Story commission for  TheShamefulStore of a Seam TFTG. Was lovely to work on so hope y'all enjoy :3

Sandra clicked on the lights illuminating the church’s basement.

“Thanks again for lending your time over today.” said Pastor Smith. He stood at the top of the wooden stairs behind Sandra as she descended the steps into the dusty basement. The basement was lined with aged wooden walls and the warm orange glow of the lights above. The space was filled with old oak tables and chairs, a couple motivational posters, some sofas, some cupboards, and many, many board games sprawled all around the tables.

“This used to be our youth counselling area until we moved it over to the new building. We haven’t cleaned out this room in a while, and need to get this ready for our new downstairs night class. If you’d please collect all the old games in here and load them into boxes, it’d make it a lot easier. To move the new stuff in.” Pastor Smith explained. Sandra nodded as she looked at the immense amount of work that awaited her.

“Where are the boxes you want me to use?” she asked. Pastor Smith pointed to the empty boxes stacked in the corner.

“Oh. Well thanks Pastor.” she said, and Pastor Smith just nodded.

“Of course! Don’t work yourself to death now though it doesn’t need to be ready for another month. Just ah… don’t fall asleep down here either. Even though it's very comfortable.” he said with a slight chuckle. Sandra smiled and waved bye as Pastor Smith walked away.

Sandra took off her black jacket and set it on the nearby chair before cracking her knuckles. She had prepared for this work beforehand, getting a nice maroon t-shirt, some blue navy jeans, and her white running shoes on to help her be comfortable while working. She began eying around the room to try and see the ideal place where to start cleaning.

She spotted an old monopoly game was still set up, with its dollar bills and pieces all strewn about across the table and nearby floor. Sandra walked over to it and began gathering up the pieces and dollars before putting them in their plastic holder thingy she didn’t know the name of (did it have a name anyhow?). Once that was done, she folded up the board and put it into the old, ragged box alongside the plastic holder and instruction manual before sealing it up.

With one box done, she walked over to the spare boxes Pastor Smith had pointed to and found one large enough to hold most of the game strewn about. After carefully assembling it, she grabbed the nearby tape roller and taped the bottom together before pressing on it from inside to make sure it was secure. She gave a satisfied smile when the box held together before bringing it over to the Monopoly box and packing it inside.

“There. 1 down, and…” Sandra’s voice drifted off as she looked around and realized she had her work cut out for her. In addition to the games, there were several toys strewn all about the floor, and Sandra figured they’d need to be cleaned up as well.

“...about 50 more or so to go.” she said dejectedly. That Vons gift card they offered for her help had better be worth it. Sandra began walking around to begin the brunt of her workload.

The next hour or so passed by very slowly, and very boringly. Games were packed up and boxed. Sorry. Checkers. Chess. Candyland. Chutes and Ladders. Life. Settlers of Catan. Mahjong (did kids really know how to play Mahjong or was it because they looked like candy?). Apples to Apples. Cards Against Humanity (kids edition thank god). Various licensed board games that were opened once and then never played again. Monopoly 2. Monopoly 3. Monopoly 3.5. Monopoly 4- ok that was just a modified version of regular Monopoly.

Boxes were filled up to the brim with games and toys, until soon much of the room had been thoroughly cleared out by Sandra’s efforts. She wiped some sweat from her brow and picked up another rubber ball before alley-ooping it into the nearby open box, making a satisfying thump noise as it landed without bouncing out.

“Heh nice.” she said to herself. She was in a better mood now that the work was almost done, but she needed to take a break. She sat down on a nearby table and popped open her huge metal water bottle to down its icy cold content. It felt nice and helped her to cool down as well. Seems the ventilation down here was lacking pretty badly. She figured she should open up one of the small floor windows to help with it.

Sandra set down her bottle and went up to the window by a nearby shelf, which had been cleared of its contents and packed into a box. She stood on her tippy toes to reach the window and undid the lock before sliding it open. A jet of cool air blasted her in the face and she couldn’t help but sigh happily. That fresh suburban air with hints of honeysuckle and wood was hard to beat.

As she got back down and turned to head back to her seat, she spotted something tucked behind the shelf in the corner. She raised an eyebrow and walked over to it to investigate, realizing it was some sort of board game in a large rectangular box. She slid the shelf out of the way and pulled out the game box before pushing the shelf back into place. She held the box up to the light and read its title.

“CARD QUEST: A Game of Adventure and Magic Through the Darkness!”

