Another batch of monster designs for @redladydeath 's Live in consort thing, this time for the Queens
I didn’t add Mary I and Elizabeth because I’ve already designed them
Matilda - Wyvern
Matilda is a dragon but to be specific a wyvern ( a dragon with winged front limbs instead of four limbs plus wings)
With this in mind I based her anatomy on pterosaurs, to be more specific Azhdarchid pterosaurs (the HUGE ones like Quetzalcoatlus)
She was also called a 'She-wolf' so her ears and the scales around her neck reflect that
Lady Jane Grey - Gorgon
I’m using @arty-e design for Lady Jane Grey as a base for Gorgon!Jane
Gorgons are closely related to lamia's, but they have many differences, mostly the snake hair and stone-vision
Jane is terrified of petrifying people (even though they'd change back after she turns back into a human) so she wears a blindfold when in gorgon form, which causes PTSD to her execution, which is no fun
Mary and Anne - Selkies
Selkies in this universe have two forms
A full pinniped form (pinniped just means all seals, sea-lions and walrus's)
and humanoid form, which mostly human but with pinniped features
Mary is a sea-lion because sea lions are more social than seals and Mary was the more outgoing sister
Anne is a leopard seal, solitary and mysterious
Victoria - Spider Monster (Drider/jorogumo etc.)
Vicky looks like a Hazbin hotel character
Being a spider monster, she spins webs and liquefies her prey from the inside out, hence the split lower jaw
Her transformation is like Anne's, because spiders molt their outer exoskeletons
She's part black widow, part goliath birdeater...which is a problem for Albert
Here's part two of my collab with @spooner7308! This is basically a sequel to my one shot 'Gargoyle's Call of Sorrow'!
Here's part one of this two part collab!
Six monster au belongs to @spooner7308
Hal hesitantly slinked away from the scene. He didn't want to leave. Especially when his sister is acting like this. But he also doesn't want to anger his mother so he has no choice but to obey.
Retracing his steps, he made his way out of the church. Catalina and Mary's voices still echoing from the belfry. The older of the two still trying to convince the younger to come home. He sighs and walked along the overgrown stony pathway of the church's graveyard.
This was a disaster.
He only wanted to help but he can't when his own mother is preventing him to.
He just wants his sister back.
Hal stopped mid way when he noticed a crypt in the church's graveyard was wide open. A shiver went up his spine as he stared at the open crypt with wide eyes.
He was absolutely sure that crypt was not open when he passed by it earlier.
The boy hesitantly and cautiously approached the crypt to investigate. His phone out with the flashlight on. He lets out a yelp when he heard a shuffling and saw something move in the darkness.
"Um...h-hello...?" he asked. His quivering voice bouncing off the walls of the old crypt. His hand that was holding his phone was shaking from the fear.
Two things he's afraid of the most:
Snakes and ghosts.
He looks inside the open crypt and calls out again.
There was a moment of silence until...
"Hello? Who's out there?" came a reply. Hal jumped out of skin and dropped his phone at the unexpected reply to his call. So there was someone in the crypt. The question now is that is it a human, monster or ghost?
The prince prays that it was the first two instead of the latter third.
He noticed something peculiar about the reply from the crypt though.
The voice sounded young and feminine.
Hal lets out an undignified squeak when he heard the sound of shuffling getting louder as who or what is inside the crypt slowly made their way out towards him. He grabbed his fallen phone and scrambled back out of the crypt when he took notice of the multiple pairs of tiny yellow glowing eyes looking directly at him.
"Is someone out there?" the voice asked once more. The owner of said voice stepping -or slithering- into the dim lighting of the church graveyard.
He fell on his butt again and lets out a yelp as he was met with the sight of a monster. A monster akin to a snake.
Almost similar to Anne's monster form.
The monster was clearly a woman. What stood out the most from this woman, aside from her lower half being the tail of a snake with gray scales, the sharp and pointy claws, the fangs and the blindfold over her eyes, was her head full of smaller sentient snakes.
Like the gorgon, Medusa.
Hal felt multiple shivers run up his spine at the sight of those snakes just staring right at him with their glowing yellow eyes.
