Hastie Lanyon Sr. is the father of Hastie Robert Lanyon and father-in-law to Everly Solanki Lanyon. He has a turbulent relationship with his son, and previously financially backed the Society for Arcane sciences.
Physical Appearance[]
Hastie Lanyon Sr. is a tall and lean man with dark skin with freckles across his face and short black coily hair with a high hairline. He has thick, neatly kept eyebrows, mutton chops on either side of his face that are greying near the bottom, and a relatively thick mustache across his top lip with thinner scruffy ends. In his first appearance in Chapter 8, there doesn't appear to be any visible disconnect between the sides of his mustache. However, in his appearance in Chapter 12, there does seem to be notable separation. It may be inferred to be a stylistic choice, or he could have shaved the center of his mustache in preparation of the exhibition. He has wrinkles from age, notably crow's feet around his eyes and more pronounced under-eye bags, and in the (incredibly rare) event that he smiles, the lines around his mouth are more pronounced.
In both of his appearances present day, he can be seen wearing a tailored black tailcoat suit and slacks with a white bow tie. In his appearance in flashbacks in Chapter 13, around the time he was a young adult, he can be seen dressed quite similarly, dressed in a black suit jacket, a dark brown waistcoat with a gold chained watch in his breast pocket, and a neat white cravat.
Personality[]
Hastie Lanyon Sr. is a serious and stern individual with a strong belief in hard work and ambition. His social standing is indeed a product of several years of hard labor and strenuous social relations, and this is mirrored plainly in the way he parents his son, manifesting in a distant and tough-love attitude. His relationship with Robert is highlighted as rocky from the get-go and remains as such throughout the comic, his beliefs in ambition resulting in many fights with his son surrounding finances and the work Robert does. At the end of the day, however, he only wants for his son to show initiative and do well for himself, rather than to rely solely on Hastie's money to get by comfortably.
Trivia[]
- Hastie Lanyon Sr. used to work loading cargo for ships when he was young.
- His relationship with his wife was primarily motivated by her family's high social status and lack of financial security. Robert's attitude towards marriage and romance implies it was quite loveless, at least from what Jekyll could infer.
- While mentioned briefly, his wife has not yet been shown in present day, nor at all in detail. All that can be said is that she is white and auburn haired, and her family quite detested Hastie.
- While no stranger to racism over the course of his life, having had to work incredibly hard to attain his wealth, his wife's family were likely one of the boldest with their disdain. They never made any direct comments about him, but they were undeniably racist towards other people of color while sat right in front of him, as to be derisive in a socially acceptable manner.
- It's incredibly likely that had Hastie made direct comment about it, he would have then been shamed for being sensitive, or confrontational, or otherwise painted as the aggressor at fault, giving them excuse for further social ridicule.
- Hastie Lanyon Sr. has been noted to be quietly aware and supportive of the nature of his son's marriage (being that neither are attracted to one another). While the Solankis expect a child from their marriage, Hastie has not expressed any pressure one way or another so long as the two remain peaceable and free of scandal.[1]
- Prior and up to the events of The Glass Scientists, Hastie Lanyon Sr. was a significant backer of the Society for Arcane Sciences. However, around the time the comic starts, he has declared he will pull funding from the Society following an argument with Robert. This places extra emphasis on the upcoming Exhibition's financial success.
- This decision is later revealed to have been informed by a belief that the money was not indeed going to helping the Society the way it should, but to fund his son's laziness and lack of direction in his life. He did not believe that Robert really believed in the Society's success himself, and was using it, and Henry's passion for it, for his own selfish gain.
- The Exhibition's success in presentation convinced him otherwise, and likely to Lanyon's guilt, his worries were dispelled, and he went on to enjoy the Exhibition under the belief that Lanyon truly cared about it. He expressed his relief and pride in Lanyon, something that Lanyon has likely seldom or never received prior.
Gallery[]
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