Hal

"“I like t’think I’m realistic. I know how the world is.'"Hal is a grumpy, chem-addicted former slaver, who is married to Ian. His many long years among unsavory people, and the unfortunate experiences it has brought him through have left him jaded and wary of others. He is slow to trust, and often pessimistic in his outlook on life, but fiercely dedicated to the people he is closest to.

Personality

 * Normally – When Hal’s not high on one chem or another he’s generally rather quiet and moody. Not outright aggressive or volatile but exceedingly blunt, incapable of mincing his words willingly, and a little bit antisocial until he actually finally gets his fix. Before the chems were involved in his life he used to be far less morose and with an outright jovial sense of humor, a good-natured young man that might’ve even had a bright future ahead of him. Regretfully it is entirely possible that the part of him that had once been like that is permanently lost.
 * On Psycho – Psycho is Hal’s true bane. The chem causes an acute level of hostility and aggression that pushes him into direct conflict after conflict – verbal or even physical violence, which is bad considering his own often poor health – with almost anyone he comes into contact with [Ian tends to be the one exception unless he is really pressured by him]. Even after the chem is out of his system the level of fierce intensity the man has tends to last all the way up to twenty-four hours at a time.
 * On Med-X – Contrary to his behavior with his other addiction when Hal’s on Med-X he is actually far more… mellow and calm. Often, depending on how high his dosage is, he is in his own little world, suffering from a distinct inability to focus on anything or anyone for more than a few minutes at a time. Considering it is a pain inhibitor it’s a poor idea to leave him to his own devices when high on it… he, being a bit klutzy to begin with, can easily harm himself by accident and not even honestly realize it.

Defining Features
Aside from his piercing powder blue eyes, Hal's most distinctive feature are his many tattoos. These have been added throughout the course of his long life and some carry personal meaning to him, while others serve a practical purpose.

Tattoo Details
Faith: Tattooed on his chest is the word Faith, in honor of his daughter.

Sunset: Tattooed down his right arm, the incredible sunset on his arm was added in order to hide the fact that the skin between his hand and shoulder is synthetic and the skintone didn't match his own at all.

Vines: Added to his right arm over the sunset when he met Ian. Ribs: Tattooed on his chest and abdomen, in roughly the same area as his real ribs. He has eight of them, one for each innocent person he killed as a slaver- to honor their memory.

Blackout/Spine: Tattooed under his ribs to hide the synthetic skin on his stomach, as, much like with his arm the skintone didn't match his own, and it was better to avoid having to answer awkward questions.

Phoenix Wings: Added after he survived his near-death in Rivet City as a symbolic representation of his having overcome the encounter.

Gear Sleeve: Received after his marriage to Ian and their departure from the Mojave Wasteland.

Early Life
Hal was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, and grew up as a troublemaker. He was always eager to find something new an interesting to get into, but his favorite thing to do was explore. The bayou around his home city became a frequent stomping ground for Hal and his friends, and inspired a love of adventure and a sense of wanderlust in him.

His wild nature in his youth, however, led to him being thrown out of his home at the age of 16 to fend for himself, and he took to wandering further and further. During this time he met Monte, and was convinced to join his group of slavers. Not long after, he said farewell to his home, and his close friend Adelita, and headed out on the road to begin his work for Monte.

The Slavers
The slaver group took Hal from the Capital Wastes to the Mojave for several years, capturing and enslaving people, and committing other heinous crimes. During this time he became addicted to psycho, under the influence of the questionable company he was now keeping. He also had a one night stand with Alaina, and got her pregnant with their daughter Faith.

During a trip to the Mojave, the slaver group was attacked by the NCR and Hal was near-mortally injured, with his life being saved only due to the intervention of one of their current slaves. The man's talent with cybernetics restored Hal's life, though it left him with a significant portion of his body replaced with cybernetics, and a need to constantly maintain them, through which he learned decent skills with cybernetic components. He also developed a Med-X addition while recovering, as a way to deal with the physical pain.

One night, after some goading from Monte, Hal took a large dose of Psycho, and while under it's influences, he accidentally murdered his daughter. Horrified at his actions and what he had done, and utterly broken by his loss, Hal turned his back on the slavers and left- turning to doing odd jobs as a mechanic, and stealing chems just to get his fix.

Meeting Ian
During one of his odd jobs, he was approached by a strange man from Boston, who wanted to hire him as a personal mercenary. He took to reluctantly traveling with the man, and it was eventually revealed that the cheerful stranger, Ian, was an android who had been looking for both protection from other androids, and someone to help keep him maintained after the damage he had sustained in an encounter with a hunter during his escape from the Institute. They traveled together for some time, becoming good friends, with both developing feelings that run perhaps a bit deeper than friendship.

Finally, in need of supplies, they head for the Capital Wastes, despite Ian's reservations.

The Capital Wastes
In an attempt to resupply, they arrived in Rivet City and Hal quickly found himself at odds with Harkness, the head of security, and a synth ghost from Ian's past. Hal and Ian began to explore their relationship further, though neither was able to quite admit things out loud at that time.

While exploring the Capital Wastes, Hal met and befriended a woman named Sara, and developed a sort of siblings relationship with her.

While they were preparing to hit the road again, Hal ran into Monte for the first time in years, and the man revealed his plans to attack Rivet City with his slaver group after antagonizing Hal for a time. Hal told Ian of these plans, and urged him to get his things packed up immediately so they could escape whatever was coming for them if they stayed. Ian managed to convince Hal to stay and help the city, and the slaver attack was successfully repelled, curbing Monte's desire to hound Hal for a time. Hal's rivalry with Harkness came to a quick and violent head, concluding in a violent confrontation between the two of them that left Hal mortally injured, and in dire need of help. Though he seemed ready to accept his fate, Ian became distraught and rushed off to strike a deal with Harkness, using their past relationship to leverage the man into helping them. Finally, the security chief agreed and led them to Pinkerton, the scientist who had been helping him for years, who was able to save Hal's life. Hal attempted to strike a deal with Pinkerton to upgrade Ian, but the man admitted it was beyond his capabilities.

