#tayali

[inkwingart]

The soft wlw companion piece to the tender mlm! Tayali and Mai in flowy ombre dresses because it’s what they deserve

Do not remove my caption, edit, or repost.

Edit 04.26.2021 — major alterations and additions to the scenery, minor adjustments to Tayali’s nose and feet as well as the draping of Mai’s áo dài.

[inkwingart]

they’re lesbians, Harold

I was compelled to go back and redo that one pic of my girls because god that background was something awful.

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[inkwingart]

Tayali, former Black Knife turned Spider. She and her twin sister were taken from their family as children, but their rescue trapped them in a different kind of servitude, and they became spies and assassins for the king of Mahjuren. Now, they work as mercenaries under Yarrow, the leader of the Nohj Revrani Spider’s Den.

Do not edit, repost, or remove my caption.

[inkwingart]

My OC Tayali for the lesbian pride portrait. I did my best to reference real protective hairstyles for this, but if anyone sees problems with it please let me know!

[inkwingart]

My OC Tayali with flowers in the colors of the lesbian pride flag.

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[inkwingart]

Tayali & 29 for OC questions? :D

29. Do they usually live up to their own ideals? 

OOoo so this is interesting bc Tayali (and Naya, they’re twin sisters) is an orphan who was conscripted from a young age to be part of the Black Knives, which is essentially a group of assassins, spies, and bodyguards in service to the royal family of Mahjuren. Tayali’s morals are built around these circumstances - she’s very jaded, but has a sense of personal decency. She won’t go out of her way to hurt people, and she’ll do as she’s ordered in order to stay alive, but she doesn’t feel any loyalty to the crown. Her main concern is the safety of her sister. In general, I would say that she does, but she does often feel remorse when asked to hurt people she would consider innocent. It’s hard to be super specific because her ideals are so fluid.

[inkwingart]

"Do you speak any Kijen?"

"Not much," Tayali responded, switching into the lilting tongue. "It's a shame. It's beautiful."

"It is," the woman said with a note of pride. She tucked the orange flower behind Tayali's ear and added in Ekoboan, "As are you."

Mai and Tayali, two more characters from the story I’m writing. Mai is Xuan’s personal guard. Tayali is a former member of the Black Knives, the royal assassins and bodyguards of Mazruen, a country allied with Kijen. However, Tayali and her twin sister Naya are originally from a country called Ekobo. In case there’s any confusion, they’re both lesbians of color.

[ink-nguyen]

42 and 53 for tayali maybe?

42. What’s the dumbest thing your character’s done?

Hmm this one’s a hard because Tayali is the more level-headed one between the twins, but flirting with a queen’s bodyguard has got to be up there in terms of dumb things she’s done. Alternatively, when she was little she almost died because she tried to pet a leopard. 

53. Expectations vs Reality: what did you expect and what did you get with this character?

I was expecting more snark and sharpness out of her, but instead I ended up writing an extremely tough but compassionate big-sister feeling character.