Tom Redding

## Thomas O. "Tom" Redding

Tom Redding as of 2022

Others:

* Black "Dark Side of the Moon:" t-shirt
* Green US Naval Aviation t-shirt (handed down from Justin)

### Dislikes

* When Justin And His Friends Leave Home To Go On Duty (Especially When They've Been Away For Long Periods Of Time)
* Fearing That Justin Or His Friends Could Die One Day
* When Justin Is Either Boasting, Being Cocky Or Teasing Arthur
* Bullies

## Abilities

### Skills

* Advanced Combat Skills
* Good Memory
* Good At Playing Guitar
* Good Singer

**Thomas Owen Redding**, more commonly known as **"Tom,"** is a main character that appears in the *Foxtrot: Foxes in Arms* series. He is an animatronic red fox who is the younger brother of Justin Redding, granted he isn't a part of any armed service. Tom is the first of the main characters introduced to be a non-service fox while most of the others are, which has sort of put a bit of a strain on his relationship with Justin and the others, but he is well off with his girlfriend Jess Silver, who is also not a service fox. Tom is also the first main character to not be born in America, having been born in England.

## Physical Appearance

Tom is an animatronic fox who bares some resemblance to his older brother, having orangish red fur with some spots being black, white, and peach. Tom's fur is actually a bit brighter in terms of the shade, though it's barely noticeable unless he were standing next to Justin. Tom's black fur extends to about half way to his forearms and lower legs, almost giving the appearance of wearing black gloves and socks. His neck is metallic silver and his eyes are a rich teal color. Tom also stands just shorter than Justin, who's just over 6 feet tall comparatively.

Tom has between three to four fur tufts on each side of his muzzle, with his hair being arranged in three midsized bangs. For attire, Tom can commonly be seen wearing a dark blue denim jacket over a blank white t-shirt. However, in the past, he has been noted to wear a black t-shirt with the logo of *The Dark Side of the Moon* studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd. And as of recently, he's even gained a certain green-colored US Naval Aviation t-shirt, which had been handed down to him by Justin.

Another alternative outfit including the green USNA shirt includes a black leather jacket, dark blue jeans, and black shoes.

## Backstory

Tom was born on August 26, 1998 to Scott and Riley Redding in the town of Winchester in England, a part of the United Kingdom. He had come four years after the birth of Justin, who'd been born in the American capital of Washington DC, where even from the first moment Justin was introduced to him, there was something of a strong brotherly bond in the making, and it would come quite strongly in the years to come. Much like his brother, Tom had come into a decently well-off community, granted it started off being in England rather than America.

Tom would actually pick up quite a bit of English customs throughout his childhood, which something he's quite proud of even now. And aside from Justin, he did make nice with quite a number of his peers, and he did grow an interest in a number of different sports. Through it all, he had a perfectly unbreakable bond with Justin, who was quite possibly the closest fox to him, perhaps besides his mother and father at the time. Based on some sources, it was potentially at some point during his younger years that he'd meet Vienna North, who would go on to become a long-lasting friend of his.

Things became different by the time they started becoming adults. By the time Justin had reached the age of adulthood, he expressed great interest in joining the United States Navy, something that a number of of their family members had done prior to them. At the time, Justin had full support of their parents, but Tom wasn't the biggest fan of the idea. He didn't express enthusiasm in the idea of joining any armed service, as he wasn't looking into the fame, the dangers of the tasks, and most of all, dying at the hands of some foreign nation. Justin did get accepted into the program, and promptly left to start his training, leaving Tom behind at home.

Throughout the process, Tom would find himself with increased feelings of loneliness not having Justin around, and his father Scott also expressing his own disappointment in Tom not joining up as soon as he was old enough. Still, he'd do his best to maintain contact with Justin throughout the time of his training and into his first deployment afterwards. The prolonged separation did end up putting somewhat of a wedge between Tom and Justin, as Justin's status of a Navy fighter pilot got him more attention, plus a significant boost to his ego, while Tom was seemingly left out of it. Despite this, Tom did take every advantage to hang out with Justin, and he'd be happy whenever Justin returned home. Justin, in turn, would eventually join the squadron VFA-242 as a fighter pilot.

Because Tom had been so close to Justin, his departure had left a huge impact on him, which led him spiraling into a depressive state, where he wouldn't be all too interested in even the things he liked most. He felt especially depressed whenever Justin was away on long deployments, which ended up lasting around six months or more. It's because of this that Tom actually did several times to take his own life, it got that bad. He did manage to pull through it for the most part, and when Justin did return home, he did a great deal to spend as much time with Tom as possible, and that surely did wonders to cheer him up, as much as Tom's confronted Justin about this. As overconfident Justin became, he still cared deeply for Tom, and he made sure to show it at every chance he got.

