ya got any ideas for gawain in your au? came up with a neat oc idea for gawain and the green knight. there's a lot of potential for a cute little monster transformation story seeing as a lot of the mythos features the green knight as being somehow transformed by morgan ^_^
I'm so glad you asked this... I actually had an old concept of this...
After ditching the G.S.A..... Morgan took on another apprentice (after Sir Dragato), "Gawain," and he's come to claim the seat as leader of the GSA.
He knew he wasn't as strong as the other knights... and a part of him always knew he'd never reach the legendary status as the others, so he made a deal with the devil (Morgan). He was her pawn... her puppet to secretly control the GSA in her name.
Gawain was supposed to be Meta's call to action to return & Dragato's "ah- ha" moment (my mentor was a scumbag to me).
But in the end, Gawain (my OC)... I had to cut him from the story. They took away too much from Dragato's storyline... and Meta's call to action is a different one.
So, these are my HCs if Gawain were in "Metamorphosed."
And @camachine, if you want to use it in your story, please feel free, you have my full blessing~
And for those of you who haven't read @camachine's "Metamorphosed" please do so before you keep reading, there will be several references/spoilers. (and it's a good read)
Inspo.
I drew reference from Gawain's original story "Gawain & the Green Knight," his original story... But I also drew from the modern retelling of The Green Knight (2021) the film She's his mother.
This is also considered a continuation of the previous work...minus the Gwynn revival...
Okay, so in "Metamorphosed," Gawain is the nephew of Arthur. The son of his other half-sister (Anna)... another one of Sir Uther's illegitimate kids and Morgan's sister. Yes, their mother cursed the Pendragon's name.
In the OG Arthurian legend, she's called Morgause (sometimes she's called Anna)... and it's too close to Morgan for me, so she's Anna.
This means she cursed the kids too... (Morgan had to get her pettiness from somewhere), however, if they wanted to avoid the curse... they just had to carry out their mother's will.
However, Anna wants to move on and live in peace, so she cuts Morgan out of her life. She married the love of her life (King Lot). She gets pregnant with Gawain and BAM! She dies giving birth to him... (Again, being a Pendragon means you're cursed!!)
King Lot falls into grief: and guess who he blames... baby Gawain! Since then, Gawain has put a lot of pressure on his son from the moment he was born... he would say to his young son, "You better make yourself useful and make yourself worth it..."
From the start, little Gawain had such an innocent desire to just be a great knight... so he could earn the love of his father... but he was never good enough for him... he just needed to be the perfect heir & knight so maybe... just maybe for once, his father to look at him...
No, in fact, his King Lot would deny he even had a son... because it would remind him that his dear wife was gone! As a result, Gawain would hide away in some far part of the castle... so he wouldn't be seen by anyone.
Then, one night, a monster comes and raids the castle... a basilisk (they assume it's one of Nightmare's monsters), but Gawain sees a ghostly figure... a green knight?
Wanting to prove himself, he dives right in to save his father. Everyone else is afraid, but Gawain isn't (well, he is.... but he's not missing out on the chance to prove himself to his father!) He chases after this ghost knight... while Morgan puts out an illusionary spell.
Making it look like this basilisk has killed Prince Gawain instantly (petrifying & swallowing him whole) & King Lot is now full of grief and regret. His son protected him despite all those years of coldness... and still loved him. Desperately wishing he could see his son again and apologize to his son.
Meanwhile, the real Prince Gawian follows the green knight (who is actually Dame Morgan in disguise) into an abandoned castle... and defeats him. (In refer. to the film The Green Knight 2021)
The ghost congratulates him on having their test of bravery and virtue... and says, "Since you've defeated me, you are now the Green Knight... and have earned my axe & title." However, Gawain is not easily convinced "No-no, one ever gets anything for free in this life... that's what my father says..."
Telling himself there must be more to this...The green knight offers it to him three times, sweetening the deal each time: "Along with the axe, I'll give my castle as well, and you'll be the perfect knight that you've always wanted to be..."
