Thomas

"'I may not be as big as you, but I'm very hard working!'"Thomas lost both his parents in a car crash when he was 6. His parents had immigrated to the U.K. and didn’t have many ties back home. After failing to find any familial connections in India, authorities discovered he had two well established yet very distant aunts– Annie and Clarabel– who worked on a railway on the Island of Sodor. Thomas was subsequently adopted by them; however, they felt unprepared to give Thomas proper care. With nobody at home to look after him, the Clémentines resorted to bringing Thomas to work, where they and their coworkers - particularly Edward and Sir Topham Hatt, who were quite fond of little Thomas - could keep him under their watchful eye. It was during these years that he developed his "Railway Family", an affectionate and collective term for his Sodor friends and caretakers. After many years, the Clémentines made the difficult decision to give custody of Thomas to the Shining Time children's care home, where they knew he would be better taken care of.

Past
Thomas was born at a hospital in Brighton, England to Tara and Karan Vaishnavi, an Indian couple who had immigrated to the United Kingdom for work. He recalls that they were wonderful parents, and appreciates everything they did for him - even the rules set in place to protect him, which he so resented as a child, being a rather rambunctious boy. For six happy years, the family would exist in harmony - until tragedy struck in the form of a car crash that took the life of Mr. and Mrs. Vaishnavi. Thomas was taken into the care of the NSPCC, where he received treatment for the trauma he had endured.

During his time under government jurisdiction, efforts to locate any family in India were unsuccessful; however, a pair of distant aunts were discovered to be living on Sodor - sisters Annabelle and Clarabel Clémentine, well established and well liked socialites of the island. The sisters agreed to take Thomas under their care, despite their woeful lack of preparation. Due to their intensive work schedule, and with nobody available to tend to him when they were at work, Thomas accompanied the Clémentine sisters to work when he was not in school, where he was looked after by them. At times when they were occupied, other members of the railway staff would assist in caring for little Thomas, and they grew fond of him. The feeling was mutual, and soon Thomas had founded his "Railway Family".

After several years of loving yet inadequate care, the Clémentine sisters, after many conversations with their adoptive child, decided that Thomas needed a better equipped home, and began the painful process of giving custody to Shining Time, a child care center on Sodor. The decision was indeed for the best - Thomas thrived in his new home, and was pleased to be with his friend, Percy, near constantly - to the cheerful child, it was like an eternal sleep-over, this attitude bringing much relief to the Clémentine's, who feared he would feel abandoned by them when they moved him to his new home.

In the events leading up to the Grace Race, Thomas sustained a badly broken lower arm after an accident involving Norman. He was confined to the care home and under strict orders not to overexert himself in the early stage of recovery, and especially to keep the wound clean. The injury would have healed normally, but when Thomas found out that Gordon was in imminent danger, he broke out and stole the matrons' car in an attempt to save his friend and father figure. To his terror, he was too late to save Gordon, who then was affected by an awful and preventable accident. During the ordeal, Thomas didn't properly protect his arm and got the wound dirty. A severe infection developed and, despite the doctors' best efforts, his hand and lower arm had to be amputated to avoid sepsis. Thomas doesn't necessarily regret what he did, but he does heavily regret the outcome and feels partially responsible for Gordon's own injuries. However, Thomas' supportive friends are trying to help him understand that what happened to Gordon is not his fault in the slightest.

Following the loss of his arm, Thomas was presented with a prosthetic right hand for Christmas at the end of the following year, which he treasures dearly. He doesn't often talk about this, but sometimes he feels like he doesn't deserve such a gift.

Present
Thomas continues to live at Shining Time, though he is looking forward to striking-it out on his own in the near future, with dreams of going to school on the mainland.

Apart from Stanley, whose parents are alive, Thomas is the only one at Shining Time who has memories of their. This causes mixed emotions for Thomas– he's grateful for the few, fragmented memories he has, but sometimes he like the odd one out and that no one else in the care home can understand his situation. Because of this, he doesn't like to talk about his birth parents very often. It also gives him complicated feelings about his familial attachments to his railway family.

