MAKALI [He/Him]
Swahili, "edge"

General Information
Species: Lion
Generation: 9
Birth Place: Pride Lands
Places of Residence: Pride Lands | The Sunscape | The Wilderness [briefly]
Pride Affiliations: Ndona [Pride Lands] | Mchana [Sunscape]
Pride Roles: Border Patrol; Lion Guard [Ndona Pride] | Prince; Crown Prince [Mchana Pride] | Rogue [briefly]

Family
Parents: Jabari and Akiki
Siblings: Moto | Jua†, Maisha
Grandparents: Ghalib† and Lailah | Addae† and Laini†
Uncles: Khalid†, Mazin | Mfalme†, Munir
Aunts: Jamila, Nishanti
Mates: TBD
Cubs: TBD


Personality
Makali is a lion of contrasting extremes and dualities. He comes across as a warm and exuberant personality; filled with boundless energy and a gung-ho, adventurous spirit ready and rearing to dive headlong into dangerous situations for the thrill of it. Quick of wit and even quicker on his feet (in spite of his large size), Makali is an athletic and competitive young lion eager to prove his mettle whenever given a chance. However, he does have his moments of being laconic and laidback--often enjoying the "Hakuna Matata" lifestyle in doses alongside the Ndona Pride's residential "mental wellness gurus" Timon and Pumbaa. Timon's influence also rubbed on Makali with his dryer wit, penchant for sarcasm in tense situations and a subconscious penchant for dropping puns in the midst of a conversation. He is also a natural born storyteller, eagerly absorbing the folklore tales of animals across the Pride Lands as well as his pride's own history, and later retelling them with cave paintings and character voices under the stars to his closest friends.

Behind his warmth and brashness, however, there is an underlying melancholy and self-consciousness to his actions. The youngest son of heroes of the Pride Lands, his father the leader of the Lion Guard and his mother co-chief huntress nonetheless, with his older brother and littermates' future's paved out clearly for them? Makali was perhaps unlucky from birth to be the youngest born son without enough titles to pass on. This perhaps is the origin of his drive and competitiveness: an innate desire to prove his worth in a pride where his future is ever uncertain. Since his teenage years, he has also been prone to bouts of melancholy; rooted in a survivor's guilt and a sense of vulnerability with how easily he had been manipulated.... and how much that manipulation had cost him.

Perhaps then, this is why the Great King Simba himself takes such a shine to the young lion as a mentor to his best friend's son.

In spite of his spells of depressive episodes and his insecurities as to his place in the Circle of Life? Makali's greatest attribute is his empathy. Never does he let his own angst cloud his ability to bond with others and prioritise their happiness before his own. He will drop anything and everything for those he cares most for if they ask his help, without hesitating. Take the blame, and any punishment that may follow, on himself. And always takes time to sit and listen to anyone who wants to talk. This empathy, this keen eye and ear for detail, and this drive are all attributes many would say could make for a great leader of some sort in the future.

Core Characteristics: Brave | Adventurous | Kind | Dry-witted | Pun-loving | Attentive | Contemplative | Melancholic | Existential | Self-conscious | Empathic | Decisive | Imaginative


Bio (WIP)
Makali was the third-born and youngest son of Jabari, Lord of the Lion Guard and saviour of the Atlas Mountains, and Akiki, the Lost Princess of the Sunscape and Queen Nala's right hand lioness, on a stormy, dark day. In the aftermath of the tragic and horrible loss of Crown Prince Kopa, the birth of these triplets was seen as a turning of the tides. Especially the miracle birth of Makali, a cub Rafiki hadn't even felt inside of Akiki, who everyone was sure for a second had been stillborn. And it is into this new age of tense - but relative - peace that Makali and his littermates, Jua and Maisha, entered the world. The first months were not easy. Illness swept across the Pride Lands and Makali was among those inflicted. Surely, an infant so small would not survive such a terrible disease that took so many strong, adult animals away.... yet? He did.

As a cub, Makali was particularly close to Simba and Nala's second litter, born merely a week before he himself was. Especially the young Princess Kiara. Many would even go so far as to compare their friendship to that of Simba and Nala's when they were cubs. The two often ran off on misadventures across the Pride Lands. The shenanigans they got up to were the stuff of legends. The two were inseparable; one would always follow the other like a shadow.

But Kiara was to one day co-rule with her older sister as Queen of Pride Rock. So inevitably royal training would strain the two's times together more and more as time passed. And it was as the young cub watched his eldest brother Moto be groomed to inherit the position of Lord of the Lion Guard, Jua go off on long trips to the Sunscape to train with their uncle to one day inherit his throne, Maisha spend more and more time training with their mother and the Queen to one day become a Lady of the Hunt herself, Kion gallivant off on more and more adventures with his own circle of friends as a Lion Guard in their own right... It dawned on Makali. What.... was his role to be? What could a third son inherit? Would he one day be cast out into the Wilderness as a rogue?

Jabari and Akiki always showered their youngest son in love. They and his siblings did whatever they could to ease his uncertainty. But the question of purpose was one that often kept the young cub up and led to him venturing out into the grasslands in search of answers.

What did Fate have in store for him? What WAS his place in the Great Circle of Life?

... and so the tale of the Struggler begins. Always on the precipice, pushing back against the storm. An unchosen, marked for tragedy and irrelevance, fighting to find his own place in the Circle of Life as his forebearers had.

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Here we are, folks! Long overdue to be reposted, but the brand new and improved reference sheet for my main character, Makali! With special thanks tot he phenomenally talented  hailberry! Please check out her account and show your support with favs, comments and a watch; it's well worth your time! :D