hey everyone it is @galapathy's metamorphosed birthday anniversary and as you probably know, i love it a whole lot. here's a little thing i wrote with the guys from it.
Empty Yard
The nights of Camelot Star were always brightly lit. In the black, murky sky, millions of stars dotted the heavens, bringing light to the planet below. The streetlamps were dimmed and covered to reveal the night in its true beauty. Tonight, however, the world remained dark as heavy clouds gathered overhead.
The air was hot and humid, smelling of rain as a summer storm surely brewed. The house sat silent while Arthur stood out on the back porch, the only light brought by the burning end of a cigarette held between his teeth. Before him sprawled the pitch-black backyard, the edges of the garden and tips of the fence nearly invisible against the darkness.
His whiskers twitched, and he snapped to attention as a chill trickled through his body. With a frown, he took hold of the cigarette and stepped forward.
Eyes sweeping the yard, it didn’t look like anything had changed. Not one leaf rustled, not one blade of grass bent. He considered dismissing the feeling before his gaze turned to the fence.
At the side of the yard, the shadows rippled across the fence posts. Arthur froze in place, eyes fixed on the movement as it danced and bobbed. After a few moments of writhing, the shadows settled, and a figure began to rise from them. Though of small stature at a distance, it was tall and jagged, spines and curling horns branching from the silhouette.
The shape’s edges blurred into the darkness around it, fizzling and morphing the longer Arthur tried to watch it. His nerves didn’t fade, only growing stronger as he saw the shadow begin to slink along the posts towards him.
He jumped at the sound of an engine, and soon a car roared past on the road in front of the house. At first, he shook his head and sighed, but he only froze again when the passing headlights caught the muddled form on the fence.
A pair of eyes were fixed on him, large and empty, gleaming and iridescent in the light. Their gaze was unnatural, predatory, even, and his body went cold under its stare.
The light faded as quickly as it came, and the shadow continued its march. Arthur turned on his heel and dashed inside, yanking closed the sliding door and locking it tight.
The cigarette still burned in his hand, the smoke and ash imprinting on the glass. He sat for a moment with his head against the door, breathing heavily as he stared down at the porch. When he finally lifted his head and turned his eyes to the fence, the beast was gone without a trace.
It wasn’t until the next morning that he managed to forget the creature’s eyes, if only for a moment. When he stood beside the kitchen counter, his thoughts drifted, staring into the slow-warming coffee pot. As it clicked and drained the grounds through the filter, he finally looked to the glass door.
“Gwen?”
From her seat at the kitchen table, she lifted her head. “Yes?”
“I saw a beast in the yard last night.”
Her eyes widened. “A beast? Did you kill it?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t have a weapon with me. I couldn’t tell what it was anyway. Some kind of shadow creature with huge eyes. It was looking at me like it wanted to eat me.”
“Weird.” Gwen set her head in her hand, thinking for a moment. “There haven’t been any reports of monsters around here recently. Maybe it was just a raccoon or something.”
He nodded, but kept his eyes on the back door. He could still see the smudge left behind by his cigarette, and he could still taste the smoke.
Not long later, he took his armor and sword and left, Gwen choosing to stay home and watch over little Percy that day. Though he was hesitant to leave them alone, he trusted she could take care of things if the beast decided to return. He did his best to force the thought to the back of his mind and focus on his work.
It stormed throughout the day, the sun fading from time to time to allow short-lived downpours and rumbling thunder. The darkness only brought more anxiety. Every flicker of shadow was a sign of the beast’s presence. He supposed if there was a good place to encounter it, it would be while surrounded by other soldiers, but the thought didn’t exactly calm his nerves. The skies were clear just long enough for Arthur to make it home without getting drenched.
The evening passed without incident, and the night began smoothly. Not long after midnight, however, Arthur was startled awake by a deafening crash of thunder. He shot up, head snapping immediately to the open bedroom door. Rain pattered loudly against the window, blurring into white noise as his eyes focused on the pitch-black doorway.
Gwen stirred beside him, and after a moment lifted her head. She squinted at him for a moment, but before she could speak, their attention was drawn out of the room by the soft sound of crying from up the hall.