Gawain is tempted by each one, but something in his gut tells him not to... just as he's about to leave...the third offer is him something he could never refuse... "You'll get to have a mother again~"
With this... they'll be a family again... THIS IS IT!? Gawain (like in the original tale, Gawain gives into his human desire but "the desire to stay alive,"... it's the desire to see his mother).
Without hesitation, he grabs the axe only to be cursed instantly... As a result, Morgan makes him the"Green Knight..." endowing him with her dark Faye magic (making him into a monster- Basilisk) and in the process, he also loses his memories...
With Morgan rewriting it to this narrative:
Morgan was his mother, and their father abandoned them after he was turned into a monster (by Nightmare). He was afraid to be associated with him because of Sir Uther's regimen in the G.S.A. (and wanted no retribution.) And his cruel father even wanted to prove his allegiance to Uther & the GSA... but his mother wouldn't allow it. His mother saved him from his evil father, and as a result, he (his father) left them. And plans to destroy the GSA and make it a safer world for her and her precious son!
Basically, this gives him (Gawain) reason to hate the Pendragons (Sir Arthur & his family) as well as having unwavering love & loyalty to "his mother," who did everything to protect him because "she loves him so much"~ Plus (him being half-monster) it's a great reason for keeping him from going outside so often so he's not recognized as King Lot's. (The curse altered his appearance, but if you look hard enough, you can see it's Gawain under there.)
Lucky for Morgan... (despite knowing they had a prince)... the kingdom barely knew what the young prince looked like. Only coming out when it was necessary... Gawain did this intentionally so as not to upset his father with his present. (Oh how convenient~)
(Almost if not all) Arthurian interpretations Morgan always uses her kids as tools for revenge... Gawain's no different~
The orange color represents the Lothian Kingdom (King Lot), but after being cursed, the original color is turned red (red - Morgan).
Their name changed to Yvain (In Arthurian lore that is the name of Morgan le Faye) And then his monster form... Basilisk.
According to my source, a basilisk is a "hybrid chicken-serpent" but to make things easier for myself I just keep thinking about one one from Harry Potter (but @camachine feel free to change up the monster form for the guy already.)
But his smaller, default form would be a snake. (Basically, to symbolize he's a "snake" within the GSA.) He'd collect secrets and intel through the walls of the GSA and bring it back to Morgan.
She plans to destroy everything Sir Uther built (the GSA)... with Gawain being her most valuable chess piece. Taking over the GSA and installing him as the new leader... she's more than fulfilling her promise to help become "the perfect knight," she's basically ensuring he'll be that best. (She'll just happen to be rulering through him... Momma's gotta get something outta this!)
Not only that (despite having his memories erased), Gawain's core hasn't changed. He's still the same young lad desperate for love & praise... the thing he's never gotten from his father. And because of that, he was willing to do anything for his dear mother~
It's actually easy for Morgan to be, good to this kid... after all, she's still his auntie... (She's basically Mother Gothel from Rapunzel...)
A part of her is still upset with he sister (Anna) for abandoning her (for not wanting to get involved with their mother's curse). Using her sister's son as her pawn was just her way of getting back at her... dear sister... Speaking of siblings let's talk about Sir Arthur.
After finding out that she had a half-brother, she discovers that Uther actually acknowledged him (Arthur) as his son and denied her as his daughter... UNACCEPTABLE!
So what does she do... make him feel the same jealousy & inadequacy she's felt... all those years Uther denied her. And what does she do... she rubs her loving relationship with her son right in his face... (Kindly remind him of how bad he screwed up his relationship with his son...)
Dame Morgan rolls up with Gawain (now being called Ywain her son), who has just been accepted as one of the higher-ups... since someone got kicked off (Arthur) of the high council.
And how did Gawain manage to get it in such a short amount of time, you may ask?
Remember, our dear Gawain was a prince after all... he still had muscle & instinctual memory of his royal training. was clever, polite, graceful, respectful... (he's everything a prince should be... ) And Morgan can take credit for it all, for raising him so well~
(fake) Mother & son just happened to be off to celebrate, But then she sees Arthur as they're leaving and "OH HOW COULD SHE MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY!"