“Strange.” she said aloud. She had never heard of the game before, and it seemed to be in pristine condition despite being lodged behind the nearby shelf for god knows how long. She shook the box experimentally and heard the familiar clattering of pieces being jumbled up inside. Curiosity got the better of her, so she set the game down on a clear table and popped open the lid.

Inside was a large black folded board game, which Sandra took out and unfolded. It depicted a large, black space filled with a small black and blue town and castle, fields of purple grass, a large black and red checkerboard in the center, and a scarlet forest that led to a pitch black castle at the opposite end of the board. From the castles on each end of the board emitted a tall pillar of shadow, which was cut off by the top of the board.

Underneath the board was a plastic holder thing again filled with some dice, cards, and board pieces, and laying next to it was a black plastic instruction manual. Sandra grabbed it and spun it around to reveal it was labelled with the name of the game. She flipped open to the first page to read the Summary.

“CARD QUEST is an adventure board game all about making friends with your foes and obtaining treasures to help you on your quest to save the world! You must journey from Castle Town all the way to the mysterious Card Castle in order to seal the dark fountain there, and on the way must either FIGHT or ACT to escape conflict. Make valuable friends and dangerous enemies, and work together to bring peace to the Dark World.”

“How interesting.” Sandra mused to herself. She breezed through the instructions to the Setup page and saw how the board game was meant to be set up. It had all the cards and dice put into clear spots in the corner of the board. Little figures dotted the surfaces following the path carved across the board. Sandra saw the guide for setting up with markings along each figure and decided to kill some time before she set to work again.

She pulled out the plastic holder… the thing from the box and began gathering up the pieces. She grabbed the fat stack of cards and set them in the draw pile before pulling the dice from the box and throwing them gingerly along the center of the board.

From the figure pile came some interesting looking creatures. Some diamond headed soldiers, a couple heart shaped ones, some jigsaw puzzle pieces with spiky helmets, a three headed dog, dragon thing with club symbols on it, some small bunny monsters, some chess pawns (?) and some blocky boxer enemies.

Once they were put into the enemy pit for later use, Sandra pulled out some boss enemies. There was a short spade looking fellow named Lancer, a large checker piece with suspiciously detailed legs named K. Round, a large spade with a crown named King, and strangely, a small little jester fellow who was to be placed by the shop named Jevil.

Before Sandra pulled out the player pieces, she saw there were three shopkeepers for three different shops along the game board. One was a blue and white guy with long hair and a huge grin named Rouxls Kaard (pronounced ‘Rules’). The other was a red rubber mallet with a set of green and purple robes named Mallus. But when Sandra went to grab the other shopkeeper named Seam, she couldn’t find him in the box.

“Ah what? Is it missing?” she said, frustrated. All that effort over the course of 5 minutes to set up and it wasn’t even a complete set. She dug through the box to see if he was in there, but nothing. She walked back over to where she had found the game and checked across the floor, but nothing was there beyond some dust bunnies. She sighed and looked back at the instruction manual, and spotted a FAQ on the back.

“Q: I’m missing a piece! Am I able to get a replacement?

A: Of course! Simply sing the following song and we’ll have a replacement ready for you right away!”

Sandra raised an eyebrow. That was… odd for a board game. What was singing a song going to do? She looked down below the answer and saw an italicized song with some notes to show how it goes. She decided it was worth a shot. Not like singing in a church ever hurt anyone. She cleared her throat and sang the solemn tune.

When the light is running low, and the shadows start to grow, and the places that you know seem like fantasy

There’s a light inside your soul, that’s still shining in the cold, with the truth, the promise in our hearts.

Don’t forget.

I’m with you in the dark

Sandra concluded the song and expected to hear applause from some unknown void. Instead, all she felt was a strange sensation of anticipation and… dread? Sandra didn't know why, but she got the strangest feeling along her body. Like goosebumps multiplied by 100.

And strangest of all, Sandra felt like her right eye was twitching a lot.

She instinctively tried to get her eye to stop, but she was having trouble controlling it. Her eye felt like it was out of her control now, and she started to panic a bit. She turned on her phone’s front camera to try and get a better look at it. Her eyelids were blinking rapidly and felt like they were trying to force themselves shut.

Then, as if by magic, they did and the skin began to fuse together.

Sandra let out a gasp of panic as her eye seemed to seal shut forever. In its place, the skin seemed to part and out popped an orange, button eye. It’s three black holes where the strings would have gone seemed to open up, letting her see out of it again.

