Laken Kinsley

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* General *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Name: Laken Kinsley

Age: (Pre-TS) 29, (Post-TS) 31

Pronouns: She/They

Height: 5’6”

DOB: August 31st

Sexuality: Homosexual

Race: Human (Sea Witch; think of it as a genetic disposition such as Haki)

Affiliation: ‘Civilian’; overseer of the ‘inbetween’

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✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* Appearance *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

A black woman with light green eyes and rounded facial features, she is often mistaken for being far younger than she actually is. This is in part due to her bone structure as well as her thin frame with long limbs. Though, her classic pigtails and large, circular glasses don’t dissuade people from that assumption either; not that she particularly minds in most situations.

Sage green and gold are staples in her attire consisting of: a cream undershirt with tan rings, sage green pinafore overdress with open chest and gold trim**, sage green butterfly-esque ascot with gold accents, tan waist bags, moss green leggings, low-heeled button-boots, and an apron of the same fabric as the previously mentioned undershirt. Even the ends of her hair are dyed the same shade, although a distinct gradient can be seen returning to her natural dark brown color. Note that her hair texture can be best described as 4A by modern descriptors.

Even though most of the gold accents in her attire are purely for aesthetics– from gold buttons to her glasses– there is one piece (not located on Raftel haha) that was crafted for a very specific purpose; her lip ring. This is known to sea witches as a ‘glamor’ or a piece of jewelry infused with magic to ‘weave’ a preset outfit to perfectly fit the user upon its activation. Considering Laken’s ability to shape-shift, which is not always clothing-friendly, this is a wonderful tool to have on hand.

**Yes, it does have pockets

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✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* Personality *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Laken is a soft spoken individual who is more than happy to stay out of the spotlight, though tolerates it when aligned with her duties as overseer. When she decides to speak she prefers to be straightforward, assertion not coming in the form of shouting but instead a rigid request for compliance before the possibility of corrective actions. It’s a marvel to watch her gain the respect of beings who could snap a normal person in two if careless. Although, if negotiations fail, spending over a decade mastering the ability to shape-shift has been a lifesaver on more than one occasion.

There’s no doubt that this sea witch is intelligent; rivaling a medical doctor in the rudimentary knowledge needed to work her literal magic. But, along with that, she is a highly discerning individual. Melding together being a capable observer and a sharp analyser, she has the ability to perceive what's off-key about a person or situation and then process what’s needed to improve it. These innate traits work well with her current duties and the way she lives her life.

Of course no one is perfect, Lady Laken being no exception. For most of her life she has struggled with self image and the compounding insecurity that comes along with it. At its worst, her lack of speech was far from voluntary– truly believing she wasn’t worth listening to– and the vicious cycle of both self-loathing and clinging for control resulted in multiple eating disorders that followed her for years. Thankfully, she is far into recovery and chooses comfortable silence. Though bad habits can still crop up, she’s proud of how far she’s come.

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✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* Abilities *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Title: Lady (Full-Fledged Witch)

Gift: Born under the waning moon (visions of the past)

Talent: ‘Contortion’ 

Skill: ‘Transfiguration’

Bearing: Unknown

Familiar: Cecil (Lunar Moth)

Center: Choker (threaded through ascot)

Devil Fruit : N/A

Haki: N/A **

Like all witches before her, Laken was born with two innate abilities that would become more prominent the more she matured into her magic; these being her Gift and her Talent. Being born under the waning moon allows her to have momentary visions of events that have already occurred. Given, a witch does not have control of when these visions happen but it is believed to be a self-defense mechanism; typically coming at pivotal crossroads where there is no turning back. During such times, it is up to the individual to interpret these visions and act accordingly.

When it comes to her Talent, it grew alongside her, building off of both her budding personality as well as the environment she grew up in. It is most easily categorized as ‘Contortion’ for the obvious external manipulation of the body but it can also be utilized in unseen ways: such as constant streams of adrenaline, increasing bone density, blocking pain receptors, and so forth. Though she can use her Talent rather seamlessly, its main limitation is that it can only utilize what her body already has or naturally can produce.

