#episode: Drawing What We're Thankful For in 2023

[episodes-without-incident]

11/21/2023:

11 episodes since Drawfee last referenced Cats (2019)

0 episodes since Drawfee last referenced Everytime We Touch (2005)

[psychedelic-ink]

𝑳𝑶𝑽𝑬 𝑾𝑰𝑳𝑳 𝑨𝑩𝑰𝑫𝑬

** gif by the amazing @inklore who made this for me, love u bby thank you so much!!!

pairing: joel miller x f!reader

genre: smut, hurt/comfort

word count: 3.5k

summary: a retelling of the third episode but with you in it. Starts with Ellie reading Bill's letter.

warnings: spoilers for episode three, oral (giving), shower sex, piv, lots of emotions, hugging joel because he needs it, soft!joel

a/n: i'm still fucking crying tbh

“August 29, 2023,”

“If you find this please do not come into the bedroom. We left the window open so the house wouldn't smell. It will probably be a sight. I’m guessing you found this Joel. Because anyone else would’ve been electrocuted or blown up by one of my traps hehehehehehe Take anything you need. The bunker code is the same as the gate code but in reverse. Anyway, I never liked you. But still, it's like we're friends. Almost. And I respect you. So I’m gonna tell you something because you’re probably the only person who will understand. I used to hate the world and I was happy when everyone died. But I was wrong because there was one person worth saving. That’s what I did. I saved him. Then I protected him. That’s why men like you and me are here, we have a job to do. And god help any motherfuckers who stand in our way. I leave you all of my weapons and equipment. Use them to keep—”

Ellie’s voice trails off, making you look up from the corner of the wall your eyes were digging a hole in. She presses her lips together, eyes moving away from the heartbreaking letter. Joel’s eyes snap up, and without saying a word he snatches the letter from her hands and reads it for himself. You have the urge to come close and peer at the words as well, but you don’t dare. You zero in on his expression; the crease between his brows deepens, the corner of his lips pulling down. He swallows. 

“Stay here,” he croaks, heading to the door. 

It slams shut. Leaving you and Ellie inside, you turn to her, “What did it say?” you ask despite having a solid guess of what the answer might be.  

Ellie doesn’t look up. Her stance is relaxed but the tension tolling over her shoulders is visible. She sucks her bottom lip between her teeth and answers, “Tess,” she says. “Bill was telling Joel to keep her safe,” 

“Oh shit,” you whisper instinctively. Ellie nods. 

“My thoughts exactly,” 

You drop your bag, the sudden relief of it being gone making you feel lighter than ever. You know he’ll be mad if you try to talk about it. But you also don’t have it in you to leave him to wallow in his own self-pity. Joel is a protector. And from what you’ve heard, Bill was also one. Protector to protector. The message was abundantly clear and Joel had failed again and again. You hate to word it like that, but you know that’s what he’s thinking. He’s thinking about Sarah, about Tess. About Tommy who might be already dead. Now, he has to deal with you and Ellie. You, he found in Boston with Tess, covered in bruises and cuts, ration cards stolen and beaten to a pulp. 

You turn to Ellie one last time, she’s already staring at you, it’s slightly unnerving. “Wait here, don’t touch anything that might kill you. Stock up,” 

“Aye Aye Captain.” 

And you leave. 

The sun is shining, not a single cloud in the sky. Your eyes lock onto Joel as soon as you step over the threshold; his back turned, letter in hand, shoulders slumped. He looks around the neighborhood, then back down to the letter. He repeats the motion a couple of times as if he can’t believe what’s happening around him. You follow the path his eyes draw, looking around and back at him. You wonder if this neighborhood is similar to the one he used to live in. 

“Hey,” you finally call out, your voice sounding scratchy. Joel flinches, he crumples the piece of paper and stuffs it in his pocket. “Are you okay?” 

“We need to get out of here,” he answers, fingers tightening around the key, he heads to the garage. You follow. 

When the two of you are inside, you see his resolve finally starting to crack. He pops the hood open, looks inside, and slams it shut. Pressing his palms into the smooth surface, his head falls, body shaking with his every breath. Your steps are silent as you approach him, your eyes trail over the roundness of his shoulders, the dip of his shirt. 

You bite down the inside of your cheek, not stopping until you feel a sharp sting. Holding your breath, you place a hand over his shoulder, gently squeezing. 

He flinches, it’s the most minimal reaction, something you only felt because you were physically touching him. “Is this okay?” you ask. 

Joel nods, his swallow audible. “Yeah, it’s fine,” 

“Can I hug you?” 

He tenses under your fingertips. You don’t make a move until you feel the small nod he makes. “Sure,” his voice cracks. “If you want to,” 

Some part of you wants to ask ‘do you?’ but of course, you don’t. Of all the months you’ve known him, he’s never once verbally asked anyone for anything. If you give it, he’ll take it. Your hand smooths a path down his arm, the other rounding his waist. You take a deep breath as you press your forehead between his shoulder blades, you feel the steadiness of his heartbeat. 

Joel is still tense but less than before. Your fingers curl around his wrist, and your other hand lays right above his heart, nails softly biting into the fabric of his shirt. 

Much to your surprise, his hand covers your own, thick fingers lacing into yours. It gives you courage. It gives you hope. You press further into him, hug him with your entire body hoping that the warmth you provide is enough to soothe him, even for a second. 

“Sorry,” he grunts out, squeezing your hand, he brings it to his lips. His mustache tickles your skin, and he eases his lips into you, something between a kiss and a press of skin. “I don’t know what to do. I’m so angry all the time, there’s a weight on my chest that never leaves. You understand?” you nod and he continues. “I’m not like Bill. Not in the way he thought that I was. I’ve always been afraid—Even after…”

You feel him shaking his head, and your grip around him tightens. You do understand. You’ve felt it too, but he made it easier, help you lift that weight despite not being a man of many words, his presence gave you strength. 

You want to stay like this forever. Holding him, feeling him. He’s incredibly warm.

“I’m not strong enough,” he lastly says, whispering your name right after. “I can’t keep you or Ellie safe,” 

You feel the brush of lips over your knuckles. He allows you to cradle his scruffy cheek. It feels like a dream almost, which makes you acutely aware of how much he must be hurting right now. Your heart breaks. 

“You are,” you whisper, fingers moving along his beard. “We’re going to stock up, find Tommy, and get Ellie to the fireflies. Then we’re done. Maybe we can even come back here,” 

He scoffs, “How are you always like this?” 

“Like what?” 

“Hopeful,” 

“It’s because I have you.” 

You know he’s confused. You can feel it simmering under his skin, face heating up under your hand. He’s confused as to how something positive could be spurred from his existence. But it’s the truth. And he needs to hear it. He needs to know that it’s not only grief, and sadness, that follow his every footstep like a shadow. His strength gives those around him a chance to grow, a chance to be more human. Allowing them to live and relax while he carries the burden. 

His methods might be brutal, and the words he says might cut deeper than a knife ever could, but it comes from a place of a twisted sense of love. 

