TRISTEN THOMAS is a 20 year old resident of Penbrook. He was born on July 11th, 1997. People say he looks similar to Tyler Young. Tristen is TAKEN.
This boy is someone who prefers to be unknown, anonymous. He doesnât toss out his name to anyone, only people he trusts. But when he does, heâll introduce himself as Tristen. Tristen was born in Poland, he was a happy kid with a great big brother, loving parents who cared for each other and them, and they were all close. Until his parents slowly got ill and died within weeks of each other. He was only four years old, his older brother, Kasia, was eight. Tristen began closing off, keeping to himself mostly. Then, they were dragged to an aunt and uncle in custody that he didnât even know he was related to, where they lived in a giant, crumbling mansion. It was now only Tristen, Kasia, his aunt Jadzia, and his uncle Adok. Things were normal for the first few days, before his aunt pulled him to the side and spoke crossly. Heâd always remembered the words she said, even if he was young. âYour parents arenât dressing you right⊠Shouldnât you be in a nice pretty dress?â Her Polish was beautiful, but her words were ugly. A dress? Why would he wear a dress. Heâd never heard her call him by his name, and it took him a while before he realized âLiddieâ was her addressing him. Liddie Jackson. When he didnât respond, he got a smack somewhere on the body. The boy got older, the slaps got harder, the slaps evolved. She began to abuse him and torture him in several different forms; near drowning, branding, starvation, over-feeding, freezing, humiliation, beatings, choked, whippings, anything to inflict pain without death. He was forced to go by Liddie, call himself a girl, and dress like a girl.
This went on until he was twelve. He fell asleep in the girly pajamas his aunt made for him, and woke up to Kasia shaking him awake. He barely explained the situation, dragging the younger boy out the door with suitcases already waiting for them outside. An intruder came in and hurt their aunt, she was dead. Their uncle was still asleep, but they had to leave, far away. Tristen didnât mind, so he grabbed everything he could and ran off with Kasia. They paused long enough for him to change into proper boyâs clothes, before illegally hopping on a boat undiscovered, to Penbrook. America. Zarek got a job within days to provide for the both of them. He knew better English than Tristen, since he was allowed to go to school and âLiddieâ wasnât, but slowly taught him when he could. Tristen never, ever left their little, abandoned motel room. No one questioned their presence, but that didnât change anything. He was scarred and terrified. He changed his wardrobe to only sweaters and long pants to cover the disgusting scars that covered his body, and spent all his time inside, either on the computer or reading or watching television. They moved once, a year later, when Kasia had enough money for an apartment. Thatâs where they stay together now. Since they moved there, heâs expanded his horizons and got his own job in online programming when he was eighteen, and has picked up several things; new languages, new instruments, a bunch of useless facts. Heâs terrified and timid, but heâs ready to continue on in the world and start his life with little to no knowledge of how things work.
In general, his entire life is a secret. Only his brother knows the full extent of the pain heâd suffered throughout his life. However, there are a few things even Kasia doesnât know, that heâd want to take to the grave. The only way to get out of his auntâs torture was by reciting a speech. It went, âMy name is Liddie Jackson. I wear my pretty dresses and I look beautiful. I love you, Auntie. I am your favorite niece. You have one nephew and one niece. I am your pretty girl named Liddie.â Heâd be nearly killed if he didnât say it. Now, because of all the pain, heâs got DID, or dissociative identity disorder. This didnât spring up until he left his apartment for the first time, when he got pushed to the ground by a stranger. He has two split personalities, though he only knows of one. Liddie is one, sheâs the most aggressive. Sheâs everything his aunt wanted him to be. Thatâs what the tests were for, to make her strong and immune. Sheâs ruthless and cold, she finds friends and support as a burden and a weakness. She comes out when heâs feeling scared or threatened. The other is Jakub, though he isnât aware Jakub exists. Heâs everything Tristen aspired to be. Confident and cool, in simplest terms. Heâs the most aware personality and can easily give control back to Tristen, though Liddie is too powerful of a force and he canât override her.
Tristen was feeling especially scared one night and got his hands on cocaine. It made him feel alive and he wasnât afraid of anything. He never understood the effects, he didnât even know they were illegal or harmful, just that they made him feel good. Whenever heâs sad and doesnât use, which is pretty often, he sits alone in his room in his shared apartment with his brother, where he sets up a camera and records himself, talking to his dead parents to update them on his life. He stashes said tapes under his bed, and nobody knows where they are nor of their existence.
Generally his whole life is a secret, he doesnât like to tell people anything thatâs happened to him. But one thing he wants to take to the grave is his body unseen. He has gruesome scars all over himself, mostly on the torso, spreading to arms and thighs more scarcely, but Jadzia was careful to avoid his neck, forearms, and calves to avoid suspicious eyes in warmer months. Heâs horribly insecure of them and would probably have a meltdown if someone saw them.
Sees Yevette as a mother figure and Floyd as a father figure.
Kasia is his older sister.