After taking on her familiar, Cecil, and becoming a full-fledged witch, did Laken reach the upper tier of her potential. The Skill that she felt drawn toward is known as ‘Transfiguration’. Exactly as the name implies, it is the ability to change one’s physical shape. Specifically, Laken utilized her body’s ability to create and destroy cells to build off of. Though, unlike her Talent, using this ability takes time, plentiful amounts of research/energy, and a steep tolerance for pain. If she does invoke her Skill, typically it’s for small alterations to the body: such as gills, fangs, or claws– what is very much needed in the moment. If she does take on a full-body transformation, she’ll most likely stay in that shape for a couple days; to let her body “settle” as well as emotionally prep for changing back. Technically this skill can be applied to other living matter as well, outside of one’s own body, though Laken is not as adept in it as her mentor, Madam Aedre, is.   

** Sea Witches’ do not have the capacity to use Haki, being that their genetic disposition is on the same part of the chromosome as Haki 

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✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* History *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Born on the island of Cozia, she came into a close-knit family consisting of her mother, sister, father, and grandfather. As the recessive genetic component for being a Sea Witch often skips multiple generations before cropping up again, Laken had no idea and continued to live her life. Growing up in the calmer waters of the East Blue.

Despite being very much loved by her family, a mixture of social pressure, heightened insecurities, and a needed outlet for control resulted in a young Laken developing multiple eating disorders that she would struggle with for years to come. 

Life continued on; her father a shoemaker, mother a notable glassblower, and her sister excelling both in school and—taking after their mother’s artistic knack—picking up pottery. But little Laken…she dabbled in a little bit of her family’s trades with little to show for it. Being bullied relentlessly distracted her a lot from her studies and, sure, she was eerily flexible but, besides using that to climb up trees and bluffs, that didn’t seem to do her much. And so she continued on, always feeling just on the outside of it all.

At 18, she matured into her magic as a sea witch fledgling but, tragically, at around the same time Cozia was ransacked by Germa 66. In the midst of the chaos and bloodshed, Laken and her sister happened to be sprinting from school; fleeing home despite their teacher’s ordering them to stay in the building. 

Rounding a corner– just a few blocks more to go– the girls ran into a small squad of Germa soldiers, unconcerned if the target of their bullets was civilian or not. Honestly, neither of the sisters can recall exactly what happened that day. One moment their breath was caught in their throat, frozen silhouettes reflected back in the soldier’s goggles and the next– sequestered away into a darkened alley, soft nonsensical words pulling them back from the mental haze they were just in.

And that’s when Laken first met Madam Aedre. Giving a sympathetic but firm resolution that they needed to leave. Now. Ushering them both for the first few steps was easy enough until Laken’s sister, Megan, began to protest with concerns for the rest of their family; they needed to escape with them too. A few moments of arguing between being ‘too dangerous’ and ‘not leaving without them’ passed before Laken finally found her voice and meekly sided with her sister; neither of them would go without their family.

“...okay, then. Though, in exchange, I’ll do what I must to protect everyone. Do we have a deal?”

With the arrangement phrased like that, it was easy enough to agree. But little did the fledgling know that it would result in her family’s memories being altered–believing her to be dead– and that she would need to go with this stranger to be her student. And, though she would come to admire and think fondly of her mentor, Laken would never quite forget the mangled but unbroken bodies of Germa’s men that greeted her as they all stepped back out onto the main walkway. 

It would be over the next few years that she would train and study what she actually was, how expansive the world actually was, and the truths that awaited her. And, once Madam Aedre felt that she was ready, the search for a familiar began. After many trials and errors, Laken ended up choosing a Lunar Moth for the main reason that they do not have mouths nor do they eat– this way, if any of her bad eating habits cropped up again, that her bonded partner wouldn’t have to feel the discomfort too. 

It was shortly after this that Laken struck out on her own, spending some time locating her biological family and rekindling a relationship with them, especially her sister. Of course having to spin a realistic tale of half-truths to convince them of how she miraculously survived the Germa 66 attack all those years ago.

