Name: Tesu - Although he probably has a last name, neither he nor
anyone else knows what it is since he was abandoned, thrown away, or
what have you, shortly after his birth.
Name Meaning: It means "knife" or "blade" in ancient Egyptian, but I
mainly chose it just 'cause it sounds kinda cool.
Age: 16
Date of Birth: Unknown, but celebrates it (well, sort of) on March 13
Astrological Sign: Again, unknown - but his adopted sign is Pisces
Bloodtype: AB
Alignment: Neutral, leaning toward good. This is a bit misleading
because Tesu would consider himself damned beyond any possibility of
redemption. He could, conceivably be won over by either side, but it
would be much more difficult for the evil side to convince him to
join them. He's experienced evil first hand, and has no wish to
inflict such pain on anyone else.
Strengths: As a former street kid, Tesu is definitely a survivor
type. He has a vast amount of street-smarts, and can usually find a
way out of any tough predicament that doesn't involve fighting. In
addition, his job as a dancer enhances his natural agility.
Weaknesses: Tesu's not really much of a fighter and would probably
come off worst in any sort of physical conflict. In addition, he can
neither read nor write.
Likes: Tesu loves music (particularly classic rock) and dancing -
which is fortunate, since he works as a dancer at a night club.
Oddly enough, he also likes dogs. Although he's never owned one,
during the time he spent living on the streets, he did befriend the
occasional stray - there's just something about all that
unconditional love that's very appealing.
Dislikes: Tesu loathes almost any sort of physical activity other
than dancing. He hates most sports, and considers rabid sports fans
to be idiots. He just can't understand how *anyone* could get so
worked up over something so trivial.
Greatest Fear: At the moment, Tesu is making a pretty good living as
a dancer, and his homeless days seem to be behind him. However, his
greatest fear would have to be that somehow he will lose everything
and be forced out onto the streets once more.
Motivation: As one might imagine, given his greatest fear, Tesu will
do almost anything to avoid being homeless again - which is something
that his employers - particularly Ausar - have been known to take
advantage of from time to time.
Favorite Food: Baklava - it's just so yummy!
Least Favorite Food: Liver. Bleah! It looks like a blood clot, and
even when disguised by brown gravy and grilled onions it still tastes
like... well... like liver.
What grade are they in: Tesu has never been to school. (If he had,
however, he'd be a junior in high school)
Marks: N/A
Favorite Class: N/A
Least Favorite Class: N/A
Personality: Tesu is *nothing* like what he appears to be. To
outsiders - which would be almost everyone he comes into contact
with - he seems to be an ice-god: cold, reserved and superior. In
actuality, however, he is a mass of contradictions: almost
pathologically shy, and seriously lacking in self-esteem on the one
hand; yet, on the other hand, he projects an aura of naivete and
innocence that seems to belie the years spent living homeless on the
streets, doing whatever he had to in order to survive. Although not
a fighter, he does possess a kind of inner strength - once he's made
up his mind about something or someone, it takes a great deal of
effort to change his opinion - however, given his lack of faith in
his own judgement, it often takes a long time for him to actually
form an opinion on any given person or course of action.
Appearance: Medium height (around 5'9") with a lithe, slender
dancer's build, Tesu has black, slightly shaggy collar length hair
with long bangs that continually fall over his large grey eyes.
Because of his job, he usually wears fairly revealing clothing such
as snug-fitting leather pants that ride low on his hips and provide a
sharp contrast with his pale, ivory skin (he rarely wears a shirt
when working). Small simple silver hoops adorn each ear, another
similar pair in each nipple, and he has a tattoo of a black dragon
with the irridescent wings of a butterfly on his left shoulder. He
has another, smaller, tattoo in the shape of a blood red teardrop
high upon his cheek just under his right eye.
Social Status: Tesu would consider himself a nobody - he's never
belonged to anyone, and has always been sort of a cast-off. To the
patrons of the club he works at, he is almost a god: beautiful,
superior, and unattainable.
Love Life: Tesu once had a lover named Khezra - who is now
deceased - and who was the only person he ever really loved. After
Khezra's death, he has pretty much tried to shut out all thoughts of
love - although he and Ausar - one of the co-owners of the club Tesu
works at - have a sort of on again, off again affair. However Tesu
has no deep feelings for Ausar, and more or less considers the sexual
favors as part of his job. He does seem to have a thing for older
men, however, as both Khezra and Ausar were/are over ten years his
senior.