It wouldn't be long after Justin joined up when Tom did end up meeting several of Justin's friends, some of which had turned out he'd known since just before joining. These included a Texan swift fox by the name of Swefred Hayden, as well as some arctic foxes named Arthur Snow and Sewell Snow, the two of them being brothers much like himself and Justin. Tom would go on to make friends with them, going out with them as long as Justin was alright with it, which he was. Tom even made a best friend out of Sewell, to which his positive attitude did wonders to him. And while Tom may have gotten on well with Sewell, the same can't necessarily be said for his older brother. Tom and Arthur got on well for the most part, though their relationship is a bit complicated. While Arthur is generally nice and reserved, Tom sometimes doesn't get along with him, and it doesn't help that he absolutely hates it when Arthur has a bit of a depressive episode. Tom has done things to try and help Arthur through it, though they don't turn out successful sometimes, and this has been the source of many fights.

Tom has sometimes been invited under special permission to come aboard the American battleship USS *Missouri*, which Arthur is the captain of, mostly during training exercises. Meanwhile, Tom does get the opportunity to pursue his own interests, such as several sports including association football and darts.

His loneliness has been helped ever since he'd gotten acquainted with a Canadian silver vixen named Jessica Silver, commonly known as Jess. While the others were off on deployment, Tom spent a lot of time with Jess, where they grew closer and closer to each other and eventually hooked up as boyfriend and girlfriend. Of course, they do have full support of Justin and the others.

## Personality

Generally, Tom is a nice and well-meaning guy who practically anyone has the potential to get along with, so long as they're nice to him. Even though he may not be a service fox, Tom still has some devotion to help those he deeply cares about, regardless of the circumstances. This especially applies to the likes of Justin, Jess, and Sewell, being his brother, girlfriend, and best friend respectively. Many could describe him as being the sort almost anyone could turn to if they need help with something, and his usual personality is a perfect testament to the lengths he'd go to for his friends, even under the more desperate of situations.

Now, it wouldn't be the full picture without mentioning the other side to this coin. Tom can get rather depressed during long periods of separation from his brother and his friends. He can also be rather aggressive and violent at times, though this is never without cause. Usually, if someone bullies him, if it has anything to do with Arian Torres, Justin being overconfident, or the like, he will get aggressive and probably get into a fight if what he sees is wrong or if it's to protect someone else. Many can attest to the idea that it wouldn't be wise to rile Tom up, as the consequences would probably leave someone in a bloody mess, as long as they deserve it.

Still, despite the sometimes depression and aggressiveness he sometimes displays, Tom is still the sort of friend who would go to several lengths to support those he cares about, and he really is a nice, loving, and overall caring individual.

## Abilities

Despite not being in the military, Tom does seem to have some advanced combat skills compared to the average civilian. He's quite well-versed in especially self-defensive and some offensive skills, and is relatively able to handle himself in a fight, for the most part. Being that he does have military friends, it's likely that he picked up some of these skills from his friends, especially the likes of, say, Vienna, as she does have some of the greatest combat abilities of the service foxes.

Tom also has a pretty decent memory, as he is able to recall many things from his younger years and many more. He has received some admiration for being able to retain such a memory. Tom also has quite a bit of skill at the musical arts, being able to play the guitar very well, and even has some pretty good singing talents. This has occasionally been put on display with him receiving much praise for it. And he's also able to play a number of sports pretty well, namely association football (soccer), and darts.

## Relationships

### Justin Redding

Justin is Tom's older brother, and therefore one of his strongest and closest allies. Tom and Justin have a strong brotherly bond, as they are almost always able to get along with each other, and especially when they were younger, practically did nearly everything together. Justin is also fairly protective of Tom, as any older brother ought to be, and will go to great measures to ensure Tom's safety. Tom also does have great respect and love for his brother whenever he sticks up for him against anyone who belittles or demeans him. That was just the least Justin would go, and he has, in some cases, literally put his own life on the line for Tom. And there's no doubt that they would make a great duo, all things considered.

It is worth noting that they sometimes do have their quarrels, as Tom isn't all that big on Justin's boasting whenever he gets an ego boost. However, sibling quarrels can be expected, and more often than not, regardless of any disagreements, Justin and Tom's bond has proven to be strong, and Tom has even said that they're practically inseparable at the end of the day. This has even gone to the levels of when Justin is gone on a deployment, he'd always wished Justin well and would hope he comes home in one piece. Granted, if the two Redding brothers are together, they make quite the duo, and while Justin does a great deal to look after Tom, Tom has had his moments to do the same just back to him.

