⇀ Description
Before the war, Spencer was a rather laid-back man. In his relationship with his boyfriend, he was the more reasonable one but also the harsher one. He had a lot of patience and his humorous side was more visible. He was also getting along with others well. After his partner died at the beginning of the war, Spencer didn't have time to dwell on it and internalized all the grief, pushing it deep inside him and ignoring it. After the accident when he lost both of his legs and his hand and being abandoned by the military and forced to move into one of the lower floors, his grief resurfaced and turned into anger. He'd easily snap, was on the edge all the time and would push away people who tried to support him. He couldn't handle his disability, the loss of his partner and the regret of not making things steady with him because of the uncertainty of their future lives (they were both soldiers and wars in the Empire wars were pretty common). During this period he was also very lonely since he pushed everybody away and told them not to contact him, that's why he was quick to accept the military's offer on restoring his limbs. He was desperate and hoped it will help him fix things and because of that, he didn't give it much thought.
After breaking out of the science station, Spencer found himself in a completely new situation and managed to clear his head. He was still furious at the military for injecting the parasite into him but the thought that there may be a way to remove it made him calm down a bit. Now he is a rather reasonable captain of the ship with snarky humor. He tries to be cool and strict but has a huge soft spot to his crew, especially the younger members and is always willing to help with their troubles. He still has a short temper and is quick to lash out on enemies or people who stand in his way but he is trying to open up to his crewmembers and not internalize everything that bothers him. He also started coming to terms with his partner's death with Alex's help. He is very hostile towards military men but doesn't let it consume him. He also came to terms with his fear of the parasite taking control of him as he grew to understand it better and seeing it more a symbiote. He is also irritated by the fact that he'd lost his career because of his injury and acts annoyed hearing about successes of people who were a lower rank than him during the war. Spencer also became more forward than before the war and more likely to take action in his personal life as he doesn't want any regrets, whatever may happen. As a lover, he is physical and affectionate and very protective since he doesn't want to lose anyone when he is able to do something to help them.
Spencer is a man who enjoys physical activity and spends a lot of time in the ship's gym. He avoids books as he never was a big reader and doesn't plan on becoming one. Instead, he has a collection of handheld pixel games, he'd found on various junk markets. He can spend hours beating his own records which is not exactly welcome by Alex. He also eats a lot and enjoys it as the parasite requires bigger energy intake than when he was without it.
⇀ Preferences
Likes
- Vintage hand-held pixel games - Spencer can spend hours beating his records on those things. He usually digs around on flea markets to find new ones. They remind him of his childhood when he would play them under his desk in school when the teacher wasn't looking.
- Very big meals - Spencer always was a big eater since physical activity required a lot of energy but after getting injected with the parasite, it's necessary for his body to get enough nutrition. The easiest way to do so is fast food but Alex makes sure that his husband won't reach for anything unhealthy.
- Kids - Although he and his partner never considered adopting a child, since they were worried they wouldn't be able to give them a stable family, Spencer had always wanted one. He's very good with younger kids and gets along with teenagers who consider him "the fun dad" as opposed to Alex.
- Exercising - Spencer spends a lot of time in a gym. He always goes for a morning run around his neighborhood and enjoys searching the web for new protein bar and energy cocktails recipes. It helps him relax, clear his head and lets him appreciate his ability to move freely which he had lost temporarily after the war.
Dislikes
- Having regrets - After he'd lost his limbs in the Cointhian war Spencer spent all his days overthinking the decisions he'd never made and opportunities he missed. He wished he'd proposed to his partner, adopt a kid or at least a dog. Since then he promised himself to always take the risk and act on his feelings.
- Reading books - Spencer prefers movies or even audiobooks. Having to stare at the text for too long makes him lose focus and long descriptions make him skip large parts of the text. He's also better with oral instructions than written ones.
- Being stagnant - After his partner had died, Spencer threw himself into the battle. His career was the only thing he'd left and after the missile hit his ship even that was taken away from him. He hated to watch younger soldiers raising in ranks while he couldn't even get up from a wheelchair.
