#baddies batch

Initial Inspirations:

Tay was born out of the idea of "Let's give Crosshair a boyfriend" because I thought it would do him some good (this was during S3 when Cross was going through it) AND because I needed to see more queer pairings of clones and OCs (especially with Crosshair because like,, just look at him)

The way I see it, a partner for Crosshair either had to be 1) an incredibly gentle and caring soul who would easily melt his heart or something OR 2) just as much of a menace and a snarky bastard as he is so that he could keep up with Crosshair

I decided on going the second route because that sounded a lot more fun and thus the cocky, smug Tay who doesn't back down from a challenge and loves to tease and snark was born

But above all, I knew Crosshair's partner would have to be someone who's gone through similar life experiences to be able to understand him and connect with him on a level that others can't

So eventually Tay turned into someone whose childhood was stolen from him and was forced to grow up super fast in an extremely competitive environment that would literally kill you if you didn't perform at your absolute best - I don't know when or why I came up with the idea of him being a gladiator, but it ended up sticking and working out well

On top of that, he has his time spent with the Empire too so they can connect over that as well

Add in a dash of loyalty and BOOM. A suitable partner for Crosshair!

Samson (The Bible):

This was not intentional but one day it suddenly hit me that Tay's story and lore nearly paralleled Samson's

If you don't know, Samson is a bible story about this super strong dude with long hair (the source of his strength) who falls prey to a woman named Delilah who seduces him into telling her the source of his strength - he gives in and (I think) she cuts his hair, so when enemies attack, Samson is weakened and unable to protect his people <- (this is the long story made short)

With Tay, I had it so that Black Sun buys his freedom - wanting him to work for them as a mercenary - but they convince Tay into getting on board the idea with the help of one of their own: A Falleen who is the Delilah to Tay's Samson

As a gladiator, Tay is also essentially pimped out - she meets with him one night and charms him, convinces him to join Black Sun, making all kinds of promises, and they keep their little dynamic going once he's "freed"

She doesn't actually hold much attachments to him though, but Tay is under her influence because Falleen's can project pheromones to attract mates and that's essentially how she's made him fall for her

HOWEVER - When Tay betrays Black Sun and starts working for the Empire (giving away their secrets to them and whatnot) she's sent after him to learn about his weaknesses so that Black Sun can get back at him

Eventually she learns about his feelings towards Crosshair and about his surrogate mother, Nay'eli, and they become targets - Crosshair is spared though because by that time he's on Barton IV, but the same can't be said for his mother...

Oh! And in a modern AU Tay would have super long hair too

Jayce Talis (Arcane):

Halfway through watching Arcane, I realized how similar Jayce was to Tay - essentially I saw it as being: Jayce is who Tay would've been if Tay grew up on Champala and not in a gladiatorial arena.

Once I finished Arcane I literally made a Venn Diagram comparing the two to each other because there were so many parallels (see below)

Tay was pretty developed by the time I finished watching Arcane though, but the inspiration I did take from Jayce's character to implement into Tay's story was the "Accidentally/Indirectly killing a kid incident"

Jayce indirectly causes Isha's death and accidentally causes Renni's son's death - Tay indirectly causes the death of his mentee in the arena, thinking she's ready for matches when she isn't (which of course haunts him and is another underlying reason why he's afraid of fatherhood)

Fiyero Tigelaar (Wicked: The Musical):

Handsome, dark skinned airhead (affectionate)

Acts like life is all chill - 'dances' through life - doesn't dwell on the negative to avoid feeling any sort of pain

However, that in turn makes him seem a little careless, mindless, and a bit cocky but he's actually a sweet guy who's pretty loyal when it comes down to it

Is with someone at the start of the story, eventually realizes that's not the person he want to be with and they want to be with someone else instead like Fiyero experiences

Tay doesn't get turned into a scarecrow or anything though

Joaquin Mondragon (The Book of Life):

Joaquin, I think, was one character I had in mind when I was coming up with Tay because they just have that 'himbo' vibe about them

I think I was thinking about Book of Life and then thinking about Joaquin that led me to the idea of Tay being a gladiator - because of the bull fighting and all that

Bit of a pompous, cocky bastard who is easily admired by most and feels like it's warranted - Joaquin because he's the 'hero' of the town and Tay because he's the 'champion' of the arena

At the end of things they realize that there's better things to fight for than just glory and recognition

Finnick Odair (The Hunger Games):

I rewatched The Hunger Games recently and had like "Oh shit" moment when Finnick showed up because I was like "That's Tay."

They use tridents, they're good at swimming, they've been in arenas and came out victors, and they have a maternal figure who looks out for them but ultimately dies in an arena - those are like some really basic similarities between the two

There's also the prostitution bit!

Finnick, after the Games, being forced into prostitution by President Snow because he was a "desirable" Victor at 16 - Tay being forced into prostitution by Osika Kirske, the owner of the arena, because he's a desirable champion at 17

Finnick at least used it to his advantage and got secrets out of it but Tay'kaa wasn't really in a position to really ask for anything in return and he was a little desperate for a touch that wasn't violent

But I'm not cruel enough to off Tay when he's just about to get a happy ending though - he gets to have his partner, his kid, and peace at the end of his story

Aladdin (Aladdin):

Aladdin was one of the characters I originally drew inspiration from when coming up with Tay because I just love characters like him - scruffy little street rats with hearts of gold

A "Diamond in the Rough" so they say

Now that I think about it - originally I had planned for Tay to have his own "Abu" in the form of a BD-1 droid and I don't know why I never actually drew or talked about it before 😭

I didn't write it down, I think is why the idea slipped my mind, so now I'll totally remember to implement that into his lore from this point on

Fun Fact! In a modern AU, this movie would've been Tay's bi-awakening. He had mad crushes on both Aladdin and Jasmine growing up.