Sir Arthur (of course, was suspicious)... he never heard of Morgan being married before... let alone having a son. (Especially after flirting with his wife all those years ago...) Plus, this boy looked familiar...
(And he should... Arthur met King Lot and his son... years ago that twice even...)
But Morgan's a grade-A+ actress... and can play "the bitter ex-wife who's still trying to forget about her divorce..." perfectly. And doesn't miss the chance to remind him about his deceased wife Gwynn... who was killed by(Arthur) his own hand. And she ever so gracefully brings up her son... & ever so subtly shows off their bond, rubbing it in Arthur's face.
And Gawain (ever the faithful son) sees what she's doing and allows his mother to fawn over him in public. Even allowing her to call him "her his little apple." A nickname she'd call him ever since he was a little lad (that was his favorite memory of her). (TOO BAD IT'S FABRICATED... :')
I definitely wrote this within the timeline where Arthur stabs Falspar while he was trying to kill Meta Knight and fails... (or this could fit around where Falspar & Dragato leave the GSA after the wedding)
(But move it around wherever you want! :3 )
I'd like to think it's after the stabbing because in the sense Morgan's basically saying: "Oh look, it's my darling son that I love very much! Arthur, what did you do with yours... oh that's right, you stabbed yours... I'd never do that! Look at what you lost! SUCKS TO BE YOU!"
Arthur sees this sweet, touching scene between mother & son, and he can't help but envy them. (Reminding him all too well that he's all alone in the world, because of his own actions.) After successfully guilt-tripping Arthur, the two gleefully leave him in tears. Little did he know Arthur had just let the most dangerous duo in the galaxy slip from his grasp!
At that moment... had Arthur not been wrapped in his own personal problems he could have recognized (if he, looked hard enough) Gawain and saved him.
But even if he did... by then (after the incident,) Arthur's reputation had been already destroyed. Had he not wasted his time accusing an innocent man (Meta Knight) of treason. And now, because of his own decisions, a guilty woman walks free (Morgan), and the galaxy's gonna suffer for it (Dammit, Arthur!)
Despite putting on a "show" she's actually a good (evil) mom... she's supportive, kind, nurturing, loving, but not out of the kindness of her heart. She's merely fulfilling the end of the bargain...
To be still under her spell, Morgan must continue to fulfill her promises to him. Castle (given), perfect knight (taking over the GSA), and loving mother (check).
As long as Gawain believes her to be his mother, then he's forever under her spell. (Because that's what he wanted). He does have the power to save himself (the red flags are all there) once he realizes that he can break free... (but it's not that simple.)
Morgan poisoned his mind, yes, but this is a sweet poison. In the memories she created, he gave him the normal childhood he'd always wanted. A loving mother who adores him he loses that and will have to accept that he was a lonely prince who was ignored most of his life and is hated by his father.
As long as Gawain wants her love, he'll continue to be under her spell.
I wrote in a way that Gawain could save himself if only he'd realize that he doesn't have to be perfect... that he was always worthy of love, and that he doesn't need her (Morgan's) love, and that he was always enough. The spell would be broken!
(The original tale of Gawain & the Green Knight was supposed to represent one's acceptance of human flaws and that one can not be perfect... so that's why it's the key to set him free! SELF LOVE & ACCEPTANCE!)
Or if King Lot can find & recognize his son and snap him out of this mess. After the incident, Lot vowed to find the body of his son... but has yet to find it, so he's holding out hope that he's still alive. But then, again Lotty (King Lot) ... had you just loved your son properly none of this would have happened!
