For Miss Maddy - Taliyah Questions & Answers

Hi Maddy - I couldn't figure out a graceful way to answer these in twitter... So here they are! -Ariel (aka Thermal Kitten)

"What is her last name?" Small, nomadic Shuriman tribes wouldn’t have traditional last names (usually given to designate the area where you come from or to show lineage for property inheritance). She would probably introduce herself as Taliyah of the Nasaaj (weavers).

"About how tall is she?" About 5’9. I imagine both her mother and father are fairly tall.

"When is her birthday?" Towards the end of the dry season. I’d put that about mid to late September. Astrologically she'd be a Virgo with a touch of Libra --creative, self-sacrificing, ethical, and with a deep need to relate to others.

"I hope this one isn’t too much, but is there a possibility that she could like girls? I know she has her one line with ekko, but idk! I always liked to think that it wouldn’t be impossible for her to maybe run into some cute girls and get little crushes on them! Just curious about what you think, would you be open to the idea of her possibly being bi??" I think Taliyah is someone who is the midst of finding out who she is and figuring out who you’re attracted to is certainly part of that. I’m sure she would find some people more physically attractive than others, but I think the thing that would draw her to someone would be who they are on the inside.

"What are some of her favorite hobbies?" Definitely art. (All kinds of art – drawing, painting, sculpting, etc. ) She likes to sing as well (That’s her singing in her login music). Basically anything creative. Especially something new she hasn’t tried before.

"Do you think she has killed people to protect herself or someone she cares about? How would she feel about it?" I think people have definitely gotten hurt that have crossed her. She will absolutely stop someone who is hurting others, even if it means putting herself in danger. I don’t think she’s killed anyone yet, but I think that could be a possibility to protect her family in Shurima.

"Her favorite genre of music?" I’d say some kind of indie/electropop like MGMT, Foster the People, Passion Pit, etc. I have a Spotify playlist I put together of things I listened to while writing for her. https://open.spotify.com/user/thermal_kitten/playlist/7yNOxV29092GAyBnmqX9GZ

"Does she see Yasuo as kind of like a father figure almost? Did she love him as like a 2nd dad maybe? About how long did they stay together, will they ever see each other again?" Taliyah’s an only child, so I think she sees Yasuo as the older brother she never had. She definitely cares for him and looks up to him, but he still annoys her at times. They are kindred spirits in a certain way; loners, stubborn, both figuring out what their purpose is. The seasons are different in Ionia than Shurima and a little harder to track. I’d guess about a year. And their story isn’t finished yet. :)

"What some of her favorite kind of accessories to wear? Do you think she would be a fan doing any kind of makeup or painting nails or doing hair? What kind of fashion would she like wearing in a I guess more modern day?" All kinds of accessories – bracelets, necklaces, earrings, rings, fun shoes. With lots of colors and interesting shapes. Absolutely she would do her nails and hair. As for fashion, I think she would experiment while still trying to stay practical. She would want to contrast textures and textiles – silk, denim, gossamer, corduroy - - things like that.

"What would be her favorite kind of books to read?" Romance novels. Like me, she’s a sucker for a happy ending.

"Would she be into any sports? If so, what would be her favorites to play?" She’s a fast runner. I think she’d enjoy track and field. She’s not great at it, but she’s learning to swim.

"Can she speak/ read/write in any other languages?" Modern Shuriman is more verbal than written. She knows many of the regional dialects from her family’s nomadic travels. She can read some of the more common Ancient Shuriman symbols (not many people speak Ancient Shuriman, but it’s making a comeback with Azir). As her tribe would trade in Noxian occupied cities and being the daughter of a tribe headsman, she was fluent in conversational Noxian before she ended up there. (Noxians are in a lot of places, so it’s a pretty common language.) While she was with the Noxian forces studying with their war mages (before she jumped ship in Ionia), she was learning some Ur-Noxian. Once you learn one language, other languages get easier. She pieced together Ionian while she was with Yasuo (and learned a few choice expletives from him.)

"If she went to starbucks to get a drink, what would her order be? Does she have any favorite food or snacks or dessert?" Growing up in the desert, she would be fascinated with ice, so a caramel cocoa cluster blended Frappuccino. Oh, and cake pops. Red velvet cake pops.

"What would her favorite school subjects(s) be?" Natural sciences – specifically geology, astronomy, and biology.

"Favorite animals?" Goats, especially fluffy ones.

"Favorite color?" Indigo and shades of blue-purple. It’s a hard color to replicate in desert, so the color is pretty special. You can look at her tunic underneath the robes she picked up in Ionia as a kind of faded version of the color.

"Favorite flower(s)?" There’s a small, sturdy, blue-lavender colored flower that looks like a five pointed star that grows in the stone and gravel foothills near the Icathian border. It’s flower that her father named her after, Ta’liyah, “the rock that flowers”. I imagine they look a little like this. http://www.fireflyforest.com/flowers/1051/eriastrum-diffusum-miniature-woollystar/

"Favorite time of day?" Dawn. Every day is a new beginning.

"What kind of movies would be her favorite to watch?" Westerns. Open land with big sky and the forces of good and evil duking it out.

"What do you think her favorite pokemon would be?" Rock type. :) Probably Rockruff.