- Helplessness - His partner died away from him and he couldn't do anything to save him and it haunted him after the war. Now he wants to do his best to always be there for his loved ones when they need him, sometimes making him a bit too overprotective.
Design
⇀ Description
- Height || 185 cm
- Build || Muscular
- Eyes || Gold
- Skin tone || Olive
- Hair color || | Brown, a bit grayish on the sides
- Hair style || Slicked back except for the bangs
- Demeanor || Cool, confident
- Style || Military
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Important Notes ||
- Both his legs and his right hand to the elbow are always black since he'd lost them during the war and ones he has are shaped by the parasite in his body.
- The form on the headshot where most his body and his eye is black is a combat form he can achieve after gaining the control over the parasite. He uses it only in fights.
- The whole parasite-covered form only occurs when he's knocked out or in life threathening situation like being thrown into the space without protection. The parasite can be very dangerous to ones it sees as enemies in this form. With the ones it knows (Alex and the crew) it acts very cat-like.
- Darker part on his chest is a scar left from the war that is now filled with the parasite's tissue. It's red and pulsating.
- The parasite can turn into moving tentacles or solid weapons like sharp spikes or knives. Spencer usually uses it to transform his right hand.
⇀ Moodboard
History
⇀ Background
Spencer was born in a middle-class family that was rather normal. He never had a too close relationship with his parents but wasn't in conflict with them either. During the time when he was in military school, his father died of a heart attack and his mother remarried sometime later. Slowly they lost contact since she was absorbed with her new life and he didn't feel the need to keep in touch.
In military school he met his future partner. They were on one team together and quickly hit it off. After finishing school they started living together. Spencer had a good relationship with both his partner and his parents, who treated him as their own son. However, since both of them were soldiers and wars in the empire weren't a rare occurrence, they chose not to get married or adopt a kid. They treated their relationship as something casual, careful not to get too serious and involved even as the years passed by and many of their friends tied the knot. In the end, Spencer had enough and decided to propose to his partner but before he managed to do it, the war broke out and they were both sent to different parts of the Cothian planet. A few weeks into the war Spencer got the message about his partner's death. He had no time to mourn, forcing himself to think that he had expected it to happen and wasn't going to be hurt and disappointed. He fought for almost two years until during one mission a stay missile hit his ship. He'd suffered serious injuries and lost both of his legs and his right hand. He expected to have a normal life of a veteran after but it turned out that the military gave the titles of honor and enough money to live in luxury till the end of their lives only if they'd suffered injuries in active combat. Spencer's accident wasn't considered an active combat, therefore he had to sell his house and most of his and his partners' belongings and move out into one of the lower floors since treatment and even the cheapest prosthesis would take most of his funds and he wasn't able to find a job to support himself.
Only then the reality of the situation truly hit him. He'd lost his love, lost the ability to function normally and wasn't able to process it. Consumed by the anger he pushed away his friends and his partner's parents who wanted to help and support him and spent three years alone as a complete mess. He'd often drink to not feel the pain because the meds were too expensive and not leave the house for days. This state of things continued until one day a military official arrived at his house to introduce a project that was supposed to be funded to support loyal soldiers who didn't get properly acknowledged for sacrificing their health for the country. Spencer was supposed to get his arm and legs back. Hoping that this will help him fix at least some of his life, Spencer agreed and was transported into one of the government's scientific facilities where Alexander Hyde injected the Coithian parasite into his body.
Story
⇀ (Arc One Name)
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Nullam id fringilla magna. Sed mattis tellus nec tellus sollicitudin, quis tempus risus vestibulum. Donec velit felis, hendrerit ut interdum in, viverra vel est. Duis convallis scelerisque mi, sit amet molestie orci maximus non. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Quisque ac finibus nulla, nec laoreet arcu. Aenean accumsan, sem nec varius sagittis, massa nisi euismod est, vitae semper ex diam non libero. Nam eu iaculis lorem. Vestibulum nec nisl bibendum lorem consectetur suscipit a ac eros.