Family, Friends:
Khezra: Tesu never knew his real parents, or the circumstances of
his birth, however, for as far back as he can remember, he was taken
care of by a man named Khezra - who later became his lover. Khezra
supported himself through prostitution, and began teaching Tesu the
tricks of the trade - so to speak - at a very young age. Though
Khezra was about 15 years Tesu's senior, the two lived together
happily enough until Khezra's brutal murder at the hands of a gang of
street thugs.
Ausar/Auset: Tesu would hardly consider this pair of fraternal twins
friends or family, but as his employers, they are the only two people
currently playing any sort of role in his life at the moment.
Hailing from Egypt, the twins came to New Eden after it had begun to
change from the paradise it originally was, and opened The Lollipop
Guild - a night club catering to a clientele with a taste for more
youthful... companionship. It is a sort of open secret that any of
the young employees working there are available for more personal
services - if the price is right.
In addition to running the Guild, the twins have a very lucrative
sideline as information brokers and blackmailers. Through the
youthful employees of the Lollipop Guild, they are able to learn many
of the secrets of the city's rich and powerful - and do not hesitate
to use what they learn to their own advantage.
Birthplace: New Eden (presumably)
Current Residence: Tesu lives in a flat that takes up most of the
second floor of the club he dances at. The apartment is a loft-
style, open floor plan type place with "living areas" rather than
actual rooms - the only closed of portions of the flat are his
bedroom and bath. Because of his status as the star dancer at the
club, Tesu now has the disposable income to decorate his home rather
nicely - favoring modern style furnishings and appliances, and his
flat contains lots of chrome and glass tables and shelves, uphostered
chairs and sofas with clean, simple lines, etc. To give the space
warmth and character, he also collects kitschy, pop-culture artifacts
such as Coca-Cola memorabilia, movie posters, and old neon signs,
and has scattered them throughout his flat with the flair of a
natural born decorator. The effect is both tasteful and somewhat
sophisticated - one would never guess that the resident is an
illiterate former street rat.
History:
Tesu, himself, has little knowledge of his origins. He
assumes that he was born in the slums of New Eden, but has no idea as
to who his parents were, or if he was orphaned or simply thrown away
by them. His first clear memories are of being taught the art of oral
sex at age six by Khezra - his pimp and, later on, his lover. He has
no idea as to how he originally fell in with Khezra.
The two managed somehow to eke out a living on the streets: Tesu
giving blow jobs to middle-aged businessmen with a lech for kids, and
Khezra providing other, more exotic, services. Although life was a
fairly grim proposition for them both, they did, on occasion,
experience moments of happiness, during which they would behave like
any other 'normal' couple. One such event took place every year on
Tesu's adopted birthday. As the days began to lengthen and winter's
chill winds transformed into spring's balmy caress, Khezra would s
crimp and save - often skimping on food for himself in order to
provide the younger boy with a treat - and managed to lay aside a few
dollars to treat Tesu to an afternoon matinee at the movies. Inside
the darkened theater, Tesu would snuggle against the older boy and
watch, entranced, as the grittiness of his own life and problems fell
away and he was transported to what could only be described as
another world. All too soon, however, the brief interlude would end,
and the pair would emerge back onto the street, and the life they had
left behind for a few brief hours.
When Tesu was 12, he gave what was left of his virginity to Khezra,
and from that point on, the couple would occasionally take a night
off and seek the relative privacy of a shadowy alley or abandoned
storefront. When Tesu was 14, one such tryst was interrupted by a
gang of street thugs, intent on robbing the older boy. Quickly
pressing what was left of their meager funds into Tesu's hands,
Khezra shoved him back into the shadows behind a dumpster. With a
terse warning to remain hidden no matter what, Khezra then stepped
forward to meet the gang alone.
From his hiding place, Tesu could only watch in horror as the thugs,
enraged by their prey's lack of cash, beat Khezra viciously; not
satisfied until he lay crumpled on the pavement in a pool of his own
blood. After they had gone, Tesu crept from his hiding place, only
to find that Khezra had died from his injuries. Weeping, he cradled
the older boy' s head in his arms and sat, mindlessly rocking him
until sunrise. As the city began to slowly awaken around him, Tesu -
afraid of being taken by the authorities, whom he didn't trust -
slipped away, leaving Khezra's body behind. He's always damned
himself for not being able to do anything but watch as Khezra was
murdered, and for running away, leaving his lover's body behind.
