introducing...thomas cole troutman
"you're so cold; keep your hand in mine
wise men wonder while strong men die"by breaking benjamin full name: thomas cole troutman
nick names: cole -- everybody just calls him cole
age: 17
gender: male
birthday: august 31
grade: junior
sexuality: straight
school of origin: marshall
canon or original: canon
beauty is skin deep
hair color: black
eye color: dark brown
height: 5'10 1/2"
weight: 130-140, he doesn't pay much attention
build: pretty thin, not that athletic
tattoos: none (dude, he's 17!)
piercings: none
clothing style: pretty casual, he likes pants and t-shirts or collared shirts. hates polo shirts and shorts with a purple passion. pretty much refuses to wear either (except when he's swimming, then he does wear shorts)
celebrity image: penn badgley
what's going on underneath
likes:> winning
> being right
> making bets
> gambling
> singing/playing guitar
> music of all varieties
> writing (though he'll never tell)
> sex
> his reputation
> socccer (mostly watching, though he plays for fun)
dislikes: > anything that results in sweating
> things/people that he considers "beneath" him
> anyone from terrance
> his first name
> anyone calling him by his first name (there's a reason most don't know it)
> people who can't sing but try to
> people who can't read music
> failing/losing
> water -- drinking it, being in or on it, taking baths/showers
> body odor. just because he hates showers doesn't mean he doesn't take them. frequently.
flaws:> hates being wrong, and will try very hard not to have to admit it
> hates losing, especially to west.
> can't take orders worth shit
habits: > punches things when angry
> gets really excited when he gets mail
> changes the color and style of his clothes to fit his mood (somewhat subconscious)
dreams/goals:> become a social worker
> seduce riley rohn into dating him
> take in foster kids (very far in the future)
secrets: > he enjoys writing and art
> he finds it very difficult to trust people
> he has never tried alcohol or any kind of smoking
general personality: cole has always been a bit of a wild child. he enjoys being impulsive, and doing the last thing people expect of him. surprises are his bread and butter, to the point where he will stand alone in the shadows, holding perfectly still for hours, and then speak to someone passing by, causing them to jump and often, to think he's about to mug them. it amuses him immensely, and he has lived most of his life searching for some form of amusement. anything that will entertain him for a few moments without forcing him to compromise his freedom is something he will go after determinedly. he also has a very curious nature, always wanting to know everything about his surroundings and the people in them. granted, quite a bit of that comes from distrusting everyone around him, always thinking they will sacrifice his well-being to protect their own.
and this is the reason cole prefers to be alone. he has no close friends, because he doesn't trust anyone enough to take them into his confidence. he prefers to remain aloof and mysterious. but he is willing to make a trade. if he wants to know about you, he will volunteer information about himself, in hopes that the more he talks, the more you will talk. however, he is also good at reading people, and has learned the value of silence. basically, he knows when to talk and when not to talk, and has no problem exploiting that knowledge. the one exception to this rule is his "twin" sister. he has let her in maybe a little farther than he is comfortable with, but at least he knows he can trust her, and she will never betray him. because she just can't lie to him any more than he can lie to her.
now, on to his biggest personality trait: his tendency to gamble. perhaps he inherited it from one of his biological parents, he really doesn't know. but cole troutman has never once stepped down from a bet. he is very rarely wrong about those things he places bets on, and when he is, he absolutely hates to admit it. he has been known to stall, pull technicalities, anything, so he doesn't have to admit that he is wrong. he is even worse about this if his friend, west, is in the picture. bets with west just
cannot be lost. it's simply unacceptable, and cole will go to just about any length to see that his friend doesn't win their bets.
blood's thicker than water
mother's name/age: victoria troutman, 46
mother's occupation: lawyer
father's second mother's name/age: colie troutman, 49
father's second mother;s occupation: unemployed
siblings: 4, all adopted, all open. check the canon list for more info.
children: none
other: biological father, james whitman, biological mother, clarisse renauld
pets: large beta in a goldfish bowl. what? they're easy. named him mr. goldy.
relationship with family: the first relationship that needs to be discussed is that between cole and his biological father. frankly, he hates the man. james walked out on cole and his mother. period. end of story. in the young man's mind, there is absolutely nothing that could make that okay.
after that, you have to look at his adoptive mothers. the other foster family he lived with doesn't count. in general, he gets along well with both of them. they have their disagreements, of course, but they are parent figures, and never feel that cole deserves the amount of freedom he feels he does. but that just makes them good parents, and there is a very small part of him, very deep down inside, that recognizes this. if he didn't hate them sometimes, they probably wouldn't deserve him. as for his adopted brothers and sisters (and miss delacour, who he considers an adopted sister, whether or not she wants to go along with that), he mostly gets along with them fairly well. he fights with them all, of course, especially his youngest brother, but he would protect them if it came down to it. which isn't to say he'll drive them to school or anything without severe complaint, but hey, he's a teenager.
his sister (troutman, 17), however, is another matter. since the moment they met, they have pretty much been the best of friends. she's like a twin to him, even to the point that they sometimes get 'vibes' about what the other is thinking or feeling. cole refers to this as their 'twin vibes,' since they're the same age and technically siblings, despite being adopted. he tells her absolutely everything, and he believes the reverse is also true.
hindsight is 20/20
best memory: the day he was adopted by his current mothers.
worst memory: the day his biological father walked back into his life.
brief biography: > born august 31, 1991, to clarisse renauld and james whitman, teenage parents who decided to try and "make it work"
> james left when he was three
> has very few memories of before that time, mostly fights.
> the day his father left, his mother cried, and comforting her was better than hiding from the fights
> at age seven, his mother was finally diagnosed as an alcoholic, after three years of binge drinking
> was put into the foster care system
> stayed with the braun family for a year, running away at pretty much every opportunity
> never really got very far; he was seven or eight at the time
> was put into a group home for several months after the brauns gave up on him
> showed violent tendencies, became almost bully at the home
> sent to another foster family, the troutmans, planned to run away
> surprisingly, the troutmans decided to work with him, and try to help, rather than just letting him live with them
> cole found he didn't really want to run away
> blames it in part on the fact that they were lesbians; they were "freaks" just like him, but they were healthy and happy
> was adopted at the age of thirteen, took the troutmans' last name
> started high school with reduced violent episodes, but still tended to punch people when they insulted him
> during the summer between freshman and sophomore years, his father stepped back into his life
> they hung out a few times, went to dinners and such, and the troutmans were very supportive
> in the long run, cole told his dad he would never forgive him, and to back off
> james got very angry, leaving cole with a black eye which the troutmans almost reported
> cole talked them out of it (provided it never happened again), and he hasn't seen his father since
> proof that the man doesn't care because, if he really did, he would have reacted differently (cole doesn't know how he should have reacted, but he knows it shouldn't have been by hitting him -- though he did learn where he got his violent streak)
> continued sophomore year, toward the end of the year, set his sights on riley rohn
> he witnessed the horrible break-up, and thought it would be amusing to see if he could 'pick up the pieces' so to speak
> took the bet by west (who heard his speculations), and has been working toward it all summer
> west is getting pushy, saying time is about to run out, but there was no time limit originally set, and cole hasn't given up yet
the person behind the curtain
name/alias: feiah
age: 20
years experience: under 2
other characters: brooke donovan
how did you find us: i helped make "us"
code phrase: accepted
rp sample: 
TROUTMAN, thomas cole