"H-Hello? I know someone is in front of me. Please don't be alarmed. I mean no harm. And please don't hurt me..." the snake woman said. Her dark forked tongue poking past her lips nervously. Tasting the air around her.
She was hunched over a bit. As if ready to slink back into the open crypt at the slightest signs of danger.
"Y-You...w-who are...?" the prince stutters as he stares at the Medusa like snake woman.
Dear lord, he did not bring any extra pants for this.
"M-My name is Jane Grey...and you are?"
Wait...
Jane Grey?
Edward, Mary and Elizabeth had mentioned a girl named Jane Grey before. She was a queen who reigned very shortly after his brother and before his older sister took the throne. Not much was said about her in particular but he remembered what they called her.
The Nine Days Queen.
"Hello? Are you still there?" Jane asked.
Hal snapped out of his stupor and looked at the gorgon woman. He lets out a startled noise when he realized she had gotten closer. At the same time, Jane lets out a surprised yelp herself when Hal exclaimed. Her snakes on her hair (snake hair?) wiggled about in distress.
"I-I'm so sorry about that! Snakes just...freak me out," Hal said. Standing up.
"I get what you mean. I-I don't like snakes myself, ironically," Jane said.
This reply made Hal chuckle a bit. Perhaps this person was not much of a monster as he thought she would be. He's still freaked out by the snake hair though.
"Um...I'm Hal by the way. I'm a reincarnate like you," he said. Dusting his, still relatively clean, pants.
"Really?" she asked. Perking up a bit at the thought of finally meeting another reincarnate like her. Hal gives her his signature grins. "Yeah!" he said.
"I'm not sure if I remember someone going by that name back in my first life."
"Well...you shouldn't because I died at only several weeks old. I'm Catherine of Aragon's son mostly known in history as Henry Duke of Cornwall."
Jane freaked out when she heard this. Her snakes feeling her distress. "Oh! I'm so sorry about that! I-I didn't know!" she apologized frantically.
"No no no! It's okay!" Hal reassured but the gorgon woman is already feeling shame at her assumption. Then she realized something. "Wait. If you died weeks after your birth then how do you know about me?" she asked.
"My sisters and brother mentioned you before," Hal answered. Despite the blindfold, he can clearly see the confusion on Jane's face. "Your...sisters and brother?" she asked.
"Mary I, Elizabeth I and Edward VI. You might know them," he answered.
Jane froze at her spot in shock. This...this person in front of her...is related to Edward, Mary and Elizabeth?
"Oh...Oh my..."
Hal was suddenly nervous. He was afraid that this person might have had an unpleasant experience with his siblings. "What? What's wrong?" he asked. His voice shaking a bit.
"I...I know those three quite well. You...probably know that one of them ordered mine and my husband's execution after being crowned queen nine days before," Jane said. Hal's eyes widened in shock at this revelation.
One of his siblings ordered this woman's beheading!?
Hal knew that his siblings did some...unsightly things during their reigns but to behead this demure and innocent woman!?
"W-Wait what!?" he exclaimed in disbelief. Jane looks at him in surprise.
He doesn't know?
"You...didn't know that your sister, Mary, ordered my execution and usurped the throne?" she asked. Rather surprised by this since almost everyone knows about her execution.
Hal looked at her. Eyes wide and mouth agape.
Mary was the one to execute her...
The prince looked back up the church belfry. He could still see the imposing silhouettes of both his mother and sister through the window. Still arguing.
Mary.
You beheaded an innocent woman...?
...for the throne?
He looks back at Jane. "I-I knew about the usurping thing but...but not the execution thing...," he said.
"Oh. Oh dear..."
There was a heavy silence that fell upon them as they contemplated on these revelations.
"P-Please...can you tell me what you know about my sister's...Mary's reign?" Hal asked.
Almost pleadingly.
"Well...I'll do my best in explaining everything I know but I can't guarantee that it'll be pleasant. Let's sit first," Jane said.
He nodded and they both sat on an old stone bench near the open crypt. Hal sat on the other end of the bench.