With a burst of energy, Arthur practically jumped out of bed and hurried out of the room. He stumbled into the hallway, pausing momentarily as the dark walls twisted and churned around him. He took hold of the railing beside the stairs while his eyes adjusted. His fur spiked outwards at another lightning strike, and the crying grew louder. In a split-second decision, he turned and rushed down the stairs. Gwen’s voice came from behind him, but he could barely register her words.
At the bottom of the stairs, he wrenched open the thin closet door and reached up to the top shelf. His hand grasped something cold and metallic, and he pulled it close.
Not this time.
Lightning illuminated the room, light reflecting blindingly off the clean silver handgun. He flicked off the safety and turned to face the sliding glass door on the other side of the kitchen.
Water dripped down the glass, muddling the view of the dark backyard. The shadows slithered as Arthur stepped closer, clawing at the base of the door and blocking out the porch. He walked carefully around the dining table, his first finger instinctively hooking over the trigger. When he reached the door, he brought a shaky hand to the handle, gaze fixed on the deck outside.
He took a deep breath, then threw open the door.
The smell of rain filled his senses, the noise becoming overwhelming in an instant. He held his hand in front of him, and another clap of thunder brought light to the gleaming weapon. It danced between the hilt, to the barrel, to the incandescent eyes staring up at him, the darkness itself threatening to swallow him whole.
POP!
The beast slumped over on the porch, shadow leaking across the wood. Arthur lowered the gun, holding eye contact with the now-still creature. Its eyes were no longer shining with the same liveliness, now growing dull and dark with each passing breath.
Behind him, the kitchen light turned on, casting his own shadow over the deck and illuminating a section of the yard.
“Arthur, what—”
Gwen’s voice died as she approached the door and received no reaction. Arthur was still staring at the dying creature, transfixed by its form. The small body was black as the night, its fur wet and matted from the rain. Its paws were coated in mud and the pads were scarred and damaged. There was a notch in one of its triangular ears, and a thin red ribbon was tied around its neck. Its yellow eyes watched blankly, thin pupils unfocused and staring straight ahead. After struggling for a few moments to breathe, it finally ceased its movement.
He turned around, his eyes meeting Gwen’s. In her arms was little Percy, his eyes puffy and red, still clinging to his mother. Arthur took a deep breath, then walked to her and placed his hand on the baby’s head. He ran his thumb through his tuft of red hair.
“Don’t worry,” he whispered. “I’ll keep you safe.”
So I was rotating the cast of Metamorphosed around in my brain, and I was suddenly hit with the realization that they'd make for a HILARIOUS rendition of "The One Thing You Can't Replace", which if you don't know what that is, is a comedy sketch done by comedian John Mulaney in which he recounts a party he went to in highschool. You can find the whole thing on YT. It's hysterical.
Anyhoo, I though up a list of characters that'd fit perfectly in the roles from TOTYCR:
Meta - John Mulaney (narrator)
Arthur + Nonsurat - the parents who left town
Falspar - the kid throwing the party
Misc. GSA soldiers - the kids who broke the pool table and did unspeakable things to the computer
Kit Cosmos - police officer
Jecra - guy who smashed a forty on the ground
Yamikage - photo thief
The whole thing would play out in the barracks while Arthur takes a much-needed break (where he totally doesn't sneak off to Haltmann's haha what are you talking about). Instead of an antique photograph, I like to imagine sensitive documents being the stolen item (although Idk how Yamikage and Meta would be playing video ganes years later if it were).
But that's basically it. The reason you're getting this instead of @galapathy is because she's probably not online and you are. In other words, I just needed to share this before I combusted into a billion pieces.
That's all. See you soon with another fresh, piping-hot heap of garabage. Buh-bye!
it’s an honor to be metamorphosed guy number two. and you are very correct. like if gala were here she would say this is something that 100% happened. because it is. though if we’re talking horrific demises, arthur and gwen being the ones to leave would allow lance to also fuck up the house, and he has plenty of complaints about his old friends. this would be fun to watch. wish the year was 2016 so making the one thing you can’t replace animatics was still cool
