Unto part 4 of the TWST family series and it's the Kingscholars 🦁👑! This family came out in ways I genuinely did not see coming design wis😅. Everyone say hello to Salama and Taraji Kingscholar!
They are the TWST versions of Ahadi and Uru, Mufasa and Scar's parents (this was easy in comparison to the Howl family 😅). Now to meet the former king and queen of the savanna:
Salama Kingscholar (TWST version of Ahadi):
Name meaning: swahili for "safe", or "peace"
For the hairstyles, I did both Salama and wife around the same time to compare them. Originally, he was going to get wavy hair like Falena but as I did his design, I was curious on how it would look if we made it similar to Scar's mane. Especially because Ahadi was described resembling Scar in some canon stories in the franchise. And it actually worked out (he wound up looking like an older version Leona by accident 😅 this is second time this happened with first being the Vipers). He got a few white streaks due to working to hard. Poor guy 😅.
Outfit wise, I decided not to make a big deal in trying to add the African cultural details like I did with Falena. Salama is a mix of Zulu and Masasi Mara culture. Also, his and Taraji's colors got swapped. He was going to get green and Taraji purple but after drawing him, I felt the green would work better on her so we swapped colors. It actually worked out very nicely 👌
Personality: Salama is wise, dutiful and hardworking. While he did well as a king, he struggled in being a father, especially after Leona was born. He had a difficult time balancing his kingly duties with his familial ones. While now bedridden, he is determine to remain involved in familial matters before his time comes.
Backstory: During his reign, Salama was beloved and respected by his people, especially after he started projects in advancements in technology to help his homeland. He wasn't one that enjoyed being challenged until he met the fiesty Taraji during an encounter at a waterhole. Despite the rocky encounter, he was enamored by her boldness and eventually married her and their sons Falena and Leona. However, when Salama's health began to waned, he feared what little time he had and started prioritizing on preparing Falena for the throne, causing strain between him and Leona. These days, it's rare to see Salama with his current sickly state.
Name meaning: swhaili for "hope" or "faith"
Taraji has the same fiery hair as her eldest son, Falena but green eyes and sharper features like her youngest, Leona. As for hair, I played around and she was suppose to resemble Leona in the hairstyle (which wound up being swapped😅) and she got hairstyle number 4 down below. (Fun fact: hairstyle 3 is going to Neliah which I will explain in a bit).
The nice thing about her braid is I remember seeing pictures of algerian women with a type of braiding with these hair ties or beads so I used that in her look.
Aside the hair, I gave her vitiligo and made look like diamonds to fit her TWST version, Uru, who's name means "diamonds" plus the fanart of Uru with a diamond marking on her forehead.
Outfit 🎨: she was more easier than her husband because Taraji's outfit is based on one African culture which is Amizagh or north african. Same thing with the vitiligo, the Amaizagh fashion had diamond patterns which again is a nod for Uru’s name.
Personality: Taraji is wise and compassionate. Like her husband, she is dutiful, both to her kingdom and family. She is calm and maternal, being motherly to Cheka if his parents are busy. However, she is also a skilled in hunting and tracking, and like her younger son Leona, is a rebel even in her old age.
Backstory: Taraji was from a tribe and first met Salama when she drank from a waterhole reserved only for the royal family. She stood her ground firmly and even roared so powerfully thay it knocked the king down...literally 😅. They crossed paths again during Tamashina-mina where Taraji competed and it got Salama's curiousty of her. As they knew eachother better they eventually wed and Taraji became queen for some time. While there have been ups and downs in her family, she remains hopeful that they will find their place again in the Circle of Life.
- Taraji has direct ties to diamond mines in the savanna which she controls in both trading and crafting as well as ensuring there is appropriate management of the resources
- When Leona's home, he doesn't hide from his mother because of how skilled of a tracker she is (he's tried, trust me.)
- Taraji spends her time watching over the children of the staff and royal guard when they are busy, including her grandson, Cheka, if his parents are busy
- Salama use to call Leona his "little scholar" and his wife Taraji "my blazing flame" hence her firey hair color
- things between Leona and Salama aren't the best due to past events and Leona feeling his father played favorites. Even so, Leona still holds a level of respect for his father, visiting his when he's home.
For Falena and Neliah, I'm planning to update their looks at some point in the future. As for the next fanily, the it might be the Shrouds 🔥💙 but at the moment I will put a pause on the series to give time on brainstorming the other families coming up and getting to know the families we did already.
For the other families I did, the Vipers, Leechs and Howls, you can find them here in previous posts.
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