Presently, Lady Laken immerses herself in her work– inheriting the position of overseer from her mentor. With Cecil by her side, she works tirelessly to ensure that those who were once human but now have been thrusted through the threshold of the supernatural don’t feel as out of place.  

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✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* Relationships *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Cecil (Familiar): Extremely close as most witches and their familiars are. Neither of them talk much but instead lean on their connection to infer the other’s feelings and/or needs. Though Cecil still has much to learn with the sudden expansion of their consciousness, they are sincerely attentive to their mistress. 

Megan ‘Nutmeg’ Kinsley (Bio Sister): Nutmeg has always been more outspoken out of the two–almost inseparable in their youth– but finds herself pausing in realizing who Laken has grown to be. They are still close, given, but Nutmeg can sense that her sister isn’t sharing everything with her but chooses not to press further. She’s just happy to have her sister back, after all. 

Madam Aedre (Mentor): Laken is immensely grateful to her mentor for both ensuring her family’s safe escape as well as for taking her in; Madam Aedre helped her navigate a plethora of new information and conflicting emotions, very much being a maternal guiding force. She strives to continuously prove to the elder that the trust she places in her is warranted. Though, if you asked Madam Aedre, she would wave the notion off as being unneeded– she is very fond of her former student and is very verbally and physically affectionate as a result.

Nadia Auclair (Coven Sister): Being of the latest ‘generation’ of sea witches, they had many more passing encounters than most witches would have. Their conflicting personalities had them stand-offish at best and bickering at worst. However, as they focused on their personal growth and began to get first-hand experience to the subtle bonds that strengthen the coven, the more effort they made to see eye-to-eye. Currently, they get along rather well; Laken understanding Nadia’s impulsivity and thirst for living life in the moment while–in turn– Nadia recognizes that, when Laken does speak up, it is to be respected.

Serena Todd (Coven Sister): Their getting to know each other was a favor to Serena’s mentor, Madam Verhone. Despite that… and despite Serena possessing a Devilfruit, they get along rather swimmingly. Laken is one of the few to pinpoint Serena’s adaptive personality which she observes cautiously; how much is truly her and how much is out of subconscious self defense? Regardless, she appreciates her company and even the pet name ‘Mint Chip’ she was dubbed. 

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✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* Misc *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Hobbies: Cloud watching & Gardening

Likes: Insects, Anatomy, the smell of an old book, and the rolling fog of an early morning

Dislikes: Crowds, violence, looking down on others, and olives

Favorite Drink: Raspberry Leaf Tea

Pronoun ‘They’: Working with entities that have many genders or none all together, it is commonplace to use ‘they/them’ pronouns unless told otherwise. The same can be said for the overseer of those ‘inbetween’, to which Laken was first introduced to the concept. Not only did she get used to being referred to as such but found it suiting. That’s when she started to go by she/they. The only reason why ‘she’ is predominantly used in this profile is to keep the dialog clear– I’ve already had to comb through twice to catch any oscillating between the two;;

Long-leg tribe: Ever since she can remember, her grandfather claimed that some great-great grandmother was from the Long-leg tribe but, ever since having to flee from Cozia, any such proof has been lost. It would, however, explain why her family tends to have longer legs compared to their torsos. 

Glasses were originally real: In her youth, Laken needed glasses for intense near-sightedness. Though, once she came into her own as a full-fledged witch, it was more beneficial to tailor her eyes to perfect said vision. Despite this, she still wears a pair of glasses; both for aesthetics but also because she refuses to stop wearing an item she was bullied over as a child. Not to mention, it would be suspicious for her to suddenly stop needing glasses if someone from her past ever ran into her.

Sage Green: When Laken’s mental health first started declining, there was extremely little about her physical appearance she actually liked. The exception to this being her eyes, sage green becoming her favorite color; It was actually one of the main draws to a Lunar Moth over other mouthless-insects. As such, when she began to put active effort into her recovery, she adorned herself in said color, refusing to use her magic to alter her body in any way. It’s still an occurring battle but it’s her way of loving her body just the way that it is.   

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