Monster Monarchs: A Sofia the First AU (Part 3)
You can find the link to Part 1 here. And the link to Part 2 here.
Hello, Internet! I hope you are having a wonderful day!
Now that I have presented the monster forms of Sofia's classmates from Royal Preparatory Academy, I will now be introducing the monster forms for her classmates in Charmswell School for Royal Magic. They will be further referred to as the Charmswell Crew.
These photos should be of better quality since these were indeed intended to be posted. Along with this, some design notes will listed before the drawings to better explain the asterisks attached to their races:
*1 Updated from previous series, only for old series characters
*2 Actual monster in this AU, transforms into their canon human appearance, during Transformation Day
*3 Actually a human in this AU, transforms into a monster as depicted, during Transformation Day
"Transformation Day" is a workshop name for at least one episode or special in this AU where Sofia and her classmates from either school are forcibly transformed into their alternate forms. If the kid was human, he/she will turn into a monster, but if he/she were a monster, they will turn into a human.
I'd imagine that in both series, this phenomenon would triggered via a variant of the Mix-up Potion from the episode, "Scrambled Pets". In the OG series, these are planted around the school and set off as a prank. In Royal Magic, during an AU-only special I want to make, a villain posing as a teacher sets off the same potion either as a desperate attempt to escape or as a major step in his wicked scheme.
I'll explain more about this in another post, but for now, let's discuss the forms the Charmswell Crew will have by castle:
Sofia (Troll) [Updated / Final Design]
Now, this is the form that she will taking on during this AU's equivalent to the episode, "Substitute Cedric", and in the AU-only Transformation Special in Royal Magic. She no longer will have yeti strength or cold resistance, but will still have her enhanced hearing and dark vision. She would look like this in the OG series in that episode, because I believe Princess Elena was still stuck in the amulet at the time.
This would limit her power to transform, which she would now possess in Royal Magic, now that Elena's been freed. The problem is this potion would prevent any kind of transformation from the new form, unless they take the exact antidote via inhalation or ingestion. So, even in Royal Magic, she would still be stuck as a troll for that special, but she will manage it better since it happened to her before.
Unlike the RPA squad whose character developments have wrapped up years ago, the Charms Crew still have theirs ahead of them. So these forms were made mainly out of first impressions and are therefore still bound to change as we learn more about them. Though I have to admit, I am already satisfied with how they turned out and hope that they would remain to be their official forms by the time the series ends.
Camila's was the first one I had worked on, and was the easiest to make. This was because she already had a clear theme, which is nature. So immediately, I went with making her a dryad, as seen in the first sketch shown. However, I have actually used this species for one of Sofia's classmates in RPA that was only a background character:
Because of this, I converted Camila into an alraune, a plant-human hybrid, which is pretty similar to a dryad, while she still has chlorokinesis, the ability to control plant growth at will. And this remained mostly the same apart from her tentacle-like root system starting off as being loose, before becoming coiled up to form her legs.
This is held together with her sandals which she cannot remove in public to avoid unraveling her roots. Recoiling them can be difficult, but her constant teleportation spells, which she still does in this AU, do not help with this. However, this footwear is designed to allow her to stick her roots in the soles of her feet into the ground for nutrients.
After all, she is half-plant. She not only sustains herself via ingestion of normal foods, but also through photosynthesis and absorption of nutrients. Her eyes also don't get blinded by the sun's rays. However, she is now more susceptible to burn damage from excessive heat and fire, and can get easily dehydrated when she doesn't drink or get soaked in water regularly.
Layla (Anthropomorphic Moth)
OK, this one is a weird one. Even though we saw Layla with her butterfly wings in the early promotional material, I never assumed this would be her theme. So, I made her a were-hyena because I assumed she was Middle Eastern, even though she is Moroccan (I believe). A were-hyena is a creature of Middle Eastern and African mythology with the alleged ability to petrify people with their stare.
But when Layla's wings appear more and more frequently, I figured that I had to transform her into an anthropomorphic moth because it was much more appropriate. I chose a moth instead of a butterfly since we technically already have a "Princess Butterfly" from the episode of the same name: Princess Amber. I wanted to do something different from before, but at the same time, be able to reference the past series for all who have seen it previously.