⇀ (Arc Two Name)
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Nullam id fringilla magna. Sed mattis tellus nec tellus sollicitudin, quis tempus risus vestibulum. Donec velit felis, hendrerit ut interdum in, viverra vel est. Duis convallis scelerisque mi, sit amet molestie orci maximus non. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Quisque ac finibus nulla, nec laoreet arcu. Aenean accumsan, sem nec varius sagittis, massa nisi euismod est, vitae semper ex diam non libero. Nam eu iaculis lorem. Vestibulum nec nisl bibendum lorem consectetur suscipit a ac eros.
⇀ (Arc Three Name)
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Nullam id fringilla magna. Sed mattis tellus nec tellus sollicitudin, quis tempus risus vestibulum. Donec velit felis, hendrerit ut interdum in, viverra vel est. Duis convallis scelerisque mi, sit amet molestie orci maximus non. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Quisque ac finibus nulla, nec laoreet arcu. Aenean accumsan, sem nec varius sagittis, massa nisi euismod est, vitae semper ex diam non libero. Nam eu iaculis lorem. Vestibulum nec nisl bibendum lorem consectetur suscipit a ac eros.
⇀ (Arc Four Name)
After the battle in Alabastris ends with victory, Spencer asked Alex to marry him during the party celebrating Hariett as the new general. Alex agreed and they moved out to a small planet belonging to the Empire where a lot of war veterans and their families live. In the peaceful suburban neighborhood, they planned to live a life away from the battle and danger along with P.A.C. and the child they were planning to adopt. One day, however, their peaceful life was interrupted by Nathan who after the previous general died had no place to go. Spencer offered him to stick around but Nathan was too restless and confused to do so. He asked Spencer to bring him to the Revolutionaries so he could be of use for them and after discussing it with Alex, Spencer agreed. They left Nathan to Conrad who had taken the Revolutionaries over after Ariana retired to help Hariett keep Alabastris in check and returned home to their peaceful lives.
As for now, Spencer and Alex are enjoying their life. Spencer goes to meetings for people with PTSD since after he had settled down he grew restless and started having nightmares. After a long battle with paperwork and a bit of help from Hariett, he and Alex finally adopted a little girl called Lena, who's now their pride and joy. They also regularly meet up with the rest of the family and friends during holidays, birthdays or sometimes even without any occasion. If one of their kids gets seriously hurt they get a time out at their place.
Playlist
Trivia
- Despite being called a "parasite" by both the users and people around them, the alien lifeform Spencer was injected with is a symbiote.
- With the use of the symbiote Spencer can stick to walls and ceilings and copy voices he'd heard at least once in his life.
- After the battle for Alabastris, Hariett promoted Spencer to the position of a major.
- Because of the presence of the parasite, most animals are afraid of Spencer.
Relationships
⇀ Alex [ Husband ]
Their relationship had a rather rocky start since Alex was one of the scientists working on injecting people with the Cointhian parasite for Alabastrian government. After Spencer took him hostage and they ran away from the science station they were on bad terms. Spencer blamed Alex for the fact had to live with an alien lifeform in his body and Alex was mad that because of Spencer's outbreak he won't be able to raise in ranks and get to the information he needed about the incident in which his daughter had died. However, they were forced to work together to survive in space, as Alabastrian government was now hunting both of them. After they got a ship, their relationship improved a bit as Alex promised to work on a way to remove the parasite from his body. Their arguments became simple bickering. Spencer tried to teach Alex the basics of combat and self-defense which made them spend a lot of time together even after more people joined their crew. At some point, Spencer noticed that Alex is clearly attracted to him and decided to act on it, initiating a casual physical relationship that with time grew into actual love. After the war with Alabastris, Spencer asked Alex to marry him and they moved out to a peaceful planet that was treated by Alabastrians as a kind of suburban neighborhood.
Spencer respects Alex a lot. He admires his medical and scientific knowledge but also his desire to help people and how mentally strong he is. He often teases him about being serious and overly dedicated to his work leading to more bickering between them. Although they sometimes argue about Alex spending too much time in the hospital where he works now, Spencer is always ready to support and protect him. He's very affectionate towards his husband and uses a lot of pet names.