Those are my HC for Gawain, if he existed in "Metamorphosed," @camachine, thank you so much for your question! Even though I had scrapped him from KBASW, I'm so glad I got to revive him for your Kirby (au), it was so much fun! Hope you enjoyed it!
hi very abrupt and i am very sleepy but i am drooling over your art and since you are my #1 arthur hater (/j) and i want to see more of your pretty art, i am coming to YOU, lucky citizen, with this ask.
can you pwetty please dwaw his wifey gwen 🥺 (you don't have to if you don't want to lol)?
i literally don't have a better picture of her i'm so sorry i never draw her. her color scheme's the same as meta's and her hair is like falspar's
Sorry if this is kinda lazy or I got the colors wrong, I too am very sleepy
in case anyone else here hasn't read this, here's Camachine's Metamorphosed AU
also bonus spoilers for chapter 7 of glory's end under the cut because i thought this scene was really cool
They didn't deserve her! I'm sorry, but I'm sending my chaotic ship for "Glory's End's" anniversary. But there really wouldn't be a "Dame Morgan" in KBASW without Glory's End's "Sir Gwynn."
(I think I remember I mentioned in one of my posts that you inspired that hair she has, which eventually evolved into fur... and then her current kitsune design~)
I hope it's not "too shippy" (which is why I wanted to send it to you first), and I really hope you enjoy it & have a great day.
EEK! GIRLFRIENDS!
never be afraid to send me morgwen yuri i am their number one fan. morgan stealing her brother's girl with dark matter evil woman swag will always be entertaining to me and guinevere deserves to have a sexy girlfriend after everything. 10/10 no notes. i am so honored that you made birthday art of her at all ^^ your art style is so lovely and i love how you stylize gwen's design.
and! i'm also so flattered to hear that i was an inspiration for you? your au is so wonderful and it means a lot to me that you enjoyed!
Happy Metamorphosed anniversary! Thank you for inventing body horror /lh
I do have one hyper-specific question that's been bugging me, and forgive me if this has been answered before: how did Gwynn die? Like, I know Arthur killed her and all, but how exactly do you think it went down?
Wishing you well,
-rg ;)
I KNEW YOU WERE RADIO GUY!! I KNEW IT I KNEW IT
funny question actually! because i remember rhyn making the exact same one when they first read the series. gwen's fate in reboot camp is but a mystery still (< it'll happen "on-screen" this time!), but since the exact context of guinevere's death in the gameverse timeline was such a popular question, i actually wrote a bonus mini-story about it in march of 2023, and made some slight tweaks to it in april of this year. you can check out the revised version here!
This is a re-upload of a thing I made a long time ago. Figured it wouldn't hurt to make some edits and give it the polish it rightfully deserved. While it's more or less the same snippet from before, I've modified a few passages and added a few lines, and I'd like to think I've improved on it.
Basically, this is "bonus chapter" to "Glory's End". It's too connected to GE to be published separately, but it is too disconnected to it to be published as a part of it.
I recommend reading this only if you've already read this aforementioned fic. Not only will it make little sense if you haven't, but it will spoil its story for you.
Please proceed with caution! This is a soft horror story!
Percival stared at the repugnant red jelly-like substance sitting in front of him, wondering if there was any real nutritional value to it or if the medics were only feeding him to provide the illusion that there was hope for him and certainly, definitely, he would not die.
Because, apparently, everyone was convinced that he would not die.
The medical reports were fairly straightforward. Even though the stab wound on the lateral-lower part of his body hurt like Hades every time he bent over, it certainly, definitely wasn’t fatal. Did he want to die every time a nurse casually asked how he had acquired a stab wound? Yes.
But it certainly, definitely wasn’t happening any time soon.
He had been visited exactly fourteen times. Five by Sir Nonsurat, nine by Sir Dragato. They didn’t speak to him much when they came, only asking him how he was doing and chatting with the nurses. Percival had never noticed how flirtatious Sir Nonsurat was, and though he was happy that he had already moved on from their mess of a situation, he had to admit it was making him slightly uncomfortable.
As for Dragato, they had become unusually quiet. Percy didn’t mind though. It was calming to have company that didn’t make a comment about his injury or flirted with his nurses every few minutes.
He had a sort of fantasy, of asking them to stay by his side. He definitely, certainly wasn't going to die, but if he was...