Jane's hair snakes still freak him out.
He looks at her expectantly. Waiting for her to tell him about Mary's reign. The gorgon woman took a deep breath before starting.
"You see...after Edward's death, his will stated the removal of Mary and Elizabeth from the line of succession and made me his heir to the throne," she started. Fidgeting with her hands a bit as she talked. Hal studied her expression, noticing her look of uneasiness. This is quite a heavy subject for her after all. He was tempted to tell her to stop and that it was okay but...
...he needed to know in order to get through to Mary.
"I...I was very reluctant to accept it but I had to in order to avoid conflict within my family and the kingdom. So, I was crowned queen but soon after I was declared as one, Mary's supporters grew in number and my supporters all but abandoned me. Nine days later, my husband and I were captured and beheaded upon the orders of the new queen, Mary," Jane continues. Her eyes shifting nervously behind her blind fold. Retelling this causes her so much anxiety. Especially whilst having a blindfold on.
It reminds her so much of her execution.
"After...after being reincarnated, I did my research on the three of them and was surprised to say the least at what I found out about Mary and Elizabeth."
"That Elizabeth managed to become the greatest monarch in British history?" Hal asked.
"That and that Mary, in her desperate attempts to bring Catholicism back to the country, burned around three hundred protestants at the stake," Jane said.
Hal froze.
He felt his blood run cold and his stomach drop after hearing this.
Mary.
His own sister.
Had three hundred people...
...killed?
"Hal? Hal are you alright?" Jane asked. Snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Y-Yeah...I think I'm fine..." Hal said. His voice quivering so much that it made Jane concerned.
"Are you sure? Perhaps I should just stop," she said.
"Y-Yeah...I think that's all I need to know. I realize now why Mary thinks of herself as a monster. It's not just the monster form that she turned into, it's also the past sins. I know what to do now to help her," he said. Standing up from the bench. Determination burning in his golden brown gaze.
"Whatever it is that's troubling her, I believe that you, of all people, could help her. Based on my own research, she was a woman with an unfortunate upbringing in an unfortunate situation," Jane said.
"I better go before she runs off again. Thank you, Ms. Grey."
"Please, just call me 'Jane'."
"Okay, Jane. I have to go now. I hope we can meet again," Hal said before going back to the church.
He runs back down the overgrown path and burst through the old wooden doors. Running down the aisle, he quickly found the steps leading up to the belfry and took two at a time. Almost tripping a couple of times.
He can hear his mother's and Mary's voices clearly now. The older gargoyle still convincing her daughter to come home while the younger gargoyle persisted on acting feral.
"Mary! Mary listen to me!" Hal said as he enters the belfry. Out of breath from running all the way.
"Hal! I thought I told you to go back home! What are you still doing here!?" Catalina demanded. Even angrier now that her son had deliberately disobeyed her.
"I know now why you're thinking this way and I'm here to say that you're no monster, Mary!" He said. Ignoring his mother.
"Mijo, don't ignore me! Get out of here and go home!"
"I am a monster, Hal! So get away before I seriously hurt you!" Mary snarls. Her glowing red eyes glaring right him and baring her sharp teeth at him.
"But you're not a monster, Mary! I know you're just acting like this to make us go away but we won't! I won't!" Hal stood his ground. Walking over to his sister who snarls loudly at him. Her wings spread wide as a warning.
"Henry!" Catalina growls. Furious that her son refused to listen to her.
Hal ignored the way his mother called him by his full first name and just focused on his sister.
"Mary, I know what happened during your reign," he said.
This caused a pause.
Mary looked at him. Shock and fear in her eyes.
He...
He knows?
"H-Hal...I..." she starts but stops. Not knowing what to say.
I mean, what could you say when your own little brother finds out about your dark past?
"I met Jane Grey earlier. She told what happened. You had her and her husband behaded for the throne and during your reign you...you had around three hundred protestants burned at the stake," Hal said as he slowly took a step towards her.
He had to be cautious now.
Lest his sister lashes out at him.
Catalina looks at both of her son and daughter. Unsure at how Mary will react to Hal knowing about her past that she hid from him for a long time now.