“W-what? What’s going on?” she asked aloud. She felt the button settle in place on her face before her whole body began to quiver. She was scared, and could feel something happening to her whole body. Then a jolt across her face snapped her out of her panic as the changes began.

From around the button eye, a plume of deep purple scraggly fur emerged that began to spread across her face. Sandra could only watch as the fur engulfed her face and closed her other eye instinctively to keep it out.

This turned out to be a mistake, as when she opened her eye back up, it was gone, leaving a black empty pit that she could somehow still see out of. Sandra let out a slight scream, only to immediately stop as she felt something constrain part of her mouth. The bottom right corner of her mouth got connected to the upper by what looked like two strings of thread. She had trouble moving her mouth, but could still feel the changes progressing across her face.

Her hair began to change, seeming to shrink away and be replaced by a thick coat of the purple fur. As it shrunk across her head, she felt her ears begin to change as well. They stretched out from the top of her head, taking on a more triangular shape. The inside part of each ear shifted from its normal skin tone to a bright orange with a thinner coat of fur. Soon enough, Sandra has some lovely cat ears to compliment her still changing form.

In an instant, another harsh change racked her head as a patch of black, smoother cloth popped out of the center of her head. She could feel the stitching weave its way into her skin, and yet it was entirely painless.

What wasn’t painless was the feeling of her teeth elongating. Sandra opened her mouth and saw through the camera her teeth were darkening. They shifted from white to a deep black, and the interior of her mouth assumed a shade of bright orange. Then they began to stretch out more, sharpening into fine points at the tips and becoming fangs.

CRK! Sandra groaned a bit as she felt the bottom part of her face beginning to stretch out. Her nose flattened against her face and darkened in turn, becoming triangular in shape. The lower part of her face continued to stretch out and formed into a cat’s snout. Sandra managed to catch her breath when the changes to her face subsided, but only for a moment.

In an instant, her body was wracked with a sore pain. Plumes of purple fur continued to sprout all across her body, and she was having trouble focusing. The world seemed to be spinning, and… darkening? Sandra was having trouble staying focused. Instead, her head felt like it was splitting apart. Memories that she wasn’t quite sure were hers began to pool inside her brain.

Her nails seemed to crack and break as they were replaced by thick black claws emerging from the tips of her fingers. The fur spread all over her hands and up her arms while she could feel similar changes occur in her feet, causing her shoes to bulge out.

Her body began to shift in very drastic ways. Her chest seemed to shrink down a bit as the fur covered it, while her figure felt like it was getting a bit wider. Her panicked breathing seemed to get deeper and more ragged. Sandra soon realised that she, well, wasn’t a she anymore, as his figure felt like it was getting larger and more bulky.

His clothes were doing their best to keep up with the changes, but that would soon change as he felt the seat of his pants beginning to bulge out. His tailbone stretched and pressed into the denim, begging to break free. Sandra attempted to pull down his pants to free the growing tail, and managed to pull it down just enough. From his back emerged a scruffy purple furred tail, which seemed to elegantly wiggle around in its newfound freedom.

Even after that moment of relief, Sandra’s clothes were beginning to lose the battle. His form was getting larger, and his clothes were not used to such a sudden change. Small rips filled the air as his shirt began to rip across the seams, causing his purple fur to be more and more exposed to the rapidly chilling air.

Time felt like it was slowing down as the basement seemed to be getting drawn into darkness. The lights were dimming and the floor felt like it was sinking into the shadows. Sandra was doing his best to remain standing but found it difficult as he could feel his shoes getting too tight to withstand.

Sandra fell over and tried to stand up, but his legs were getting squeezed by his pants, which began to rip around the calves. His shoes had bulged out over the soles, and the rubber and cloth was not doing well. Small rips appeared along them as bits of purple and some black claws emerged at the tips. He felt bones cracking and shifting with his changing body, and then relief came.

POOF! Both of his shoes violently tore open at the front, causing four large plump toes with black claws to pop out of each. They wiggled a bit to ease the tension and continued to stretch out, tearing away the remaining bits of sock around it. Sandra breathed a sigh of relief, but this too was short lived as another pang of memories hit his head.

He felt memories beginning to drown his own. A king. A castle. A jester. Something about a… knight? It was all a lot to handle, and Sandra just gritted his teeth to try to stay sane from the sensation. His shirt began to rip along his back as his body kept growing.