While Thomas still misses his parents deeply, his support system has allowed him to grow into a healthy young man.

Thomas continues to live at Shining Time, where he has nursed an intense love of dance. While he loves his home, he is looking forward to striking-it out on his own in the near future, with dreams of going to ballet school on the mainland.

Future
After finishing sixth form, Thomas will pursue his dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer, going to the mainland to study. To the dismay of Percy, Thomas will go with Ryan, adding salt to the wound of his absence, as Percy feels he is being replaced; however, Percy will come to know in time that he and Thomas will always be friends, no matter how far apart.

When Thomas leaves, it will be a cause of great sadness, but a time for celebration as well; everybody will be proud that Thomas will be accomplishing his dreams. After a grand send-off, Thomas will leave the Island, off to make his mark on the world.

Past jobs
Due to how recently he has come of working age, Thomas has had little in the way of job experience.

Current job
Currently, at age 17, he is thriving with not one, but two jobs. Throughout most of the year, he has a position as an apprentice driver - essentially, a glorified fireman; Thomas knows enough about railroading to drive a locomotive, but he may not operate a locomotive without an experienced driver present, with one exception: he and a single fireman may run the branch line all on his own. Thomas greatly appreciates this freedom, and treasures his route dearly.

In winter, when his branch line closes, Thomas has a pizza-delivery gig, which he loves - although he must work on avoiding snow drifts.

Familial
Thomas' known blood relations are minuscule - as far as he knows, he is only directly related to The Clémentine sisters.

However, Thomas' "Railway Family" is vast. In Thomas' eyes, Edward, Henry, James, and Gordon are his "four-fathers", while he considers the children of Shining Time his siblings (with the exception of Ryan). And Also He has friends called Emily, Percy, Rosie, Toby, Nia, Philip, Ryan, Charlie, Stanley and Many More.

Platonic
Simply put, Thomas considers most everybody a friend with few exceptions, and most would consider him a friend in return. His chipper personality makes it near impossible for him to give a bad first impression, and his usually-positive outlook makes it difficult for him to truly dislike anybody. Although, he does have a jealous streak in him.

Romantic
As of the present day, Thomas is dating Ryan. At first, Thomas practically hated Ryan and found him very unpleasant. He found Ryan to be obnoxious and have no concept of personal space.

--sleepy note: write in the events from lost treasure

But with time, Thomas realized that behind the extravagant persona, Ryan was not as he seemed at first glance, but a very emotional and loving boy, with many ambitions - perhaps too many, which have been known to cause his mind to race, fueling his talkative nature. Thomas eventually fell for Ryan, and the rest is history.

Negative relations

 * Had a grudge against Stanley when he showed up because Stanley's albino and got a lot of attention, and was perfect at everything, and also because everyone else was kind of being super rude for no reason
 * actual enemies include diesel, Diesel 10, ace, probably some others he has a lot of beef *consult beef chart*
 * also not a fan of bradford

Personality

 * Cheery, friendly, talkative, self-important, spiteful, unsure of himself

Interests
This is the character's interests, hobbies, etc.
 * Ballet, Steven Universe, cosplay

Physical description

 * Rich dark skin (is rich the appropriate word? it's a good heart tone), distinctive blue eyes, thick black hair
 * 5'6"
 * Right hand has been amputated, so it's just a stump. He uses a prosthetic hand, given to him for Christmas by his railway family

Uniform
See visual reference:

Quotes

 * "I want to see the world!"
 * "That Ryan...he makes my stomach churn."
 * "I'd rather sleep on the sofa. By myself."
 * "Percy, I love you, I have nothing against you, but- GO AWAY!"
 * "How incompetent do you think I am?"

Trivia

 * Thomas' birthplace is based on the same place his Thomas & Friends basis was built