Now, as a moth, she would no longer need her magic bracelet. In fact, she would have her wings on her back 24/7, and would know how to fly properly since the first episode. But, at the same time, she could be extra sensitive to her surroundings sometimes because of her antennae. And she can have the tendency to be captivated by concentrated light sources, like how a real moth can be drawn to a flame. (I was meant to give her an extra pair of arms, but that didn't push through for simplicity's sake.)
Zane and Zaria (Gargoyles)
I know Zaria belongs in Castle Fauna, but we will go over the forms in that castle anyway. So, I might as well talk about her and Zane at the same time. Her form actually depends on her brother's since I worked on him first and we did not know that the two are related at the time. Whatever Zane was gonna be, Zaria was gonna be as well, with any initial concepts for her being eventually scrapped.
Zaria was initially planned to use the lynx form that was meant for Hildegard because they were designed similarly. Meanwhile, Zane was originally going to be an elf that could control either wind or water because of this blue color palette. That would make his dynamic with Layla and Camila represent the trifecta that is land, sea, and sky.
But upon learning about their home kingdom, Gloomshire, and the fact that they are siblings, these concepts were scrapped and replaced with gargoyle forms. Turquoise in color when not in stone form, and made of a mix of animal parts, like the ones from the canon episode, "Minding the Manor". However, their hair and clothes from their human forms retain, also able to turn to stone when their bodies do.
Both have hooves like how demons, which real-life gargoyles usually depict, usually have for feet. They both have wings for flight, but two different kinds depending on their personality. Zane gets feathers because of how much of an angel he is to most fans, while Zaria has bat wings for her gothic vibe.
Their animal heads and tails also depend on their personality. Zane's dog head is for his goofiness (it makes him look like KK Slider from Animal Crossing), while Zaria's cat head is for her blank face and tone (which still uses the lynx concept by letting her have lynx ears). These also determined what extra powers they could have, along with their main power of gushing water from their mouths like real gargoyles. Zane's dog ears have better hearing, while Zaria's cat eyes can see in the dark, (like the troll twins!)
Thandi (Kobold / Lizardfolk)
Like with Khalid, Thandi's chosen race was based on the fact that African mythology is abundant with lizard deities. Her skin is now covered in scales, which shed from time to time, and her buns have been converted into horns, which allow her to deliver powerful charges and headbutts. She is also now cold-blooded and very sensitive to temperature changes, so rigorous activity in the heat is avoided.
Along with serving as this batch's main reptilian representation, she also gets to be one of the few to be of a race from the Dungeons & Dragons franchise. Another exists in the form of Prince Farhad which we will discuss later, and Princess Zooey from RPA as an Owlbear, who along with Princess Kari, is supposed to be getting a proper render that I haven't done yet:
Haruki was one of the students I had initially misidentified in terms of cultural origins. I had mistaken him for a Korean and automatically assigned him to be a dokkaebi, a Korean demon or spirit. It would make sense to include one here with the popularity that Kpop Demon Hunters had gotten since its release. But upon learning that he is actually Japanese, I had modified the form to take on an oni, which was the closest equivalent of a dokkaebi as we were going to get.
Now he will acquire teleportation capabilities that do not require the "Transposia" spell that Camila is more known for. He will be sporting face and body markings that resemble kabuki makeup, and his crown will melt into his head and form his demonic horns. (This kid is going to get migraines after he transforms, I swear.)
And he would also be riddled with anxiety, for I would imagine that his kingdom is one of the very few with a nearly non-existent monster population, for they would constantly be arrested and executed. Haruki would fear for his life the moment he becomes like this for he believes his own parents would have him killed when they see him as an oni. (Bless him!)
His was one of the more difficult ones to figure out because of how racially or culturally vague he was early on. At one point, I considered him to be a manticore, which was yet another unused form that was initially meant for Khalid and his sisters. It would make things more interesting in this batch if he were able to poison his enemies with his scorpion tail.
But later on, I have stumbled upon a more interesting alternative because the manticore would be similar name-wise to Devin's minotaur and similar appearance-wise to Clio's griffin. (More on the former later.) This alternative form was the cockatrice, which turns out to be a much more appropriate option down the line.
There isn't a bird creature represented in the batch yet, so I figured he could be the one to fulfill that role. It gives a greater variety to the class in terms of design and functionality. His being a bird hybrid would make him stand out and his petrifying gaze can make him more fascinating and powerful. And, coincidentally, the cockatrice is a beast of English mythology, which is fitting for Reggie, as he is British.
