itsme-isme

[grimaussieart]

Day 3 of Fairyary:

Eret with the monarch butterfly and angrec!

[thecreatorofworlds]

I wanted to make an official ref for my Reploid oc, Monarch Monsoon, and in the process, I wound up creating an entire sketchdump of her (and some other characters)! Needless to say, it got out of hand real fast. I decided to throw in some other neat OCs I've seen because there's so many cool fan designs, I figured it’d be fun to show them a little love while doing the same for my gal. (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

Please full-view, some of these got a little blurry! (Click for captions!)

Anoxia belongs to @astrobullet, Replichi belongs to @reploid-prince, Ray belongs to @rayum, and everyone else in the third image has their respective creator's url next to them (I feel a little sheepish @'ing people for sketches).

Here’s some more details / info about Monarch:

Background: Monarch Monsoon was part of the Maverick Hunter’s 7th Air Cavalry unit and worked under Storm Eagle, who she respected a great deal. When he defected and joined Sigma, she hesitantly went along with it out of loyalty, but quickly quit when she saw all the horrible things Sigma and his Mavericks were doing. (This sounds really noble, but don’t let that fool you; what clued her in was seeing Mavericks trying to destroy her favorite dessert shop).

Monarch’s ambivalent about the Maverick Hunters, but neutrality doesn’t pay the rent, so she works as a mercenary. On occasion, she'll visit smaller towns to provide backup for local forces when the Maverick Hunters don't arrive quickly enough, but she prefers staying in the city because that's where her favorite cafe is.

Personality: Very proud, and more than a little vain. Snarky, but affectionate once you get to know her. Flattery is the fastest way to get in her good books! Quick to speak her mind and quick to take offense at perceived insults.

Weakness: Close-range combat, sweets.

Abilities / fighting style: Monarch Monsoon was built for speed rather than power, which is why she’s a lot less clunky-looking and a lot lighter than earlier generations of Reploids / Maverick Hunters. She’s always got excess energy; her wings have solar panels built into them, so one of her main roles was to provide energy to those who were running low on it during long missions (she’s like a portable battery).

Monarch usually acted as a scout for Storm Eagle’s unit and relayed information back to them, like an on-the-field navigator. She excels at long-range combat, but a few well-placed shots would take her down easily. Like her former superior, Monarch also relies on wind to knock her opponents back, giving her enough time to make a quick escape. (She likes avoiding fights when she can!)

Other:

Monarch wasn’t interested in food until she was on patrol-duty and saw a really pretty, really fancy dessert in a shop window (she was delighted to find it was as delicious as it was beautiful). Her favorite dessert shop is the cafe X and Zero visited in the “Dates and Desserts” fanfic I wrote :’)    

She’s fond of all the Navigators and often invites them out to eat. Layer is her favorite to work / dine with, and she loves teasing her about her crush on Zero (but Monarch definitely thinks Layer could do better)!  

Her helmet can’t be removed! Monarch’s designer didn’t build her with the intention of letting her be able to pass as a civilian. (Monarch doesn’t particularly care, she’s really attached to her crown!)  

I wanted her communication headset thing to be on the sides of her head rather than over the ear like X’s, but it looks a little too cyber elf-y (which isn’t bad, but it’s the wrong era ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ). I put her gems on the side of her head so they look like butterfly eyes!

Monarch despises Sigma because he turned Storm Eagle, the "Prince of the Skies", into his pawn. (She also hates Sigma because he was the catalyst for Storm Eagle's eventual death at X's hands). Monarch still has undying loyalty for Storm Eagle, and her biggest regret was not trying to talk him out of helping Sigma and deserting him / her team. (I should also mention: Monarch never felt any romantic affection for Storm Eagle, but she did love him very much. It was just very platonic).  

Monarch dislikes Vile, partially because Storm Eagle didn't like him, and partially because she thinks he's needlessly destructive and reckless. She enjoyed anonymously pranking him when he was still a Hunter.  

She thinks Zero is a fashion disaster. Monarch acts a little coolly towards X because he killed the superior she was fond of, but she ultimately holds no real grudge against him. She’ll never admit it, but over time X has been growing on her (a little). She uses a lot of nicknames for him, but usually calls him “blueberry” or “blue boy”.  

I think Monarch actually managed to survive most of the Maverick Wars? She's good at keeping her head down. I think she'd be one of the few early-gen Reploids who survived past the first few wars.