⇀ Patricia [ Adopted daughter ]
Patricia and Spencer together is a recipe for Alex's headache. When Pat first joined the crew, Spencer wasn't too keen on keeping her around but he quickly warmed up to her. Despite he does his best to be responsible, he much too often gives in to her ideas. He's very impressed by the fact that she's so young and already such a good mechanic. He often asks her to fix stuff around the house and ship and she's also willing to offer more or less useful upgrades (an exploding alarm clock was not welcome by Alex). Pat also often borrows Spencer's vintage games and beats his high scores, challenging him to beat hers in return. Spencer often sits with Pat and Sorren in the garage when they come over from the Revolutionaries, listening to their stories about space missions and sharing his own about annoying neighbors. Along with Pat, Spencer formed an Alex-teasing alliance that often gets them forcibly removed from the kitchen. They both enjoy action movies and talk to each other a lot during watching, often annoying others with it. Spencer knows Pat is a war orphan and he's doing his best to give her another family she could find love and support in and a place to call home.
⇀Edvin [ Adopted son ]
Edvin was an Alabastrian soldier who decided to capture Alex and Spencer on his own to impress his father, Major Godrick, what was the cause of a lot of distrust at the beginning of their relationship. It was Alex who had gotten through to Edvin first as Edvin considered Spencer a traitor to the Empire and looked down on him. Spencer, however, wanted to know why would a young man like Edvin go to such lengths to prove himself. He knew Edvin's father in person and never liked him so trying to get his son on their side was additional motivation to getting close to him. He quickly learned that Edvin was mistreated and abused by his father, quickly making him want to help not out of spite but for Edvin's own sake. They started training together and Edvin admitted that most of the time he was doing paperwork because his father never considered him good enough to be in the field. Spencer knew that despite his low self-esteem Edvin is a very skilled fighter and has a good aim and a strategic mind. At first, Edvin took his praise as mocking but Spencer and Alex slowly helped him build up some confidence that allowed him to stand up to his father later. Spencer is really proud of the improvement Edvin made and he always celebrates when Edvin gets praised for something or promoted. He likes talking to him about the situation and Alabastris and is happy to see him recognized as a good soldier and intelligent man he is.
⇀ Sorren [ Adopted son ]
Sorren joined the crew during their visit on a planet were space races were hosted. He lost his bet with Patricia and he immediately seemed to get along with her. He was very polite and only 17, hence Alex's decision to take him away from the dangerous life he was living. Sorren fit right in with his ability to pilot the ship between the tightest asteroid belts without a scratch and happy-go-lucky attitude. However, despite caring about him as much as he cared about the others, he didn't know much about Sorren and his sometimes too reckless attitude would get him worried. This changed after Sorren joined the Revolutionaries with Pat and lost his arm during the battle. Conrad decided to temporarily remove him from the missions and he was sent to live with Spencer and Alex for a while where he was supposed to recover and get used to his prosthesis. Slowly, Spencer managed to learn more about his past, the mentor he'd lost and his fear of getting attached and losing someone. Spencer told Sorren about how he felt after he'd lost his legs and arms, making him feel that he's not weak to be scared after such accident. He helped Sorren open up and seek help on meetings for people with PTSD Spencer himself attended. He also trained with him every morning that let him build up some muscle and get a better grip on using his prosthesis. Spencer wants Sorren to know he is not alone and that he can always expect support from him and Alex. He appreciates Sorren's will to help around the house, his sense of humor and kindness and is happy to see him accept friendship, love, and support from people around him.
⇀P.A.C. [ Personal android ]
P.A.C. is very grateful to Spencer who along with Pat found them on a junk sale, bought and took to the ship. Although both of them thought that P.A.C. is not working anymore and was planning to turn them into parts, they quickly realized they were just out of battery which resulted in bringing a sweet, friendly bot to the crew. P.A.C. reminds Spencer of an android companion he and his partner used to have. He appreciates P.A.C.'s enthusiasm to help and the fact that he can always ask them to go along with the younger members of the crew to make sure they won't do anything stupid. Despite being more of a family member than a serving robot, P.A.C. addresses Spencer as "Master Spencer" to show respect. Spencer makes sure P.A.C. will never be abandoned again and always tries to make them feel included, which makes P.A.C respect and care about him even more.