“We should head back inside,” he murmurs and pulls at your hand. “I’ll make the truck battery and we grab what we can while it charges,” 

“Okay,” you take a step back, already feeling the ache of not feeling him against your person. “I’ll go check on Ellie.” 

Joel doesn’t say a word, nor looks at you, he only nods. 

You still can’t fucking believe it. 

Hot fucking water. 

You’re impatiently sitting in one of the guest bedrooms, Ellie is downstairs, already taken her shower and Joel is still inside, a soft slow of steam slithering its way out of the cracks of the door. 

You sitting there and waiting for Joel to get out isn’t probably the most efficient thing to do but you can’t help it, you feel giddy. Your leg bobs up and down as you wait. The mere thought of having warm water rolling down your tattered skin makes your heart leap to your throat—

The running water stops and your eyes fly to the door. A couple of minutes later it opens. A wet, clothed, Joel makes his way through the steam. It looks mystical, almost. 

He stops when he sees you. 

“What are you doin’ here?” 

“Waiting to use the shower,” you grin, not shying away from openly raking your eyes up and down his body. “Looking good, Miller,” 

He rolls his eyes and pushes his hair back, your pussy bottoms out at the way his biceps bulge from underneath the flannel. “Well, I’m done now. Have fun,” 

Joel moves towards the door and you jump up barely in time to catch his wrist. He raises an eyebrow, eyes dropping to meet yours. His skin is still damp, if you were a cat you’d be purring by now. 

“Sit down,” you choke out. “I—fuck—This is hard. I want to—” 

“Don’t hurt yourself tryin’ to come up with words,” he teases and you look at him completely flabbergasted. Joel Miller actually sounds amused. It’s a goddamn miracle. He twists his hand so it’s him holding you instead, locking the door, he moves towards the bed, urging you to follow him as if this was his idea from the get-go. 

“What do you want?” he asks, sitting on the edge of the bed. You’re standing between his spread-out legs, a chill runs up your spine. He reaches out and touches your chin. “Tell me,” 

Instead of telling, you slowly sink down to your knees, fingers moving to unbutton his jeans. He spreads his legs wider as you tug them down, you trail your fingers up his thighs, feeling the soft hairs tickling the pads of your fingers. Joel’s breath hitches, muscles tensing under your touch. He’s semi-hard when you take him into your mouth. His hips buck up as you swallow, swirling your tongue around the head. 

He grows harder with every lick. Your chin strains as you attempt to swallow him whole. You manage to take only half of him, your eyes squeezing shut at the pressure.  Pulling up, you gasp for air. You kiss the side and flatten your tongue against it. Joel cradles your head, thumbs drawing slow circles, he guides you back down to his cock, pushing you further down. 

“That’s it,” he breathes out heavily. “Just a bit more, always so fuckin’ good to me,” 

He forces your gaze up, and his cock twitches above your tongue. You whimper at the way he caresses your skin, so tender, so gentle. “You are too good to me,” he repeats his words from before. “I want you to know that. I ain’t the best with words but…yeah. I’ll try to make right by you,” 

If it wasn’t for his cock in your mouth, you would’ve smiled. Your heart feels so full that it overflows, the muscles of your stomach taut as you sink down, taking him until you feel the soft curls against the base of your nose. Joel holds you there, flush against his pelvis, heavily breathing as you swallow around him again and again. Spit trails down the corner of your lips, nostrils flaring as it gets harder to breathe. 

When he releases you, you pull away with a pop, your lungs burning at the sudden influx of oxygen. You wrap your fingers around the shaft and start stroking him, he moans loudly, hips thrusting into your hand. 

“I want you to cum down my throat, Joel,” you purr. “Use me,” 

And he does. 

The more desperate he becomes, the more stifled his groans get. He thrusts into your mouth, the tip of his cock nudging the back of your throat. You can’t breathe, you can’t think. Joel fucks deeper into your mouth, balls heavy on your chin as his thrusts become shallow. Your eyes roll back, your consciousness teetering on the edge of blacking out completely. 

With a moment of desperation, you cup your mound, rubbing at your clothed clit. The friction isn’t nearly enough and you let out a moan around his length, the reverberations making his hips stutter. 

Joel spills down your throat with a grunt, he presses his molars together, rolling his hips into your mouth. You swallow greedily. He tastes bitter, but that doesn’t stop you from lifting yourself on your knees to push him deeper down. He hisses, cock pulsing between your lips. 

“Jesus Christ,” he slurs, head falling back. “Jesus fuckin’ christ,” 

He pulls you off with a sharp tug, looking down at you between heavy lids. “You good darlin’?” 

You slowly nod, lips parting with a soft sigh. Your mind is in a deep haze of lust, your body aching to be touched, to be filled. You want to say something, anything, but you’re lost for words. 

“Shit, alright come on— Up,” he grabs you by the arm, helping you to stand on your feet. You shoot him a confused look, which he answers promptly. “Let’s get you cleaned up. Is it alright if I help?” 

It takes you a moment to understand the question and answer, “S-Sure.” 

You stand in the bathroom naked with your arms crossed in front of your chest. Joel wraps his arms around you slowly, still hesitant to touch you. He rests his chin above your shoulder, his torso bare, you sigh blissfully at the skin-on-skin contact.  

“What’s wrong?” he murmurs, moving his hand down your stomach. “I thought you were excited,” 

“I am,” you shudder when he drags his nose up the column of your neck, his lips following the path back down. 

“Do you want me to go?” 

You shake your head, “No.” 

He murmurs an ‘okay’ into your skin and gently nudges you forward so you get in. The tiles are cool and slippery. It feels absurd being in such a homey-feeling bathroom after so long. It smells like lavender. 

You stand there, too stunned to move until Joel joins you. He stands behind you, leaning over, naked body pressing into yours, he turns on the faucet, playing with the degree of the water until it pours warm over your skin. 

“How’s that?” he mutters. 

“Good,” a giggle falls from your lips. “It feels so fucking good. Unbelievable,” 

Joel starts washing your body, the touch of his hands has fear behind them. A fear that you might vanish at any second. His fingers trail over every inch of your skin, exploring every curve and valley. You close your eyes, relishing in the sensation of having him this close. He washes your hair, taking his time, massaging your scalp. He moves down to your back, running his hands over your spine, kneading out the tension from your muscles.

His hands move to your front, lingering over your breasts, sending shivers down your spine. He takes his time, leaving no spot untouched. The water cascades over your bodies, swallowing you and hiding you both from the tainted world outside. Wet lips trail the slope of your shoulders, fingers slipping between your folds. He drags them between your slit, circles your aching clit, and repeats. Your head falls over his shoulder, your soft moans drowned by the sound of water. 

Joel holds your chin and turns you until you’re facing him, he closes the distance, molding his lips into yours. His wet tongue follows the seam of your lips and you open up for him, he moves his tongue over yours, licking the inside of your mouth. He swallows your moans and whines as you start to grind down against his palm. 