This was mainly chosen because of how much of a bull-y he is. (Get it?) It was too good of an opportunity to miss, actually. Bulls are often depicted as symbols of strength, power, and masculinity, attributes that Devin likely prizes above others. As a result, he would feel and act so highly of himself that he would believe that nobody can beat him in anything. Such an attitude and the behavior caused by it are in need of disciplinary action.
Such disciplinary action can include this prince's transformation into the creature, akin to that of Prince Adam into the Beast, or Pinocchio's friend Lampwick into a donkey. This is how impactful, and hopefully scary, I wish his transformation to be, in order to further emphasize how wrong arrogance and excessive pride is and why kids shouldn't act that way. Honestly, modern Disney films do not scare kids like they use to anymore.
Devin would have needed to do something very devious and terrible prior to Transformation Day in order for this wound to his ego to be deserved. His acquisition of horns, greater strength, and faster running speed is meant to spark his redemption arc and serve as a chance to prove how worthy he is of being called a true hero. It is intended to persuade him to change and become a better kid that will hopefully retain all he has learned even upon becoming human again.
She was also a case of misidentification. At the time, I never knew her culture and kingdom was meant to be based on that of the Philippines. I just wanted someone, anyone in this class to use the manticore form because of its unique characteristics and the power its poison can hold. And she was the only option I had left, so I gave her that assignment for a long while.
Then came the time when she was revealed to be Filipino, which made things so much easier for me, because I am Filipino and our country is rich in mythology. Yet the most popular Filipino mythological creature that deserves some major representation in foreign media is the manananggal. This was a race that I immediately thought about to give to Mayari, because I initially wanted to make an OC for this AU with their monster form being this creature.
But now that an official Filipino-based princess has been made, I automatically reassigned this form to her, darkening her skin and hair to make it easier for her to camouflage herself in the night sky. But in this universe, manananggal were able to adapt to surviving outside in the daytime, allowing them to freely split their bodies and spread their wings as they please. So the extra melanin can give her protection from the sunlight as well.
Farhad (Ilithid / Mind Flayer)
Being of Persian (or Iranian) origins, his form was once considered to be of the mythological kind. He was meant to take on the ilithid form in the beginning, which was what we still went with in the final product. But, for a moment, this royal was supposed to be a glamorous bird creature, that is a powerful being in Persian mythology: a simurgh. Yet, I have already done something similar in Sofia's last batch, through Princess Kari's Phoenix form:
Because of the similarity, I have decided to stick to the ilithid form, which increases our number of Dungeons & Dragons races represented in the overall roster. Farhad will now be this batch's main aquatic and psychic monster. His psychic powers of telekinesis, telepathy, mind reading, and mind control can work well both on land and underwater. They would be especially useful as his actual hands are just as sticky as his facial tentacles.
Like with Farhad, while I have decided to keep her doll form, there was a more alternative, mythological option: a kỳ lân (the Vietnamese equivalent to the Chinese Qilin, or Japanese Kirin). It was similar to the unused qilin form intended for Jin and Jun before I turned them into monkeys. She would possess a surprising amount of wisdom, and would be the closest thing to a spirit that Charms Crew's going to have.
But because I believed that the doll form would be more fascinating and would also bring greater variety to the class, that was what I went for Linh instead. She gets to be the only member of the class based on an inanimate object, one that is especially fragile and therefore more cautious of her surroundings. But even though she can break very easily, she can just as easily magically repair herself immediately as long as she is still awake and conscious.
And that concludes my long design presentation for the students of Charmswell! I had a lot of fun creating these, arguably even more than when I made the monster forms of the RPA kids. I think it was the element of surprise that these came with compared to the old squad. As I have said, the newcomers still have their stories and development ahead of them, while the ex-classmates have already shown theirs. So, while there was a level of uncertainty, it didn't hinder me from producing these designs which I liked the results of.
With that being said, this concludes this post about the Sofia the First Monster AU. When I find the time, I may post more to explain further some details that I have mentioned about this AU, and to simply brainstorm for some more ideas to expand it further.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this until the end. Thank you very much for your time, and have a great day ahead of you!