Not long after this, both men were able to finally admit their feelings for one another, and Hal and Ian's relationship became officially romantic, surprising no one who knew them.

While Hal was recovering, he received news from Sara that she was leaving the Capital Wastes, and heading West. The loss of his friend hit Hal harder than he openly admitted to Ian, and once he had fully recovered from his injuries, they finally set out to continue their wandering, and set their sights on the Mojave.

The Road to the Mojave
Hal's brush with death, combined with everything else that had happened in the Capital Wastes drove Hal's ever growing depression into a new intensity, and he began to self-harm. In an attempt to stop himself he abandoned his knife, but not long after, a well-meaning Ian, oblivious to his actions at the time, gifted him a new one for Christmas, among other things.

A few days later, a guilt-ridden Hal finally admitted to Ian what he had been doing, and opened up about his struggles with depression to the man, confessing that he had a desire to die and felt he did not deserve to live. Ian struggled to understand the concept, and simply tried to reason with him- finally getting him to at least calm down for a time. They celebrated New Years not long after, with Ian admitting he didn't actually care what else happened in the world, so long as Hal was with him. This led Hal to another internal struggle, still not entirely comfortable admitting his feelings for Ian out loud out of a fear that something would ruin what they had.

At some point on their journey, Hal taught Ian how to french kiss, and confused the hell out of the poor android. Ian offered to show his gratitude to Hal in a sexual manner, and despite Hal reminding him he had once promised to wait until they could mutually enjoy sexual encounters, Ian insisted. The night ended in Ian blowing Hal, and admitting that in the Institute he had been friends with a Synth specifically designed as a sexbot, who had tried to teach him a few tricks once. Not long after, he gave his knife to Ian, insisting the man keep a hold of it for vague reasons, so that he would not risk harming himself again. Hal suffered another depressive episode quickly after, insisting he was beyond help. Ian, stubborn as ever, insisted otherwise and refused to give up on him. Ian promised never to leave him, and he meant it.

Less than a month later, while they were resting in an abandoned house, Ian was attacked on a supply run by a hunter from the Institute and managed to destroy it, but not before being badly damaged. He was too damaged for Hal to be able to completely repair, and left in a crippled state- constantly coughing up black liquid, and suffering reduced strength and a glitching to his voice.

With a new sense of urgency to find a mechanic to fix Ian, their journey carried them further, until they finally entered the Mojave, finding it in the midst of a third power struggle.

The Mojave
Not long after they arrived, Hal struck a deal with the current leader of New Vegas, Dalton, while on his own. She would repair Ian for him, and provide them with a place to stay- in exchange for Hal getting clean. Hal, of course, had no plans on honoring his end of the deal. He wanted only to save Ian.

With no love lost between Hal and the NCR, the man managed to find himself striking a deal with Caesar, a trade of information on Vegas and it's leader for the ensured safety of himself and Ian. He was given two of Caesar's marks for them to wear, and brought them to Ian, trying to assure him that it would be fine.

Soon after, Ian found them the kind of trouble Hal had avoided for years by hating animals: A baby bighorner. The calf had been abandoned by it's herd after losing it's leg to a bear trap, and Ian was insistent on adopting the poor thing. Hal grudgingly agreed, but warned that he didn't like it and felt it would make a better dinner, Ian insisted he would be a good companion to have around and kept him, giving him the name Gumbo. They then agreed to go to the Strip on a supply run, with Hal noting he had something he wanted to do anyways while they were there.

At some point, Hal was seriously injured in a brawl, and found by Ian. The synth tried to take him to see the Followers to be healed, but Hal refused. Ian was heartbroken, but relented, and figured out another way to patch him up so he could survive.

Some time later, he ran into Sara again and though he was happy to see his old friend, his mental state was once more declining and rapidly. After sending Ian away on a supply run, Hal tried to kill himself, and was only stopped when Sara intervened, talking him out of it. He kept this a secret from Ian, and went about life as normal, just waiting for when Dalton announced she was ready to repair him. After being confronted by Sai (Sara's alternate personality), Ian approached Hal about what had happened, and struggled to come to terms with Hal's depression and mortality. He did his best to help him, and things seemed to be turning around for the two of them. Not long after, Dalton announced she was finally ready to begin repairs on Ian.

Not long before Ian departed with Dalton for his repairs, Hal pulled him aside and proposed. Ian eagerly agreed, and when his repairs were completed, they began to plan for their wedding.

Boston
An unclear amount of time after their wedding, and Ian's repairs, Hal and Ian hit the road once more. They turned their backs on the Mojave and set out on a road trip across the US- intending to make their way to Hal's home in due time. Their wandering brought them first back to Boston, and Ian's former home in the Commonwealth.

Trivia

 * Hal is not Hal's real name. He has not told anyone what his birth name is. His current name was taken from the slave who saved him, after the man's death.
 * In tumblr roleplays his faceclaim is actor Josh Holloway, but his voiceclaim has been stated to be Shane Taylor as Eugene Roe in Band of Brothers.
 * Hal is incredibly fond of Nuka Cola.
 * Hal still keeps Faith's blanket and favorite doll with him, they are kept safe and wrapped up in the bottom of his bag.
 * He is fluent in French, and often lapses into it when he's particularly emotional.

Outside Sources
Hal on Tumblr: Psychotheory