⇀ Hogan [ Friend ]
Hogan is a Coithian mercenary that had been hired by Sophie to keep an eye on the guys who'd tricked her into attacking an Alabastrian ship. After getting hurt while escaping Alabastrian military, Spencer took him abroad the ship, resulting in Hogan joining the crew. At first, Hogan wasn't a big fan of Spencer - as a Coithian soldier he'd heard about Colonel Ryder and new how many of his specimen he'd killed, one of them, unfortunately, being Hogan's friend. However, he quickly realized that Spencer took no pleasure in the suffering of his people just as he took no pleasure in killing Alabastrian soldiers and their friendship began, a bit rocky at first since Hogan considered Alabastrian customs weird just as Spencer didn't know many Coithian ones. Hogan found in Spencer a sparring partner who could keep up with him and he admires Spencer's leadership - the way he can boost his people's morale and cheer them up as well as logical planning. They often tease each other about their partners, differences, and behavior but in battle, they make a great team although Hogan does not enjoy being around Spencer when he's fully coated with the parasite.
⇀Hariett [ Childhood friend ]
When Spencer was a kid he used to hang out with Hariett a lot. She was older than him and always ready to fight bullies or kids who would hurt animals and Spencer considered her really cool. When he was older he decided to follow her steps and join the military. They have always been good pals, sometimes going out for a drink together, sometimes Hariett inviting him and his partner over for dinner. However, after the Coithian war when Spencer lost his limbs and had to move out to a much poorer floor, chained to a wheelchair, Hariett wanted to help him and support him but he was too blinded with grief and angry about how unfair the system was that he didn't appreciate it. He would push her away and after he lashed out at her at some point she decided not to bother anymore and left him alone. Despite that, he knew he can always trust her and when they needed help inside Alabastris to take down the current general, he had to ask for her help. He apologized, ashamed of his behavior back then and Hariett decided to forgive him. After she became the new general, Spencer worked hard to make it up to her and bring their relationship back to normal. Right now they're close friends again and Hariett always visits Spencer and Alex when she comes for the vacation to her summer house. She loves teasing Spencer about the time when he was a dick and he accepts it, knowing that there's no real malice behind her words.
⇀ Nathan [ Ex-enemy, adopted son ]
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⇀Lena [ Adopted daughter ]
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⇀ Ariana [ Collague, his friend's lover ]
Since Ariana doesn't easily open up to people, her and Spencer aren't exactly friends. Their relationship during Spencer and the crew's time in the Revolutionaries was purely professional and their talks were mostly about battle plans and Alabastris' defenses. Ariana respects Spencer as a soldier and a person and is impressed that he'd survived for so long on the run from the Empire. Spencer thinks she's a great leader and fights for a good cause but there's nothing that would make the relationship anything more than two colleagues fighting for the same purpose. Or there wasn't until Hariett started to bring Ariana along for her visits at Spencer and Alex's place since the two of them had grown closer working together on Alabastris. During those visits, Spencer and Ariana find each other forced to initiate more casual small talk, which is very awkward for both of them.
⇀Conrad [ Collague with one-sided rivalry, his adopted son's lover ]
When Spencer and his crew first arrived at the Revolutionaries' planet, Conrad was jealous about the attention and praise they were getting. In his eyes, Spencer was considered the hero he'd always wanted to be despite the fact that he'd been working for the Revolutionaries for years and Spencer just showed up. This caused him to be rude and passive-aggressive towards Spencer at first. He had to admit, although with dread, that Spencer is a good soldier and leader and after he became a leader and Pat and Sorren joined the Revolutionaries, he had to be on civil terms with him and contact him if something happened. After he started dating Nathan, for whom Spencer felt responsible, he started doing his best to be on Spencer's good side. He's very embarrassed about his jealous phase and Spencer never misses the opportunity to tease him about that and his hero complex. Spencer on the other hand, although at first wary of Conrad dating Nathan, decided to put the past behind them and now only enjoys watching Conrad squirm when he makes fun of him.