His tongue presses deeper, and your legs tremble. He grinds the heel of his palm into the sensitive bundle of nerves, groaning into your mouth when slick gushes into his hand. His cock lays above the curve of your ass, hot and hard. 

He grinds into you, his cock pressing insistently between your cheeks. His hands grab your hips, pulling you closer to him, and his mouth moves across your shoulder and neck. His lips find your ear. 

“Is this okay?” he asks, his breath heavy and hot against your neck.

“It is. I want to feel you Joel, every inch of you,” 

His hands reach up, cupping your breasts, massaging gently. His thumbs circle your nipples and they harden beneath his touch, your breath catching in your throat. You roll back into him, your body craving more of his touch— of him.

Joel’s hands move down your body, his fingers tracing every inch. “Turn around for me,” 

You move without hesitation. He takes a step back, letting his hands trail over you. You take a step forward, closing the gap between you and he takes you in his arms, his mouth finding yours. His tongue slips between your lips and you moan into his mouth, lost in him. 

You allow your own hands to explore his body as well. He’s firm, arms strong and thick, hips narrowing as your fingers trace a path down within the water droplets that cling to his skin. 

Affectionately, you caress his stomach. You gently press the pads of your fingers into the soft flesh, loving the way his chest heaves. 

The water continues to pour down, creating a soothing background noise. He pushes his cock between your legs, moving through the slickness and sending sparks of pleasure through your body.

You move together, bodies entwined and breaths mingling. He lets out a low moan as you press your hips against his. His hands move to your back, his fingers tracing the line of your spine. He pulls you closer, his lips claiming yours again and again and again— He moans as he fucks your thighs. The bulbous head of his cock catching against your clit, the corners of your vision fade to black. Your head buzzes.

Joel continues to roll and grind, cock slipping between your legs with ease. During it, he slips into you, stretching you enough that the pain easily bleeds into the pleasure. He holds you, cock twitching as your flutter around him. You’re dripping and making a mess of him, he feels it. You know that he does by the way he bites into your skin, his growl vibrating across your body. 

“You’re so fuckin’ wet,” he says, licking the water off your skin. “Feels so good inside—Your pussy feels so fuckin’ good. I don’t think it’ll ever be enough,” 

“S-Shit Joel,” 

Your breath hitches in your throat, your hips meeting his with each thrust. He holds your gaze, fucking himself deeper, harder into you. Pleasure licks the bottom of your spine, heat rolling in your stomach. The water washes away the sweat but you still burn. Joel’s hand moves up to the back of your neck, his hand big enough to press his fingers into both sides of your throat. 

You nearly go limp at his hold, knees bucking at the pressure. But you trust him, and you aren’t at all surprised when he keeps you up, pounding into you as his lips slither down your neck. 

He moves his hand lower, skimming down your stomach and cupping your sex. His thumb circles your clit, and you gasp as wave after wave of pleasure wash over you. 

You’re teetering on the edge, ready to come undone, when Joel suddenly pulls out. His fingers don’t stop, pinching your clit. You cry out his name as your orgasm rips through you, he holds you close as your body jolts. Your body is left confused, empty, yet still clenching as if Joel’s cock is still inside. 

It’s so intense that tears roll down your cheeks, pleasure ripples over your skin, unfiltered whimpers falling from your lips. Your gaze drops to his cock, your eagerness to please loud in your mind. You notice that he’d already came, seed mixing with the water. 

“I got you don’t worry,” he mutters, lips brushing your forehead. “You’re alright, you’re with me,” 

You blink up, eyes finding Joel’s. A lazy smile spreads across your face, the water beating over your skin now cold. “Was that good?” you ask, kissing the bald spot on his chin. 

“You know it was,” when you give him a knowing look, he sighs. “It was good, thank you, darlin’” 

“I’m glad to hear that,” you grin, hands moving up his arms. “Now let’s get cleaned up one last time and get the hell out of here.” 

[bekaterrier]

Happy Audio Drama Sunday everyone! I missed last week thanks to prep I was doing for an interview, but apparently it paid off because I GOT THE JOB!! So I've spent the last couple days catching up:

@storiesfromylelmore Episode 208 - Dances and Dragons: I'm so excited that SFY is back! And this was such an adorable episode to welcome us back with! Keryth's determination, Elas tagging along even though they were terrified at points, Rion trying to sort of lie, and all the sneaking... And I can tell it was definitely worth it just based on those adorable dragon croons. The lore about dragons was so fascinating too! 🐲

Case Study: IREC-A59 Episode 7 - Day of the Doctor's Appointment: I love how we keep getting more information about just how different humans are when compared to other species, this time through our constitution and ability to bear pain and wounds. The way this exposition is done, indirectly through conversation and a medical check up, doesn't feel forced or heavy handed. It all feels very real and natural. I'm looking forward to hearing where the story goes from here. 💉

@starfallpod S2E5 - Act 1 Scene xvii: Ohhhh Fel and Leona's disagreement is affecting everyone around them! It was fun hearing all the conversations in Elsibel's wagon. Aksol talking about how scripts work, the concerns of the troupe leaders about where to go next, how Raybar came to be their manager... Fascinating. And then Dalyn being the voice of reason, trying to help Fel make up with the stage hands AND Leona? I love it. And then Fel! Confessing!!! His FEELINGS!!!! And then FEL, at the END?!?!! Ahhhhhhhh!!! 🎭

@monkeymanproductions's Waiting For October Season 1 Episode 2.5 - Raven: Our next monologue! This time, the Raven telling "his" story. Leeman Kessler is so good as drawing you in to a tale, even as an annoying bird. And what a tale! I want to know about everyone who has found their way into October. 🐦‍⬛

@monkeymanproductions's Moonbase Theta, Out - Phases Announcement: We're getting some bonus MTO content in 2025!! The series wrapped at the end of 2023, but as a patron I've been privy to a monthly bonus short story during 2024. These stories take a look at what comes next for some of our favourite characters. And now those stories will be brought to life thanks to Cass McPhee (voice of Michell L'Anglois) and available for everyone!! The stories are so good y'all, I'm so excited!!! 🌘

@desertskiespodcast Chapter 22 - It's Okay to Let Go: With a title like that and the fact that it's a Desert Skies season finale, I should have known I was going to cry. The way they handled Olenus; Corson's dedication to his family; Nony, Tendy and C.A.S.H.'s connections... We still don't know their whole story, but what was obvious through the whole episode was the love they have for each other. Absolutely beautiful ❤️

[elm-writes-stories]

Cuphead: Isle of Memories (Rewrite)

*Hey guys! I'm back with another episode of the rewrite of Cuphead: Isle of Memories. This is published on August 31, 2023. If you guys like this episode, don't forget to heart, reblog, and comment! That would be greatly appreciated! Have a nice day!*

Episode Three: Angels and Gamblers

Porkrind hadn't been himself lately.

Jerry was well aware of that, but he had never seen a pig so obsessed before. Porkrind had been on the floor, trying to map out Hell for a few days. He marked all the possible locations where Cassidy might be and tried to find entrances around the island. Brineybeard volunteered to go with Porkrind around the island to find any entryway to Hell, but they hadn't found anything through his scouting.