Wouldn't it be nice to have someone by his side?
There was a recurring dream too. It was just the two of them, and their Grail, and their castle in the sky... and they were in his arms! It was such an unreachable desire, and yet so close to his grasp.
The Serpent had not visited him once. He had, however, called him.
Seventy-eight times, specifically.
The calls were so plentiful and obsessive, in fact, that Percival began to wonder if he had been banned from the hospital altogether and that was why he wasn’t sitting by his bedside all day, every day.
He’d talk about the strangest things. One day, he would talk about flowers and birds and books and food. The next, he would ramble on and on about Garlude and Jecra’s upcoming funeral, an event that Percival’s medics would certainly, definitely not allow him to go to. He asked his father to record it and send a tape for him through mail, and he agreed.
The day after that, his speech mostly consisted of incomprehensible mumbling. The day proceeding that, he broke down in sobs, screaming endless nonsense about the Angel.
Looking back at the Before, her entire existence felt like as much of a dream as anything. She was so... warm? Yes, the Angel's gaze and mannerisms had always seemed odd in comparison to that of most of Camelot Star's Felian residents, but what did it matter? She was a divine blessing.
It shouldn’t have ended.
At first, it was subtle. She became ever-so-slightly more distracted than usual. Her mind drifting at strange moments as if she were thinking of something nobody else was aware of.
Then, she became moody, snapping at Percival and the Serpent whenever something didn’t go her way. It was oddly unlike her, but nobody dared say anything about it.
And suddenly… something changed. Completely contrasting her previous harshness, she began to shower her family in gifts and praise. When picking Percival up from school, she’d surprise him with candy and toys. When finally meeting up with the Serpent after a long day of work, she’d gift him flowers and books. Seemingly every day, she would somehow produce presents out of thin air without spending any money. But yet again, nobody dared say anything about it. After all, wasn’t denying gifts rude?
It almost reminded Percival of something his friend Galahad had told him, a girl that, being his neighbor and only a few grade levels above him, walked him to school every day. One morning, when strolling by her front yard, he noticed her old dog playing with some new toys and being fed some beef by Gally’s single mother, a woman who, up until that point, had thought of their pet as a needless expense.
“After all these years, she finally warmed up to Chili, huh?” he asked her casually.
“Oh, well, I guess you could say that,” she sighed, fiddling with her ginger-colored ponytail. “Chili is… very sick. His medicines are very costly, and they’re not doing much… He’s in a lot of pain. So, we’re spoiling him rotten before we put him down on Sunday.”
But that didn’t make sense. Percival wasn’t a dog. It wasn’t like people could be put down, right? Besides, he wasn’t sick or anything.
Regardless, he decided to pay special attention to the Angel, and a few nights after her sudden transformation, when he'd gone searching for a glass of water in the dead of night, he overheard her speaking with someone in the closet.
“Really, I admire your dedication to doing this for yourself,” an unfamiliar voice told her. It went unrecognized in Percival's mind. Something about the tone felt so relaxed, dreamy even.
“Well, I want them to go out quickly,” she said meekly. The sound was eerily uncharacteristic of her. “For it to be painless, I mean. If all goes well, they should be… ‘upstairs’ by tomorrow night.”
The stranger chuckled. “And yet you still love them.”
“Of course I do. B-But not as much as I love you, Lord Nightmare.”
The stranger laughed once more, his voice sending a chill down his eavesdropper's body. “Just remember… break the deal, and I’ll make sure your little family’s little journey ‘upstairs’ is much, much slower."
Hoping he he'd been subtle enough to avoid getting caught, Percival rushed upstairs, covering himself with his sheets. The sound of his heart pounding in his chest seemed even louder than his own breath.
He didn’t understand anything about the conversation he has just overheard. Who was the stranger in the closet? Was the Angel… cheating?
No, she couldn’t be. If he had learned anything from the movies, it was that when people cheated, they always acted all sappy and lovey-dovey with whoever their secret lover was– That was how it worked, right? But the Angel certainly didn’t sound happy… just the opposite. Either way, he’d have to tell the Serpent first thing in the morning.