Additional Inspirations:

For Tay, there's this like theme about a loss of culture/assimilation that I associated heavily with the results of Manifest Destiny and the effects it had on Native people

Tay was taken from his home and therefore lost that culture because he was put into a totally different world and forced to assimilate or face severe consequences (like death)

For most of his life he thinks that his parents abandoned him or sold him off when in actuality he was essentially kidnapped and taken away from them

For his story, I also was inspired by the concept of Ouroboros - that cycle, a never-ending one, that can symbolize death and rebirth or eternity

Tay repeats this cycle of being, essentially, a slave to some large group/organization - first a gladiator in The Cauldron, then a mercenary with Black Sun, and then a soldier with the Empire - a never-ending cycle of not being truly free, yet he's "reborn" every single time

Tay's also one of those characters with a lot of dog symbolism tied to him - especially fighting dogs

He's not a violent person by nature - Chagrians are known to be peaceful folk - but he was put in cages and chains, and was forced to fight if he wanted to survive

Additional Links:

Tech:

- Tech is dressed as a Goryeo/Joseon Era scholar, aka a seonbi (선비), whose roots are tied to Confucian culture. It's a term used to refer to someone who has knowledge, courtesy, loyalty, principles, and rejects the desire for government positions and wealth. - His outfit consists of a dopo (도포) and the hat that he is wearing is referred to as a gat (갓).

Phee:

- Phee is in a traditional hanbok (한복) and her hair is supposed to be styled as one of the Eoyeo-meori (어여머리) wigs/hairpieces that were worn by nobelwomen/courtladies. - Phee also has a norigae (노리개) knot - with hers being the Threefold Chrysanthemum knot, supposedly representing purity, refined beauty of nature, and the wishes for peace and rejuvenation - something I found fitting for her being a 'liberator of ancient wonders.'

Magpies:

I know the fandom likes to cast Hunter as this suave daddy dom type individual (much like Din Djarin gets treated) and yeah - I can SEE why one would assume that of him, but take into consideration the rest of him and not just his looks and voice, yeah?

The man who said "activate" when talking about childbirth? The guy who did not understand what was going on between Anakin and Rex and totally read things wrong? The guy who kept banging his head against the wall whenever Tech and Phee would flirt?

Personally, I see him being aroace and one who doesn't care too much about romantic/sexual relationships so he could really give two shits about flirting. Maybe if a mission called for him to do so, he would, but he'd be pretty bad at it. He's just using the classic pick-up lines to be safe, but he is FAILING with the delivery.

That man cannot flirt for his life and do not ask him to or he'll cringe.

Same goes for Jung - he rarely talks and is asexual so he doesn't care too much about flirting. He doesn't see a point to it - "If you like someone, why not tell them directly?"

Viram is a little bit like them, but she can't really flirt on account of Mikkians being known to be a really blunt race. Her flirting attempts will come out to be borderline threats or are in a tone that doesn't make it seem like a flirt and more like a fact. But honestly she doesn't have time for flirting and would prefer for partners to be more direct with her.

Tech, I feel, is a little like Crosshair in the sense that he's not that great when it comes to flirting, but give him some time with someone he actually likes and he can flirt. Like he can charm the pants off Phee - and I also think that part of his 'flirting' doesn't really seem like flirting to other people. Like it's not really the traditional type of flirting.

Again, same with Crosshair. I think he could be good at it if it's directed towards someone he's been with for a while - and I'm sure he's used it on a mission or two - but also his flirting isn't really seen as flirting. Like with Anakin - it could just be giving a guy his firepuncher and silently staring at him. That's his version of flirting.

I think Wrecker is a bit in between the two of them. I think that he is good at flirting, but when he's flirting with someone he actually likes, that's when he trips up. Like he can be a charming, friendly individual and classically flirt with someone - but if it's someone he likes? Oh he's a mess.

Echo definitely has some practice with flirting. He's had to be Fives' wingman on occasion, after all. And he's a smooth dude, I think he'd have no problem flirting when it comes down to it - I just think that he doesn't really do it that often. But it's definitely another trick he's got up his sleeve to use whenever he needs it.

Khea is kinda like Echo in that she uses flirting more as a tactic than anything, but she uses it a lot more on the field than Echo does. She's got enough practice with it to have built up a script that she follows - so it's not something quite natural, but she can be charming when she wants to be. And of course, she flirts to hide her true feelings because if people find out how she really feels, then it's a vulnerability they can exploit.

Then we all know Phee "Hey there Brown Eyes" Genoa is a certified flirt. She just went for it and I honestly do not blame her. Much like Echo and Khea, I think that being as charming is part of her job so she's just to flirting here and there - but I think it just comes more naturally to her than it does for Khea. Khea can come across as a bit blunt or intense at times, but Phee is all smooth flirts. She flirts when she likes you, she flirts when she wants something from you, she flirts because she can, and she flirts because it's fun. She'll especially flirt with you if you're a brown-eyed, glasses wearing, nerdy clone though.

And then, last but not least, we've got Tay on the other side of the spectrum. His flirting abilities are a mix of the natural charm thanks to his personality, and the practiced allure crafted by his environments. He's a bit of a people pleaser and is always looking to make people like him - to sorta prove his worth and whatnot - so he'll say what you want to hear when it comes to flirting. He's also a bit of a cocky, charming son of a bitch who knows he looks good so naturally he's a bit of a flirt and a good one at that too. The only one who made him slip up a little was Crosshair when they initially met. But also, being a gladiator, he was a performer so he knows how to keep up an act. During that time he was a bit of a courtesan too so there's that. Then later on, it's just a skill to keep him alive while he works for the Black Sun. Long answer short: Tay can flirt.