Porkrind refused to give up. If he had to get his daughter out of the Devil's hands and back home where she belonged, he will do whatever it takes. He made a promise a long time ago to take care of Cassidy to an old friend of his and he wasn't intending on quitting on that promise any time soon.

But Jerry noticed Porkrind getting bags under his eyes from the lack of sleep. Some nights, Jerry could barely sleep because of Porkrind staying up all night to find Cassidy. He tried to get Porkrind to go to sleep in the most polite way possible, but the one-eyed pig refused. Porkrind had to believe that he was close, right? Right?

Jerry didn't believe so. Dice ended up sleeping in the other room after a few days of staying with the Howling Aces since he couldn't sleep in the room Porkrind and Jerry was in. Jerry was very tempted to follow Dice and share a room with him.

Today, the kids were gone for some reason with Murray and Elder Kettle looking for them and Jerry and Dice stayed behind with the Howling Aces, who were busy doing their own thing with fixing their planes. Porkrind stayed behind too...cooped up in his room to draw out the map in Hell.

Dice and Jerry stood outside of the room, now concerned for Porkrind.

"This is the fifth day and he's still in here," Dice whispered to Jerry.

Jerry shook his head. "I've never seen him like this."

"Really?"

Jerry nodded in confirmation.

"You know, I can hear you guys talkin' behind me," Porkrind replied while drawing the map. His tone sounded irritated.

"Sorry," Jerry responded. "Eh, we're just worried about you."

"I'm fine," Porkrind answered while focusing on the map. "Don't worry about me."

"Do you need help with the map?" Dice asked with a brow raised. "You've been on it for five days."

"Nah, I'm fine," Porkrind replied without looking behind him. "Thanks anyway."

"O-Okay. If you need anything, we'll be right here," Jerry let Porkrind know.

Porkrind simply nodded.

"Come on, let's leave him be—" Jerry grabbed Dice's arm to gently pull him along until Dice moved his arm out of Jerry's grasp and peered over Porkrind's shoulder. Jerry watched in curiosity of what Dice was doing.

Porkrind noticed a silhouette looking over his shoulder, getting him to finally look up and notice King Dice. "What?"

Dice examined the map that Porkrind drew with his head tilt and his brow furrowed. "No offense, Porks, but that map for Hell is not even close to accurate."

"Porks?" Porkrind uttered with his brow raised.

"Is it okay to call you that? I was thinking of Porky, but that kind of sounded offensive. Or Po—"

"Please...don't call me Po," Porkrind replied with a frown.

"Okay, Po is definitely off-limits along with Porky. Noted," Dice noted to himself. "So, Porks it is then...unless you have any objections."

"Wait, why are you even giving me nicknames?" Porkrind probed. "You barely know me."

"Oh, I gave nicknames for everyone," Dice responded while sitting down next to the pig and crossing his legs in doing so. "For example, I called Cuphead and Mugman, Cups and Mugs. For Chalice, Chal. For Natalie, Nat. For Aurora, Rori since everyone is calling her that. For Canteen...eh, it was kind of hard to come up with the nickname that sticks with him...so I'm calling him Hughes for the time-being. Murray is still Murray. Elder Kettle is...EK. Um, Sergant O'Fera is just Sarge. Bulldog is Big Bone because of the sweet bone tattoo on his shoulder. The Yankee Yippers...I call them yippies. And for Jerry, I am debating between JJ or Jay. So...you're not the only one I'm thinking of nicknames for if that makes you feel any better."

"Immensely," Porkrind responded with a sigh.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that I nicknamed Tabitha as Tabitcha," Dice added.

Porkrind almost blurted out a laugh. "What?"

"Oh yeah, that's her nickname alright...but I'll be calling her that behind her back."

"If we ever see her again, I dare you to call her that to her face," Porkrind replied.

"Ooh, what am I getting out of that dare?" Dice asked with a flirty grin.

"A bag full of coin," Porkrind answered.

"Ooh, sounds good."

"If we ever see her again."

"I don't doubt we'll see her again soon."

Jerry smiled underneath his scarf to see Porkrind loosened up a bit around Dice.

"Okay, okay, you're distracting me," Porkrind replied while trying to focus back on the map.

"Right, the map. You have it drawn completely wrong," Dice pointed out.

"How would you know?"

"I've been down there for years. I know what I'm talking about," Dice indicated with a finger raised and drag along the map. "Let's see...hmm...okay, there are chances where Cassidy is kept in the dungeons of Hell because you know, that's where Big D would usually take the prisoners who are mortals. Even though he's not supposed to do that."

Porkrind tilted his head. "How come?"

Dice shrugged his shoulders. "Contract with the Most High...or something. I've never really pay attention to the politics of that place."

"Do you think that Cassidy might be where Mugman was at? In the prison cells by the library?" Porkrind asked.

"Possibly," Dice said. "Big D's got many places in Hell that had the lava pit, which is where the souls go to suffer and be tormented forever. He also got a big soul vault where he stuffed all the souls in. The prized soul cage was where Cuphead's soul was next to the soul vault. And—" as King Dice rambled on about all the places in Hell and where they were exactly to help Porkrind out, Porkrind stared at Dice to listen to him.

If Porkrind could say one thing he learned about Dice was that the pig could sit and listen to Dice talking for hours straight without stopping. Could anyone really blame him though? It wouldn't be a surprise if everyone else felt the same way. Dice's voice was like honey whether he was trying to lure anyone or not. If he could talk anyone in the base in giving up their souls for the Devil, he could without fail...if they didn't know him any better. It was no wonder Dice was able to get souls to the Devil without fail for a while until Cuphead and Mugman showed up on his radio show. It was no wonder people would always gather to listen to the radio with his voice specifically.

Heck, even Porkrind found a guilty pleasure in listening in to the radio show despite knowing that the game show Dice was hosting was rigged for players to win. It was a miracle that Cuphead and Mugman managed to break Dice's spell by just being their stupid chaotic selves.

"—And that's the map for Hell," Dice replied.

Porkrind didn't realize that Dice was drawing on the map the entire time, showing all the right places and spots where Cassidy might be at. Shoot, he had been thinking too much about Dice's voice.

"Sooo, any questions?" Dice asked Porkrind.

Porkrind blinked his eye. "Uhhh..."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to go on a tangent, but I figured if you are going to be working with a map, might as well be the right one, right?"

Porkrind blushed and nodded. "Yeah. Might as well."

Dice blushed back and shook it off. "Heh, well, I guess I'll leave alone. If you need anymore help, you know where to find me." He said this a flirty grin before walking away.

Porkrind blushed madly and shook it off. Ugh, it was just a stupid crush. Wait...why was he having a crush all the sudden?! Why?! Porkrind covered his face with a groan. He had to go somewhere else where he could focus more and not that stupid flirty grin Dice walked away with.

