NAME
Taytu Melaku

BIRTHPLACE
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

DAY OF BIRTH
January 9, 20XX

AGE
18

SPECIES
lion

HEIGHT
5'11”

ORIENTATION
lesbian

PERSONALITY TYPE
ENTJ

OCCUPATION
private military contractor for Decanter


Taytu Melaku would not be the person she is today if not for her family’s intrepid nature, and their persistent desire to seek a better life for themselves. Young Taytu may have been born in Addis Ababa, but her life’s story truly began when her family immigrated to Canada when she was eight years old. No, the lioness’ journey began not in the Horn of Africa or a cultural hub much like Toronto, a place where most Ethiopians in Canada eventually gravitated, but in the frozen tundra of the Northwest Territories. Upon arriving in Yellowknife, her father used his entrepreneurial acumen to open a restaurant that served traditional Ethiopian cuisine within driving distance of the Arctic Circle. It is from here that Taytu, a first-generation immigrant, began to learn the importance of personal responsibility.

Being the eldest of three, one could argue the young lioness was always destined to set the bar as standard bearer for how her siblings should behave. Of course, in time, her mother and father were not alone for long in managing the restaurant as extended family in Ontario and abroad were beckoned up north to the rugged frontier as well. It proved to be a prosperous enterprise, after all, and many were eager to share in the unforeseen success this thriving business provided. Although the restaurant soon became a multigenerational affair within the family, Taytu would always instinctively take it upon herself to assume more responsibility at home than her parents had first expected or demanded of the eldest daughter. For you see, this innate desire to assume some mantle of leadership—a persistent spark which drove her every waking moment—would come to shape Taytu into the stalwart young woman she’d one day become.

Although her native tongue was Amharic, English proved to be no real barrier for her growth as Taytu’s educated parents had used their language proficiency to teach Taytu from an early age. Indeed, the young cub had excelled in school—prospering in the face of academic challenges that sharpened her strategic foresight and keen organizational skills. Always taking charge—always executing and optimizing her plans—Taytu’s confidence and preference for leadership all but guaranteed her an indomitable momentum. However, due to her extreme ambition, Taytu needed to take heed lest her domineering and overly critical nature became an undue burden which fomented an arrogant ruthlessness percolating beneath the surface. That same spark that drove her to accomplish academically and achieve greater heights elsewhere also left her with a thick skin—a pelt that served as dermal armor.

The lioness knew as a cub that she could summon this exoskeleton that both protected her from the elements and augmented her physical strength, but she hid this gift from everyone. However, despite her efforts to remain hidden, Taytu’s organic, metallic armor eventually caught the eye of a jackal named Niels Zeelie, an unscrupulous South African mercenary with a silver tongue. Zeelie knew of other children like Taytu—extraordinary youths throughout the world who had inexplicably and collectively acquired supernatural powers within the past few decades. Thrilled with the prospect and eager to poach new talent for his enterprise, the jackal was able to sway the young cub with promises of mastery over her emerging power set and a higher purpose beyond what she first thought possible. Thoroughly captivated and incessantly ambitious, the lioness now acts as field commander for Decanter, a paramilitary outfit of young men and women with extraordinary powers who work at the behest of Niels Zeelie and his opaque objectives.

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I want to take the opportunity to thank the ever-fabulous  fcsimba for all that you see here. If not for their hard work and dedication, Taytu's sheet would not exist. I'm very grateful to have had the chance to work with them yet again, and I hope that I'm fortunate enough to have the same opportunity in the future!


art is ©  fcsimba
Taytu Melaku is ©  nazcapilot