He was digging his claws into the ground now, leaving behind nasty scratch marks, before he suddenly felt his hands begin to sink into the murky shadows of the floor. Sandra let out a yelp of panic as he could feel his still changing body slowly sinking into the floor as if he was a ghost.

“S-someone… I need…” Sandra tried to call out, but nobody came. The darkness seemed to creep closer and closer, threatening to swallow him whole. Clothes continued to rip and his body continued to grow as his mind felt like it was being consumed.

Then, the floor seemed to give way.

Sandra was lost, falling in an endless black void. Bits of denim and cloth still flew away from his body as he sank deeper into the darkness. His pants tore away at the calves as his legs kept growing. His remaining shoes popped at the laces and bits of rubber and cloth flew up into the vast nothingness as his paws kept growing. His shirt tore across his back and more over his front as his shoulders pushed through the cloth like a knife through butter.

Sandra felt a name begin to echo in his mind. A court magician. A friend of the jester. An old shopkeeper. A name beginning with S…

Seam.

Sandra clutched his head as his shirt tore away from his body. His large fluffy body was nearing completion.

Seam!

The shoes finally gave up and tore away from his paws entirely, alongside his socks, leaving him barefoot.

SEAM!

Sandra’s pants tore away entirely, leaving him bare. And with it, he could feel the last embers of his old self slip away entirely.

SEAM SEAM SEAM!

“SEAM, SEAM! ARE YOU AWAKE?” asked a familiar voice.

Seam awoke with a start from his slumber. His fur was matted against the counter of his shop as he got his bearings. The interior was dimly lit by some lanterns hung up in the ceiling. Then the memories came flooding back.

He had helped some adventurers in their travels to seal the Card Castle’s Dark Fountain. They had succeeded, and had brought him and the kingdom’s inhabitants to live with that Dark Prince. It had been a very interesting change of pace from the usual same days Seam had gotten used to. But the figure standing before them… a short clown looking fellow with big ears, a purple and black jester outfit, a large curved purple tail, and piercing yellow eyes. No, it couldn’t be.

“Jevil?” Seam asked, a hint of fear in his voice. How had he woken back up? He’d been bested by the Lightners and had fallen asleep again. Yet now he was here again. Was Seam going to have to put him away again?

“UEE HEE HEE! IN THE FLESH. THE LIGHTNERS SET ME FREE, FREE, AND I ENJOYED MY REST. BUT THEY’VE GONE AWAY FOR TODAY, SO NOW I CAN PLAY, PLAY!” Jevil said excitedly, tinges of insanity on the edge of his voice.

Seam began to worry about how he was acting. He had hoped his bout with the Lightners would have calmed him a bit, but he seemed just as frantic as before. Maybe Seam could defuse this. The last thing he needed was him spreading chaos across their new home.

“Well, what sort of game would you like to play then?” Seam asked. Jevil seemed to laugh a bit before he pulled out a board game from behind his back. It was decorated with a man in a spiffy top hat holding a cane and was called Monopoly.

“A GIFT FROM THE LIGHT WORLD I FOUND, FOUND! WE CAN ENJOY THIS LEISURELY GAME BEFORE I REST ONCE MORE.” Jevil said with glee. Seam let out a sigh of relief. Seems like Jevil had returned to a bit of a calm state after his fight. And yet, something about that game he presented seemed familiar. Seam held the game in his hands and tried to recall what this sense of familiarity could be.

“SEAM?” Jevil asked. Seam realized he had been staring at the game for much too long, and broke his focus.

“Ah. My apologies, friend. We may play this.” Seam said. Jevil seemed to bounce excitedly, before he held the sides of his face dramatically.

“UEE HEE HEE! I SHOULD SEE IF THAT LITTLE PUPPET WILL JOIN US, US. A REAL GET TOGETHER I SAY, SAY!” Jevil said with excitement. He began to hop away to the exit, but Seam had something he needed to get off his chest.

“...Jevil?” he asked. Jevil stopped and turned around to listen, his tongue sticking out of his mouth.

“It’s good to see you again.” Seam said. Jevil let out a large toothy grin, revealing his massive fangs.

“UEE HEE HEE! A JOY TO SEE YOU AS WELL, SEAM.” he said gleefully, before hopping away outside of Seam’s tent.

Seam sighed and looked down at the board game. He swore he had a feeling he had seen it before, but he couldn;t recall where. The strange dream he had been having before Jevil awoke him. Maybe…?

Seam just chuckled to himself. It didn’t matter by this point.