Porkrind sighed and looked at the map, which was detailed of all the possible locations of where his daughter could be at. But maybe...he needed something a bit more that might uncover the entrances to Hell. Porkrind got up and picked up the map, exiting out of the base.

~.~

Porkrind searched for his other shop that he had here a long time ago. Of course, it had been a while since he had seen it along with Cassidy seeing it. He wouldn't be surprised if she didn't know that he had another shop here in this island. Jerry already knew and he would upkeep it during his monthly trips to the other island when the oceans were safe to travel across.

Porkrind found his other shop over by where the mountain climbers were competing each other. He looked around to make sure he wasn't followed and entered into the shop. He didn't have as much stuff in this shop as he did with his old shop before it was ransacked by that crazy maniac. He entered the back of the shop, looking around for a map of the island. He found the map folded into the second shelf of the wooden shelf next to the back door. He pulled it out, dragging out something else. The book fell from the shelf, causing him to back away for a moment. He looked down and noticed the title of the old leather book.

"Memories to give to Cassidy when she grows up."

Porkrind blinked in shock and sat down on the chair, picking up the book. It turned out to be a scrapbook. Now, he was no arts and crafts kind of guy, but he thought of making the book for Cassidy ever since she ended up under his roof. He wanted to tell her everything, but he knew he couldn't put it to words. She wouldn't believed his words anyway. He had worked on it for years...although, it admittingly got lost in all the mix-up once she started to grow up.

He might have accidentally placed it in the crate to ship it to the other shop. Jerry probably didn't know about the book. Which was fine anyways. It was his secret project after all. He opened the book up and the first thing he saw was a photo of Shayna and Porkrind as kids at church in black and white. It was where it all started. Porkrind smiled a bit when he flipped the book to find the next photo of them being teenagers, sitting at a parlor shop and eating ice cream together. That must be their first date. He could hear the awkward conversations while they were dating during the time.

He flipped to the next page and frowned to see the wedding photo of Shayna and Jack, smiling together at the alter with no one else around them. Not even Porkrind. Up above the black and white photo, he saw the letters he placed together.

"This is your parents."

Porkrind flipped to the next page and saw a set of photos of Jack and Shayna's wedding. One of them was Shayna shoving cake into Jack's mouth with teasing grins, earning a chuckle from the pig. The second photo had them dancing together and laughing throughout the dance. Porkrind wasn't in the wedding photos much but that didn't matter. This was about Cassidy knowing her parents, not about him. He looked at the third photo to see Shayna and Jack on their honeymoon at the beach. The last photo was Shayna and Jack standing in front of their first house with Jack picking her up bridal style.

He kept seeing Shayna smiling through the photos the more pages he flipped until he started to tear up. He couldn't keep going. It has been fifteen years since Shayna has died, but Porkrind was still not over it. Had he grieved properly? Raising Cassidy was his promise to Shayna, a way to keep the memories of Shayna alive...

Porkrind clenched his jaw and was about to close the book until a page slipped and revealed the photo of the hospital with Jack and Shayna showing Cassidy to Porkrind. Porkrind stopped and opened it to examine it.

"Huh? I don't remember putting this here," Porkrind uttered.

Porkrind flipped through the next page to find more photos of Cassidy as a toddler, which had some burns on the corners of the black and white photos. He blinked to wonder if he was seeing things, but he wasn't. He saw Cassidy as a kitten, playing dangling toys with her pupils enlarged and Jack dangling the toys in front of his daughter with a smile. In the next photo, little Cassidy was resting on Jack's shoulder while Jack was watching Shayna cook with a fond smile.

Porkrind tried not to cry while looking at another photo to see Shayna reading a book to Cassidy while the kitten smiled in excitement. He flipped through the next page and he froze to see a picture of himself with baby Cassidy sleeping on his shoulders now. The pig turned the page and saw more photos of him and Cassidy. One of them that caught his eye was the brown photo of Porkrind and Cassidy dancing when she's a little girl. Porkrind took the photo out of the book and looked at it further. He clenched his jaw and finally released small sobs, hugging the photo. He tried not to cry so loud, but he couldn't contain it any longer.

"I'm so sorry," Porkrind uttered an apology. "I let you down. I let you both down."

With that said, he gripped the photo tightly, swearing to himself he will never let it go. 

~.~

"What are you doing?" Jerry asked Dice while watching Dice exploring the kitchen of the base.

"I am just making sure Porkrind ain't overhearing my plan," Dice replied and glanced at Jerry. "Look, he's been cooped up in his room and I kind of want to do something...eh...well..."

"Nice?"

"No, not nice...just something get him out of the room. Take in the fresh air and relax a bit, you know? And you're the only person that knows him well enough. Sooo, do you know what he likes or what gets him out of the room?"

Jerry looked around the room and leaned forward. "I'll tell you secret. It's..."

Dice leaned forward in anticipation.

"Nothing."

Dice gave him a deadpan stare. "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously," Jerry replied. "Porkrind is the most antisocial guy I've ever met. I had to get him out of his shop by making some deliveries. And even that doesn't work because he had Cassidy run the delivers when she got older. So...there's nothing we can do to get him out of the room."

"So, we're just gonna sit there and let him wallow in obsession and guilt?"

"I don't like that solution either," Jerry said with a sigh. "Unless you got a better idea."

"Hmm...what does Porkrind like? Like maybe there's something we could give to him as a gift or something to cheer him up."

"Uh...gold and Cassidy."

"Huh? Really?"

"As far as I know him."

"Hey guys," O'Fera called while entering the kitchen. "Porkrind wasn't in his room. Do you guys know where he went?"

Dice and Jerry exchanged glances at each other.

"I have no idea."

"He might be at his other shop," Jerry predicted.

"He has another shop here?!" Dice shouted in shock.

Jerry nodded his head. "We should check there to see how he was holding up. There might be a reason he was there."

Jerry and Dice exited the kitchen and the base to find Porkrind's shop. As they reached Porkrind's shop, they heard sniffling in the shop. Was Porkrind crying in there?

Dice and Jerry exchanged gazes with Dice shrugging at Jerry.

Jerry opened the door and the door creaked, causing the sobs to die down.

"Porkrind?" Jerry uttered. He looked around the shop.

Dice and Jerry tiptoed around the shop and peeked to the back room to find Porkrind sitting on the chair, gripping a photo for dear life.

Jerry softened his gaze and approached him. "Porkrind...you okay?"

"I'm fine," Porkrind replied, his voice croaked from crying earlier.

Dice glanced over at the book and attempted to look at the pictures until Porkrind closed it and moved it away from him.

"What are you reading?" Dice asked in curiosity.

Porkrind picked the book up and stuffed the photo back into it, carrying it out of the shop. "It's nothing."

Dice and Jerry stood there, dumbfounded.

~.~

 Dice and Jerry walked around the village after exiting Porkrind's shop with Dice trying to think of something by rubbing his smooth edged chin and humming.

Jerry arched a brow at Dice, trying to read his face. "What are you thinking about?"

"Hm? Oh, I'm just remembering what you said about how Porkrind only likes gold and Cassidy, right?"