For a time, Tesu continued to live on the streets - alone now -
surviving - barely - by turning tricks - the only thing he knew how
to do. During that time, he came to realize how much Khezra had
shielded him from, for without Khezra's protection, he was repeatedly
brutalized by the predators who made the streets their home. Unable
to defend himself, he was repeatedly beaten, robbed, and even raped
by members of the various gangs that ran riot throughout the streets
of New Eden. It wasn't long before Tesu came not only to expect
violence, but also to almost welcome it - he came to feel that the
pain inflicted upon him was not only a natural part of life on the
streets, but was also a fitting punishment for not having been able
to save Khezra.
After one such encounter which took place in an alley behind a strip
of night clubs, Tesu - robbed and badly beaten - was left for dead by
his attackers. He probably would have died of his injuries if Ausar,
his attention drawn by the sounds of the scuffling - had not found
him. The Egyptian took the semi-conscious boy inside and placed him
on the sofa in the office he and his sister shared while Auset called
a doctor who owed them a favor to come out to treat the boy's wounds.
When Tesu regained consciousness, Ausar offered the younger boy a
place to stay until he'd fully recovered - an offer which Tesu
accepted. As the younger boy recovered, the bruises and swelling
from his wounds receded, and Ausar was able to see how attractive
Tesu actually was - and made the offer more permanent - offering Tesu
a job at the club when he was fit enough to work, and the use of the
empty flat on the second floor. Realizing that he was sadly unable
to defend himself and needed the protection Ausar was offering, Tesu
gratefully accepted.
At first, Tesu was merely one of the nearly endless string of dancers
who worked at the Guild before moving on to other things. Soon,
however, the Guild's patrons began to take notice of the seemingly
aloof and unreachable boy, and Ausar assigned him featured dancer
status. Unlike the Guild's other employees, Tesu usually isn't
required to extend sexual favors to the patrons - unless the person
in question is excessively rich or powerful, or has information that
his employers want. Ausar much prefers to keep Tesu for himself.
Although he really doesn't like Ausar much, Tesu feels that he owes
the Egyptian a great deal for taking him in and providing him with
employment and a place to stay, and so puts up with the
arrangement... for now.
Writing Sample:
From behind the bars of the cage, the slender boy gazed out over the
heads of the sea of frenzied dancers below him, the strobe lights
giving a demonic silver glow to the grey eyes partially veiled by the
fringe of wispy black hair that obscured his face. Lowering his gaze
to the floor of the cage, he tucked his thumbs into the belt loops of
his tight leather pants, grinding his hips as he turned slowly in
place, seemingly oblivious to the crowd watching his every move.
Raising his arms over his head, he undulated in time to the music,
the bare skin of his upper body glistening with sweat and a light
coating of oil. A tattoo of a black dragon with the irridescent
wings of a butterfly stood out in sharp relief against the pale ivory
skin of one shoulder, the wings seeming to move due to the rippling
of the muscles in the boy's arms as he continued to dance. Tossing
his head back, the boy's hair fell away from his face, revealing a
crimson teardrop - turned black by the club's lighting - etched into
the skin below his right eye... a silent allusion to a pain never
spoken of.
His mind a blank, his eyes dead and unseeing, the boy continued to
move in time to the music pounding into him from all sides, his lithe
body winding sinuously around on itself in the narrow confines of his
cage. On some level, the boy was aware of the hundreds of eyes
crawling over him, but he never acknowledged the looks that pierced
him like so many stilletoes - other than to continue the display that
was driving them further and further into a frenzy. To the crowd
watching him, he was beautiful - a god of sex, music and
motion...cold, superior, and out of reach. That didn't stop them
from trying to catch the boy's attention, however - they all dreamed
of attaining the unattainable. The boy, however, could not be
captured. Despite the fact that he was in a cage, he remained free
of all who wanted to possess him. His body was theirs to ogle and
lust after - but his mind and his spirit were his own.
As the music flowed seamlessly from one song to the next, the boy's
dance ended and he slipped from the back of his cage, heading for the
back rooms to take his break. Several of the clubs bouncers stepped
beween the boy and the crowd of eager admirers who surged forward,
wanting to touch their god, to speak to him, to drag this walking
fantasy into their own fantasies. The club's security was efficient,
however, and could not be breached, allowing the boy to make his
escape.
<-----||----->