### Jess Silver

Jess is among one of the newer friends Tom has, but they have grown particularly close in the time they've gotten to know each other, to the point where they are now officially a couple. They share many things in common, and when Tom first met Jess, he did finally have someone to spend time with while Justin and the others went away. He did eventually grow feelings for Jess as time went on, and Jess did as well, though her shyness and lack of confidence made it hard to admit it. Tom did help her considerably to the point where she did open up to him.

Generally, Tom and Jess do get along very well, since they potentially have the most things in common with the other. Namely the fact that neither one of them are service foxes, so it would've made it likely that they got to know each other a great deal. It was thanks to Tom helping her that Jess got considerably more confident in herself. As boyfriend and girlfriend, they overall have a nice relationship, and they haven't argued all that much, if at all.

### Sewell Snow

Sewell is shown to be close to Tom, and Tom considers him his best friend. Tom does enjoy Sewell's rather young charm and positively energetic nature, something that was a hit with him upon their first meeting. Sewell also enjoys hanging with Tom as well, and they generally get along better than how Tom does with Sewell's older brother. More often than not, they can be seen doing quite a bit of things together, an example includes cooking, where Tom generally acts as Sewell's sous chef, or second in command.

Now, they do have their disagreements. One such example is that Tom has the mindset where sometimes violence is the only way to solve a problem, while Sewell is of the opinion violence should be a last resort under all circumstances; diplomacy first. Sewell is vocal about such things, but never wishes to get into fights and usually tries to help Tom in such circumstances. Tom understands this, and does try to hear his best friend out, though he may not agree with what. Regardless, their bond is fairly strong, though perhaps not quite as strong as Tom's bond with his older brother Justin, but still strong nonetheless.

### Vienna North

Vienna is another one of Tom's close friends, and they apparently have quite a bit of history. Tom had apparently met Vienna when they were younger, making her one of Tom's longest-lasting friends even from a relatively young age. Now, they do get on fairly well, as evident by many of their interactions. Vienna is also believed to have taught many advanced melee combat skills to him, on the account of her own training with the US Marine Corps and the martial arts she picked up from her father.

Now, some sources suggest that Tom and Vienna were once in a bit of a deeper relationship that had broken off when Vienna joined the USMC, though whether or not this is canonical is up for interpretation. Regardless, Vienna is fairly friendly with Tom, and perhaps that, aside from Justin, he could potentially look up to her. In the end, they, too, are still pretty close friends who will look out for one another if the situation calls for it.

### Swefred Hayden

Swefred is another close friend of Tom's, and they generally get along quite well. Tom does enjoy the cowboy vibes he gets from Swefred, and he also has some great respect for him when it comes to his medical knowledge. They rarely argue with one another, and as long as things are kept civil, they do have a nice relationship as well. Granted, if Tom does have a violent episode, Swefred is among the few who is quick to try and calm him down enough to see sense, as Swefred is known to do this if things get heated between the likes of Justin and Arthur. Still, Tom does like Swefred enough to where he commonly calls him "Freddie," to which Swefred has little problems with, and has since adopted it as a nickname.

### Arthur Snow

Arthur's relationship with Tom is possibly the most complicated out of all the main cast, and possibly one of the most strained. Normally, Tom is seen to get along decently well with Arthur, and he has been on record to say that, in many was, he does have some respect and admiration for Arthur because of what he does for not just his country, but the world. He does view Arthur as a friend, especially considering how close his close friends Sewell and Vienna are to the eldest arctic fox of the group. However, they don't always get along.

Tom isn't the biggest fan of the more strict attitude Arthur takes on whenever he's on active duty, with Arthur acknowledging and understanding this but also explaining why he's like this in the military. Tom also hates it whenever Arthur gets into a real depressive episode. Tom, having had depression himself, understands how Arthur can feel during these circumstances and has done what he can to help Arthur out, though many of his efforts have been met with little success. It's these traits that annoy Tom the most about Arthur, and while he also gets annoyed with Justin's boasting or teasing of Arthur, this is apparently different. This has been the source of many fights between the two of them, with Tom letting out his frustrations by getting physical with Arthur and it wouldn't be too far-fetched to say that there could be some trust issues between them sometimes. Tom may like Arthur and view him as a friend, though one has to wonder if he's as close to him as he is to the others. Still, they do at least attempt to make up and are generally alright with each other.

### Friends & Allies

* Justin Redding (brother)
* Jess Silver (love interest)
* Sewell Snow (best friend)
* Vienna North
* Swefred Hayden
* Arthur Snow

### Rivals

* Justin Redding (occasionally)
* Arthur Snow (occasionally)

## Trivia

* Tom is the first character of the Skulk introduced not to have been created by the original series creator.
	+ It is also worth nothing that he is the first of the main characters not to have been born in America. Instead, he was born in the UK, specifically England, and now lives in the US, having picked up more English customs than the likes of his older brother.
* According to various sources, a sport Tom puts quite a bit of time and effort in is Darts.