"Uh...yeah."

"Well, I was just thinking that maybe we could get him some gold and he could buy whatever he desires," Dice replied with a small smile.

"No amount of gold is ever going to help him get over his grief," Jerry responded.

"You said so yourself—"

"I know what I said. Didn't you see Porkrind in there? He had that book with pictures of Shayna and Cassi in it and he's obviously looking through it."

"Wait, what? Who's Shayna?" Dice asked.

Jerry sighed. "Well, Porkrind knows more about her than I do...but she was his childhood best friend. She died a long time ago when Cassidy was born."

"Oh," Dice uttered. "Maybe gold might buy him...uh...something nice to wear."

Jerry gave Dice a deadpan stare.

"What?! I'm trying to think of something that can be...uh..."

"Nice?"

"No! Again, not nice. Just something...uh...to get his mind off of Cassidy for a moment. You know, like going to a party or something."

Jerry snorted. "Good luck with that. I've said this before and I'll say it again, Porkrind is antisocial. He hates socializing with people."

"Is it because he lost his childhood best friend a long time ago?"

Jerry softened his gaze. "Maybe."

They suddenly heard alarm bells ringing, causing them to tense up. They shot a glance over at the bank, being robbed by a familiar cow in cowgirl clothes, sucking all the gold with her vacuum attached to her back.

"Esther?" Dice recognized.

Chips and Mr. Wheezy shoved bags of gold coins into the trunk of the black sleek car.

"I think we got everything we need!" Chips shouted and noticed Dice and Jerry. Chips saw the bug cops approaching the scene.

"Put your hands up!" one of the bug cops shouted.

Dice and Jerry turned to face them with wide eyes in fear.

Chips hurried behind Dice and pointed a small pistol on the side of Dice's head. "Don't move or I'll shoot him!"

"What the frick, man?!" Dice shouted.

Mr. Wheezy did the same thing with Jerry. "Yeah! We'll shoot them both if you don't play your cards right!"

Jerry growled and elbowed Mr. Wheezy in the gut. Mr. Wheezy doubled over as Jerry snatched the gun from Mr. Wheezy and pointed it at both of them. "Would you be so kind and let my friend go?"

Dice blushed a bit at Jerry's movement. Before Chips could let go of Dice, a dart flew into Jerry's neck. Jerry gasped and took the dart out immediately to see a purple fluff at the end of the dart. The darts flew and hit the cops approaching them. The cops passed out quickly along with Jerry.

Dice clenched his jaw as he felt something on his arm. He looked to find a dart on his arm. "Oh come on—" Everything went black quickly.

~.~

 "Thanks for the save, Phear."

"Where would you be without me?"

"I can't believe y'all robbed a bank! Can't you just get a job before robbing a bank?!"

"Sorry, dear, but the job slots are full in this village."

Dice groaned awake, his wrists bound against Jerry. He fluttered his eyes open and his vision was nothing but a blur at first. The light was the only thing blinding him in some dark place. His vision was clear finally and gasped to realize that he was in a dark cavern. He struggled in his binds and glanced over his shoulder to find Jerry still unconscious.

"Rise and shine, sleepy beauty," a familiar voice echoed.

Dice glanced up and noticed Esther Winchester staring at him with a smirk on her face.

"It's about time I see your face again since you know...your little cup blew up my wagon," Esther responded.

"Okay, that was an accident—"

"And you stole the desert limes."

Dice went silent for a moment. "But to be fair, Saltbaker didn't use the limes at all. I mean, you had the limes back, right?"

"I had to snatch it back from you," Esther growled.

"Look, I'm sorry for stealing the limes and-and blowing up your wagon. Is there a way I can make it up to you?" Dice questioned.

Esther straightened up with her arms crossed and a sneer. "Hm, you know, you could do something for me. Both you and your friend there could do something for us."

"And...what is that?" Dice asked timidly.

Esther gestured to the shattered wagon. "Help us rebuild the wagon and maybe you might get yourself some allies."

"Allies?"

"Yer fightin' against something. Something big. I can sense it. We can all sense it," Esther said, referring to the rest of the casino gang surrounding her. "Y'all didn't think we notice some weirdos in black hoods roaming around the village after that pirate guy told us about...what is it? What are they called?"

As Esther was talking, Jerry woke up and recovered his vision in a short amount of time and realized that his hands were bound...well...not all of his hands. Jerry started to cut through the zip ties with his other arms hidden underneath the green trench coat and a pocket knife.

"Uh...the Night Stalkers, I believe," Pirouletta responded.

"But they're dead. They were all dead down in Hell," Dice responded.

"They were?" Chips asked while arching a brow.

Jerry managed to cut through the zip ties that bound both him and Dice. Before Dice could understand what happened next, Jerry stood and spun around, taking off his green trench coat and pulling out his pistols with his six arms stretched out to aim at the gang.

"You better have a good reason for kidnappin' us!" Jerry growled at the gang.

"Whoa! Put the guns down, partner!" Chips shouted while raising his pistol up along with Mr. Wheezy and Phear Lap. Ginette, Pip, and Dot ducked behind Pirouletta, who took out her shotgun. Esther drew out her two pistols to aim it at Jerry.

"Boy, ya better put down yer guns or it's gonna get real messy!" Esther threatened with a Southern drawl.

"If I were you, I'd be listenin' to her," Mr. Wheezy warned.

Dice stood up and stepped between Jerry and the gang. "Whoa, whoa, let's not start a fight here. Who knows what we will summon if we start a fight in the dark caverns?"

"Nothin' will come up to get us," Esther reassured coldly. "We've checked."

"You've checked?" Dice uttered with a brow arched.

"Yepperoo," Chips responded. "Safe from the Night Stalkers...or maybe it's more cozy than out in the heating desert."

"Well, we need the wagon to shelter everyone. Do you think you can help us or not?"

Jerry lowered his guns. "What do you need us to do?"

"Well, if you can gather the planks, that would be wonderful," Esther instructed.

With that said, Dice, Jerry, Esther, and the rest of the gang started to rebuild the blue wagon plank by plank.

~.~

 Porkrind was back in the room at the Howling Aces' base, staring at the book he carried out with him. He tried not to cry while looking through the photos of Cassidy and Shayna once again. Porkrind glanced over at the maps, frowning. Brineybeard and Porkrind hadn't found the entrances to Hell from this island yet...maybe...maybe there wasn't any entrance besides the ones back in the other island.

The one-eyed pig sighed until he heard someone rushing towards the room. He perked his head up and found Dice stumbling into the room with heavy pants. He had blue paint all over his purple clothes while the die wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

"H-Hey," Dice panted.

"Hey?" Porkrind uttered.

Dice took out a bag of coin. "I got you some coin."

Porkrind arched a brow. "But you're not buying anything."

"Eh, a little birdie told me that you like gold," Dice said with a flirty grin.

Porkrind blushed and shook his head. "Keep it."

"What?" Dice questioned. "Why? You might want to purchase something."

"Like what?"

