Lion King OC - Takatifu

Two things you need to note about Takatifu's design. First, he's a leucistic lion, not an albino. There actually is a difference between leucistic animals and albino ones. If you don't know, I urge you to look it up. Second, if his colors seem a bit wonky, it's because I tried to make him look realistic. Real life white lions have kind of a pale creamish tint to their fur. I'm not sure I got it right, but it looks good enough for me to post. If anyone else thinks that Takatifu's coloration is off, please tell me how I can correct it.

As a recap, Takatifu's name means 'holy' in Swahili and he was given his name in honor of his father's beliefs that white lions are holy beings.

Anyway, Takatifu is the only son of Malaika and the late Karimu. He was born in the Pridelands due to his parents having their rightful place in the world taken away by his father's brother, Katili. The occasion was met with scorn as Pridelanders saw white lions as cursed beings. Had his mother, Aunt Muziki, and Uncle Nuru not come to his defense, the cub would've been killed that day. A few days after his birth, Malaika fell prey to disease and later passed away. The pride instantly blamed her death on Takatifu. Against their subjects' wishes, Muziki and Nuru took the white cub in and raised him alongside their own sons, Moto and Baridi. As Takatifu grew up, the pride took to blaming every single misfortune that befell them on his presence. They even called him Taka as a means of insulting him. Takatifu thought it was just a nickname up until he learned that it meant 'garbage'. Only the Royal Family and the Lion Guard believed that the boy wasn't bad luck, but it did little to help his case. It was abundantly clear that the boy was an outcast in the pride and many of the other animals in the Pridelands felt sorry for him despite the popular belief that he was the reason behind all the misfortune. This drove Takatifu to make the same choice Scar did in his youth by seeking out the company of other animals, finding a friend in a female hyena pup called Maisha (Swahili for 'life'). His friendship with the pup made the pride's opinion of him worse and even turned most of the non-lions against him as they stopped seeing Takatifu and started seeing a white-furred Scar. Maisha being one of many hyenas who respected the Circle of Life kind of went over their heads and few were able to see that history was beginning to repeat itself as poor treatment during cubhood was part of the reason Scar became Scar. When he came of age to learn the skills necessary to survive in the harsh world, Muziki told Takatifu of his true heritage and that she was really going to train him to take on Katili and take his place as her homeland's rightful King. This is where the white cub deviates from the path Scar once traveled. Scar also became the monster he was because he was denied the crown he thought was rightfully his. Takatifu never knew he was royalty before Muziki told him and now he had to be prepared to claim his birthright.

Upon coming of age to leave the pride, one of the other young lions, Kiburi (Swahili for 'arrogance'), picked a fight with Takatifu with the intent to kill him. The pride initially cheered Kiburi on, which made it that much harder for them to swallow when Takatifu came out on top despite his challenger fighting dirty. Even more so, when he stood tall, the clouds above them cleared and the sun's light shone on Takatifu. For the first time, the Pridelanders didn't see a cursed child in Takatifu. They saw a holy being sent by the Great Kings. The white lion then left his mother's homeland to make the journey to his father's homeland. His only company for a while was Maisha. He eventually meets a lioness named Nyota (Swahili for 'star'), a rhino named Tetemeko (Swahili for 'earthquake'), and a tickbird named Bango (Swahili for 'wing'), all of whom wished to help him become the King he was meant to be. Upon arriving in his father's homeland, the herd animals all bowed before Takatifu. Like the pride that ruled over them, they believed that white lions were holy beings. They, of course, escorted the white lion and his animal entourage to see King Katili. Almost immediately, the pride saw Karimu and Malaika in the strange white lion. The sight drove Katili mad and he ordered the pride to kill Takatifu. To his shock, none of them did as he commanded, not even the ones loyal to him. They remembered the mandrill's prophecy and believed Takatifu to be the holy being meant to rule over them. His arrival marked the end of King Katili's reign. Angered by the betrayal of his subjects, Katili attacked the younger male with the intent to defend his crown. To the older lion's dismay, Takatifu, being a bigger and stronger lion, easily defeated him and ordered him to leave his lands forever. Katili tried one last time to get rid of Takatifu by attacking him when his back was turned, only to be rammed by Tetemeko. The rhino was quick to defend his white-furred friend and the lion he revered as his King. Katili was hit hard enough for the internal injuries Tetemeko's attack caused to be fatal. Takatifu felt nothing but pity for his uncle. The old lion chose to defy his fate and it cost him his life. After giving Katili a proper burial, Takatifu assumed the throne, as was his birthright, and took Nyota as his Queen.

As far as a voice actor goes, would you believe Mitchell Hope for Takatifu or would that make him sound too young?

Also, the point behind Moto and Baridi's names goes into how they act. Moto, which is Swahili for 'hot', is hot-tempered and passionate. He often makes rash and stupid decisions because he doesn't stop to think, which is why many questioned whether or not he'd be a good King. Baridi, which is Swahili for 'cold', is calm and collected. He takes the time to think things through and knows how to shut his emotions off so they don't interfere with his job, which is why nobody doubted his suitability as the leader of the Lion Guard.

I felt that was worth sharing because I may never get around to designing them. If you're curious, imagine Moto as Simba with a lighter and more gold-based version of Sarabi's coat, a reddish-brown mane, a black Outlander nose, and Sarabi's orange eyes. Baridi would look like a stronger and well fed version of Scar with a duller and more cream-based version of Kiara's coat, a brown mane, a Pridelander nose, and ice blue eyes.

Edit 1: Oops, I forgot to give Tetemeko a tickbird partner. As of now, he officially has one.
Edit 2: I fixed up Takatifu's colors a bit.

Credit for the base goes to