Liu | Rowley | Thorne
Kit's family tree is not simple; it is full of blends and complicated feelings and lies she cannot bear to let go of. Thorne, the name she has now, the one she has given her full heart to. It is the name she shares with a stepfather, two stepsiblings and a half sister. It is the name which brings to mind her complicated relationship with Tobias Thorne - one defined by two people, far more similar than they care to admit, trying to decide if they should be spending their energy trying to trust each other, or trying not to. Rowley is the name of her birth father, the one she always knew she would one day have to give up, but one she thought would be abandoned for a future spouse, rather than a new father. It is a name she tries not to dwell on, one which risks raising complicated emotions about the relationship she has with Lord Thorne, and whether her father would have approved of the life she is attempting to forge for herself. Liu is the name that has always been the simplest for Kit. It is the name she inherited from her mother, a name that highlights her mother's Chinese heritage. Liu is the name she has always felt the most connected to, and the name that has always been unfairly stripped from her. It is the complicated connection to her culture and connection to a family who always feel too far away. It is the name she chose when creating James Liu, the fake cousin she uses to explore the masculine side of her gender identity in society.