"Uh...you know, something you like. Like maybe new clothes...or new shoes. Something along those lines. You know, something to cheer ya right up."

"What cheers me up is finding my own daughter," Porkrind responded while closing the book with pictures of Cassidy and Shayna.

Dice noticed the title of the book and glanced up at Porkrind. "Touche...maybe it could for a party."

"A party?"

"Yeah, Jerry and I helped fix Esther's wagon in the cavern in the Western area. Esther decided to throw a party at the wagon and you're invited to come."

Porkrind arched a brow at Dice. "And what do you get out of this?"

"What?"

"You're doing something nice for me. It ain't something you normally do for a common folk like myself. So, what's your game?"

Dice arched a brow. "Well...I was hoping maybe you could...you know...stop isolating yourself in your room."

"I'm not isolating myself."

"Yes, you are. You do realize Jerry is worried about you."

"He shouldn't be."

"Well, he is."

Porkrind huffed.

"Look, Porks, I'm looking out for you—"

"Why?"

Dice frowned.

Porkrind arched a brow. "You don't know, huh?"

"No, I do know...it's just...it's complicated."

"Why make it complicated?"

"I don't know. You and Jerry looked out for me. I thought that maybe I return the favor at least," Dice blurted out.

Porkrind softened his gaze. "Let's call it even then." He went back to look at the book and the maps of both the island and the underworld.

Dice frowned and sighed. "Alright, alright, I'll leave you alone. But just know that you're invited to the party." With that said, Dice walked away and placed the bag of coin by the doorway.

Porkrind watched Dice's silhouette disappear, frowning more. He shook his head and tried not to think about what Dice just said. He looked to see the bag of coin staring at him right in the face. Where did he even get a bag of coin in such a short amount of time? Porkrind ignored his questions and continued to look at the maps.

Part of him felt someone standing behind him. He knew that there wasn't anyone behind but the wall. However, he could sense someone standing close behind him, almost like she was looking over his shoulder. Shayna might be disappointed in him. Maybe he wasn't going fast enough to save her daughter. He might not be doing enough to watch over Cassidy back in Hell. He made a promise he could never keep. The ghost of Shayna stood behind him, her gaze soft. She would pity at what kind of a pig he became. She walked closer and closer to him to only comfort, unaware of the cold shivers he was getting and the destructive words in his head from her presence being near him.

Porkrind stopped what he was doing and pressed his hands against the sides of his head, hearing all of the dark voices in his head.

"You're not doing enough!"

"Are you really going to wallow up here in obsession and guilt?!"

"Why can't you do something?!"

"Why did you break your promise to Shayna?!"

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

Porkrind clenched his fists while tears trickled from his eyes. He growled and stood up. "That's it!"

Porkrind stormed off and hurried out of his room, getting away from the ghost and the voices in his head.

~.~

The music was lively at the newly built blue wagon within the cave.

Esther gambled with her friends while Dice was the card-dealer with a smile on his face. Esther had a hot winning streak, putting both Chips and Mr. Wheezy to shame. Pirouletta didn't really care about winning, smiling at her friends enjoying themselves. Phear Lap placed his bets, trying to one-up Pip and Dot.

Ginette watched them all with her eyes rolled playfully until she noticed Jerry sitting at the bar and staring down at the whiskey glass. She walked over and leaned against the counter.

"Need somethin' stronger?" Ginnette asked.

Jerry shook his head. "No, no, it's fine. I think I had enough for today."

"You only had one drink."

"Mhm."

Ginette frowned. "So, what seems to be concerning to you?"

Jerry glanced up at the martini.

"I can tell by your face," Ginette responded.

Jerry stared down at the glass. "A...friend of mine is...um...well, he's been cooped up in his room. He lost his daughter down in the underworld and now he was trying to find a way to get down to Hell and get her back."

"His daughter?"

"Yeah, her name is Cassidy...she's the last of her kind of red cats."

"Red cats?"

Jerry nodded his head solemnly. "But I've been concerned about both of them. I don't know if Cassidy is alive or Devil is just using her corpse now as a puppet. I want to find Cassidy just as much as Porkrind does...but I don't know what I'll see once we find her. I either find her dead, puppeteer, or alive and was beaten and tortured. I don't know if I want to see any of those outcomes for Cassidy."

Ginette cleaned the glass. "Well, I'm not sure if this is gonna to make you feel better, but I figured I should tell you something. I think we're still confused on what we saw. A couple of days ago, we saw the Devil with six hooded men and two demons at his disposal and...well...this red-furred cat. I'm assumin' the cat must be this Cassidy you're talking about—"

Jerry widened his eyes in shock, his grip on the whisky glass shaking. "C-Cassi? Is she okay? Wait, where did you even see her at?"

"Last I checked, Devil was making deals with the Moonshine Mob, selling 'em some booze. But it looked too...different to be booze though," Ginette responded.

"That ain't booze," Jerry uttered in horror.

They heard someone bursting through the doors as everyone looked to see Porkrind huffing as if he had been running.

Dice brightly smiled. "Porks! You came!"

"I came to drink," Porkrind responded while looking up at Ginette. "Give me the strongest liquor you got."

"Coming right up," Ginette said while Porkrind hurried over by the counter next to Jerry.

"Porkrind, there's something you oughta know—"

"Here's the strongest we got," Ginette interrupted by placing the whiskey bottle and the whiskey glass next to Porkrind. She poured it for him.

"Leave the bottle here," Porkrind commanded, which Ginette nodded in understanding.

"Porkrind, I know what happened to—"

"Ya sure you're not up for poker?" Dice asked, sliding next to Porkrind.

"For Pete's sakes, Dice, I'm trying to tell Porkrind something important," Jerry replied while Porkrind took a gulp of whiskey between them.

"Like what?" Dice questioned.

"It's about—!"

"HEY! Haven't seen yer face 'round here, stranger!" Esther bellowed, leaning next to Dice in a drunken state.

Dice smiled. "Oh! Porkrind, meet Esther. Esther, Porkrind—"

"I'm trying to say something important—"

"Say, friend, why the long face?" Phear Lap, a skeleton horse, asked Porkrind while sitting next to Jerry.

"Yeah, you look like someone punched your eye out," Mangosteen, the black billiard ball, said with a dumber tone. He floated next to Phear Lap.

"How could you punch someone's eye out?" Pip asked while Pip and Dot were jumping together on the counter in front of Phear, stacked on top of each other as an anthropomorphic domino.

"Oh, come on, ding dong! You don't punch someone's eye out! You cut it out!" Dot responded below him while kicking Pip in the face.

"Hey!" Pip shouted with offense.

"Hey, Gin, get us another round of whatever he has!" Chips pointed.

"Will you all just shut up for one second?!" Jerry shouted.

"Geez, ya look like you need more than just one glass of whiskey—" Rumulus, the anthropomorphic whiskey bottle, replied while falling over onto the floor.

"Yeah, you need something nice and relaxing—" Ol' Ethan, the anthropomorphic whiskey glass, said while collapsing against the wall.