She got her answer when Mary lets out a terrifying scream and curled up in a pitiful ball with her wings wrapped around herself.
Not to shield herself from Hal and her mother but to shield them from herself.
They both know she's a genuine monster now.
Hal was frozen in fear and shock at the scream his sister had let out but he forced himself to move towards Mary.
"Mary I-"
"STAY AWAY! STAY AWAY! STAY AWAY!"
Catalina's heart was breaking in two as she helplessly watched her daughter in distress.
She has failed her.
Again.
The queen has been checked out of the board but the prince is still moving forward with his limited moves.
And he's determined to get to the other side.
"Mary listen to me. You're not a monster. What happened in the past was terrible but that doesn't mean you're a monster," Hal said. He was closer now to Mary and Catalina is conflicted on whether or not to swoop in and pull him back before Mary lashes out.
"I know you've been working so hard in making up for your past. The volunteering, the random acts of kindness that you do. Those may be miniscule in your mind but they're big things, Mary. It shows that you're really making an effort to make up for your past," he continues. Walking closer to his sister.
"STOP! I'M NOTHING BUT A MONSTER! NO GOOD DEED THAT I DO WILL EVER CHANGE THAT!" Mary screeched. Making Hal stop momentarily before continuing towards her.
"Mary, you're not a monster. You're my sister and I love you all the same. No matter what."
He stops a few feet in front of her and sits on the floor. Mary is still crying. Still covering herself in shame with her wings.
Then, through her sobs, she heard singing.
"Oh it's a jolly holiday with Mary. Mary makes your heart so light," Hal sang. He starts of quiet and soft.
Mary peeks out through the gap between her wings. Her brother notices this and smiles before continuing with the song.
"When the day is gray and ordinary, Mary makes the sunshine bright. Oh happiness is blooming all around her. The daffodils are smiling at the dove."
Hal reaches through the gap between her wings and holds her hand in his. Not afraid of her lashing out with her claws.
This proved to help reassure his sister that he's not afraid of her.
Not anymore.
"When Mary holds your hand, you feel so grand. Your heart starts beating like a big brass band. It's a jolly holiday with Mary. No wonder that's it's Mary that I love," he finishes the song with his usual warm smile.
A smile came on Catalina's face as she watched her daughter pull her wings back and pull Hal in her arms for a hug.
He finally got through to her.
Hal hugged his sister tightly. A clear reassurance of his love for his sister.
Catalina decided this was the right moment to approach her children and pull them both in her embrace. Protectively wrapping her wings around them.
"Mis queridos," she said. Purring and chuffing softly in content.
Mary cried in her mother's and brother's arms. Holding them as closely as possible.
She's so blessed to have them in this life.
"You are doing your best to make it up to your past, mija and I'm very proud that you are," Catalina said.
"We both are," Hal added.
"Thank you...thank you for not giving up on me," Mary said. Finding herself purring and chuffing in content as well. The insticts she had suppressed for so long was now coming out.
And Mary is fine with that.
"Mary, are you coming home now?" Hal asked. Looking up at his sister.
Mary nodded. "Yeah. I'm ready to come home now," she said.
Catalina smiled and gently licked both of their hair whilst purring. She was happy to have her little family again.
After cherishing their moment, the family decided it was time to head home. The two gargoyles took to the air while Hal went back to his bike. He checked the crypt for any sign of Jane Grey but found it closed back up.
He said his thanks anyways and rode back home.
The sun was already rising by the time the three had gotten back home. Waiting for them by the front door was Jane.
She immediately pulled Mary and Hal in her large, furry arms upon seeing them safe and sound. She scolded Hal for leaving without permission and told him he was grounded. Banning him from using the kitchen for a week.
"It was worth it," he said with his signature grin.
Mary chuckled at this and ruffled his hair.
"Mary no! My hair!"
"Serves you right for disobeying, mamá."
"It was for your own good though!"
Catalina smiled at the sight of her children playfully arguing while her beau acted as a mediator trying to make them stop fighting. Despite what Mary had thought of herself, there really were people who genuinely and truly love her for who she is.
