Tai is a girl caught up in her own independence.

determined to be strong to the point that she hides the cracks in her armour, and pretends that they don't exist for sake of seeming invulnerable. She hides each chink with a sarcastic comment, a wry joke, a dose of witty repartee- her smiles are more than evidence of felicity; they're defence mechanisms. Her fear of vulnerability comes from a strange mix of pride and concern for others- she longs to be a reliable figure, someone one can lean on when times are tough, but hates the thought that she herself would ever need to lean. She is almost arrogantly independent, so sure is she that she can survive on her own, and make it in the world even if the powers that be are apparently determined to drag her down.

she is far from charming in the typical sense; she is far too wild, too rough around the edges to be associated with such a word. However, what she lacks in charismatic glamour she more than makes up for with her intoxicating roguishness. Her way of living involves doing things without hesitation, or inhibition, living her best life without any apparent concern for what others think of her. She lives for the thrills of life, the sights to be seen and the songs to be heard, the jokes to be made and the questions to be answered. She is somehow simultaneously cynical of the system and in awe of humanity's potential- if only we humans decided not to be assholes for a change.

for all this brashness, it might surprise some that times of quiet contemplation, she falls into bouts of deep rumination. More surprising still are the little wisdoms she tends to share in these moments- for being Astoria's token rapscallion, she can be intriguingly sagacious.

Despite all her bad-girl posturing, Taís is far more thoughtful than others would believe upon first impressions. Her introverted nature blossoms in her quiet moments, and her musings are often littered with nuggets of gold- she sees things and people more clearly than others tend to, and honesty bleeds into her words. Her advice is precious, and would be even more so, if she herself would ever take the time or effort to follow it.

instead, she has a rebellious streak- one that often lands her in the principal's office. Her hot temper, penchant for vindication and passion for doling out justice has left her in the firing line many a time. Not that she ever seems to regret it, for she always manages to worm her way out of tight spots, ultimately waltzing out of her previous predicaments, smiling and shooting one liners left and right as she goes.

For as long as Taís can remember, it has just been her and her mom. The rest of her family, she only knows from stories and photographs, and even in those cases, details are missing, or even held back by her mother- who has little fondness for them. Not that such a disdain isn't warranted. Mariana was only six years old when she immigrated with her parents and older sister, Taís, to the States, after living her early years in Brazil. Her parents were loving, if strict, and fiercely catholic. Mariana grew up somewhat sheltered, and her only access to the world beyond what her parents wanted her to see was her sister. Taís was the wilder of the two, free-spirited and rebellious in the face of the Carvalho's rules and expectations. Mariana envied her, somewhat, for being so confident and bold where she was the "good one." That said, she enjoyed her parents' praise, even if she didn't realise then that she'd been conditioned into valuing it far more than was healthy.

Her status as "the good one," changed when she was fifteen, and came out as lesbian to her parents. Instead of embracing her, they disowned her, and Mariana found herself temporarily homeless. Taís, having moved out as soon as she was old enough, took her in, and miraculously managed to act as a caregiver to the teen, at the young age of twenty-two.

Together, they moved to Astoria, and Mariana found herself fitting right in at the school, with plenty of friends and straight-A's that would ultimately earn her an slot in the Police Academy, which in turn would ultimately take her to the position of Sheriff of the Astoria Police Department.

She was twenty-five when she decided that she wanted to have a baby, and was twenty-seven when she contacted her parents once more, giving them a chance to be a part of their granddaughter's (named after Mariana's beloved sister) life. They rejected the offer. The first and last time Taís saw her grandparents was at her Aunt Taís' funeral, after a four year battle with breast cancer. Taís was seven. Her grandparents spared her a single glance as they left the funeral, and, looking back on that moment, Taís doesn't blame her mother for getting rid of all their photos.

Since then, Taís grew up wild and unruly- both a spitting image of her beloved late aunt, and a intense contrast to her by-the-book mother. To be honest, Taís doesn't quite know why she rebels the way she does- her relationship with her mother is a positive one, and she is far from angry at the world. But for whatever reason, authority never clicked with her, and she grew up questioning the rules rather than blindly following them. Perhaps someone like that is exactly what is needed to catch the killer- or maybe her recklessness will leave her just like the others- dead.