And that was what he did. As soon as his mother locked herself in the closet to get dressed, he went to the Serpent, who was still eating breakfast at the kitchen table.
“Pa,” he told him. “Pa, I need to tell you something.”
“Hm?” he said, looking up from his newspaper.
“Ehm… last night, when I went to get some water, I heard Mother talking with someone in the closet.”
The Serpent's eyes widened slightly in concern. “What? You’re sure you weren’t dreaming?”
“No, I’m sure I was awake. She was talking to… um, Lord Nightmare I think? She said something about us going upstairs by tonight. I don’t know what that means... Do you, Pa?”
He sat frozen in place, his mind seemingly somewhere else. It took him a few seconds to even begin formulating a response. “Ah… okay. Thank you for telling me. You haven’t told your Mother about this?”
“No.”
“Well… let’s keep it that way for now… okay?” he mustered, getting up from the table.
Percival nodded. He wasn’t sure why the Serpent seemed so distraught, but he figured he was smart enough to deal with whatever was going on.
The rest of the day went relatively smoothly. After school, the Angel surprised him by taking him to his favorite restaurant, and once they were done eating, she took him to the flower shop to pick out a bouquet for the Serpent. He didn’t dare say anything about it. Not because he was happy about the outing, but because he was scared.
So, so scared.
That night in bed, he couldn’t sleep. That comment simply wouldn't stop mocking him…
If all goes well, they should be… ‘upstairs’ by tomorrow night…
And then, of course, came the screaming.
Maybe, just maybe, he could’ve gotten up and rushed into the master bedroom. Maybe, just maybe, they could’ve fled to a place where he would never find them, and where he would never hurt them.
Maybe, just maybe, he could’ve stopped them.
He didn’t though. He hid under his sheets for what felt like the millionth time and cried.
Several hours passed. He waited for someone to come by his room and tell him that everything was alright, but he was left alone. By dawn, the house was dead silent.
Percival wasn’t sure what had happened. Maybe both of them are dead. The thought made him nauseous.
So, reluctantly, he staggered to where he should have gone several hours ago and opened the door. The Serpent was sitting on the floor by the side of the bed, holding a large, motionless bundle in his arms. It was wrapped in that familiar, beige colored bedspread, seeping with blood and reeking of rot.
He blacked out on the spot. Maybe he threw up too, but he didn't remember.
In the Now, lying in that hospital bed with a stab wound that certainly, definitely wasn’t going to be the death of him, anything that happened in the After of the Angel's death felt irrelevant. Anything that was relevant felt static and, in the end, meaningless. Percival liked to think of it as a list, one to which he was always adding things.
First, the Serpent revealed the truth about his precious little "wife" to the army. Marriage was banned for everyone, and due to the discovery that she was one of Nightmare's monsters, the Angel did not get a funeral. From what Percival understood, her grave went unmarked.
That poor, horrible Angel. So seductive. So dangerous.
So... wonderful.
While didn't want to join, Percival was “strongly encouraged” to join the GSA, the (supposedly) crime-fighting organization his parent(s) worked for. This was to be expected.
At the very least his Gally was with him. Or rather, Sir Dragato, the person that used to be his Gally.
And finally, Percival met what might just be shadiest kid of all time, a new recruit of his same age. The GSA was infiltrated by yet another mole, causing the death of two of his own friends, and the shadiest kid of all time turned out be a monster in disguise.
Thus, we catch up to the the present day.
He was nearly killed by a serpent.
He tried his best to die on the way to the hospital.
He failed at dying on his way to the hospital.
And he was feeling absolutely fantastic.
Once again, Mordred stared at the repugnant red jelly-like substance sitting in front of him, wondering if there was any real nutritional value to it or if the medics were only feeding him to provide the illusion that there was hope for him and certainly, definitely, he would not die.
Because, apparently, everyone was convinced that he would not die.