Jerry groaned. "It's about Cassidy! She's with the Devil!"

The music stopped dead in its tracks while everyone glanced at Jerry with wide-eyed shock.

Dice tilted his head. "Wait. What? How did you—?"

"I told him that we saw them," Ginette explained to the rest of the group.

"OH! I forgot we saw a little red cat next to that big-horned cat," Chips uttered drunkenly.

Dice blinked in shock. "Wait! Where?!"

"Saw her with Devs...trading some booze or whatever—" Ol' Ethan said while smiling drunkenly.

"They saw us and we ran before we got a closer look," Chips said with a drunken giggle and a hiccup. "It was funny actually because—because we were scrambling for our lives and hid ourselves in this cave."

"The Devil will never find us here!" Mr. Wheezy replied.

The patrons drunkenly laughed in pure euphoric before hearing something teleport behind them.

They all turned around slowly to find the Devil standing behind them outside, rubbing his nails against his chest. Porkrind and Jerry noticed Cassidy standing next to Devil, her eyes red with white slit pupils. Her grin had fangs, causing them both to look in horror.

"Oh, don't stop the party on our account—"

"RUN!!!"

Phear rushed outside of the wagon and pulled it.

"NO, CASSI!!" Porkrind shouted.

Phear Lap sprinted away from the Devil while pulling the wagon.

The Devil chuckled at their reaction while putting a hand on the cat's shoulder. "Such cowards."

Cassidy giggled maniacally.

~.~

“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Cuphead asked Canteen as they were running from the Moonshine Casino. Cuphead was carrying passed out Mugman in his arms while Chalice was flying behind Canteen as a ghost.

“Yep! I know where I—AAH!” Canteen yelped when he slipped and tumbled down the ditch.

“Oh golly!” Chalice shouted and flew down next to Canteen. “Are you okay?!”

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Canteen said with a smile and a thumbs up.

“GET BACK HERE!!” Charlie’s voice shouted from behind them as Cuphead slid down the ditch and sprinted ahead of them. The kids trailed behind Cuphead, but it was hard to keep up when Cuphead started to speed up again.

Cuphead didn’t realize how fast he was going until he bumped into Brineybeard’s leg with Mugman in his arms.

“Ah! Lad!” Brineybeard whimpered in pain.

“Oh, sorry,” Cuphead uttered. He looked around and realized that he was by the Howling Aces’ base with O’Fera, Bulldog, the pups, Murray, and Elder Kettle approaching them.

“Where have you kids been?!” O’Fera said with a scolding tone.

Chalice and Canteen approached the group with heavy pants.

“You gotta hide us!” Canteen yelled in panic.

“From who? Wha’ are ye runnin’ from?” Brineybeard questioned.

Charlie stormed into the scene with Light Bug, Lenny, Anteater, Announcer Snail, and five other mobsters by his side. Ribby and Croaks were running behind him.

“Whoa, Charlie, let’s think for a second,” Ribby said while standing between the group and the Moonshine Mob.

“Think?! That mug possessed us and had us say some weird mumbo jumbo language!” Charlie shouted at Ribby. “There ain’t nothin’ to think about!”

“Mugman possessing people?” Elder Kettle questioned. “How?”

“I don’t know! Ask your kid!” Charlie snarled while referring to Mugman groaning awake in Cuphead’s arms.

“W-What happened?” Mugman uttered, disoriented.

“Look, as far as I know the lad, he has no malicious intentions. We dunno wha’ caused whatever control he had on ye ‘n yer gang, but we needs t’ calm down afore we could—”

“THE DEVIL IS HERE!!!!”

Everyone glanced to see Phear Lap pulling the blue wagon and running towards the group. Mugman fluttered his eyes open to finally wake up and realized what the situation was happening.

“What?” Mugman questioned.

Phear Lap stopped in front of the group, panting. His two legs were wobbling from running for so long.

Dice, Porkrind, and Jerry peeked out of the wagon and walked out of it

They hurried to the group.

“Guys, Big D is here,” Dice alerted the group.

“Big D?” Charlie questioned. “Wait, is that the gangster’s name with, uh, six hooded figures, two demons, and one red feline? That Big D?”

“You saw the Devil?!” Croaks gasped in fear.

“Cassi?!” Mugman shouted.

“Well, if that’s the Big D…then yeah, I saw ‘im! A couple of days ago! He gave us some booze though. That’s pretty much all he did,” Charlie replied while rubbing his chin.

“Although,” Light Bug added. “It strangely didn’t look like booze.”

“Well…it’s enough anyway—”

“It’s not booze,” Murray said with a shaky tone.

“So, it was Tremaine this whole time?!” Canteen shouted in fear.

“I knew there was something off about that coloring!” Chalice added.

“What in the world is Tremaine?!” Charlie asked.

“It’s where you turn into a monster,” Chalice explained.

Charlie nodded his head in understanding. “Oh, huh…I hope the patrons are not turned into monsters in the casino.”

“What about Cassi?” Mugman questioned. “Is she okay? Is she hurt?”

“Who’s Cassi?” Charlie probed.

Porkrind frowned and looked away. Jerry rubbed his shoulder while Dice clenched his teeth.

“Is-Is Cassi okay?” Mugman uttered to the three men.

Dice frowned. “Uh, let’s just say that…um…shoot, I can’t even bring myself to say it.”

“Please tell me,” Mugman begged.

Porkrind tried not to cry, gritting his teeth to help withhold the tears.

“Cassi ain’t the same person,” Jerry responded finally. “The Devil took control of her.”

Mugman’s pupils shrunk in fear. “N-No. No…”

“Yeah,” Esther added while popping her head out of the wagon. “She’s got some orange glow in her veins!”

“Wait…there’s Tremaine inside of her?” Cuphead uttered.

“We can cure her the same way we did with Mugman!” Chalice chirped excitedly.

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” Canteen responded.

“Wait, wait, if Tremaine is inside of the booze and youse kids found the trail from the sewers under the casino…then—” Croaks noticed something off in the distance. He walked towards it, his eyes widening more in horror.

“Croaks?” Ribby uttered and followed his brother.

Everyone else followed the frog brothers, including the Howling Aces, Moonshine Mob, Esther, and her gang. As they approached the cliff, everyone looked on with terror.

“So…that’s Tremaine,” Charlie muttered to himself.

Right over the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean, Tremaine was spreading across the blue waters. It wasn’t covering the entire ocean just yet, but the spread was faster than they have ever seen.

“Oh no…” Murray said.

They heard someone teleporting behind them, causing everyone to whirl around to find Devil with six hooded figures, Henchman, Stickler, and Cassidy by his side.

“Like my handiwork?” Devil replied with a cheeky grin. “I had some help.”

“You little—” Charlie growled and charged towards Devil, but was stopped by Light Bug and Lenny. “Youse got a lot nerve showin’ up here!”

Ribby and Croaks noticed Cassidy, their gazes softened.

“What did you do to Cassi?!” Croaks snarled at Devil.

“Yeah!” Ribby added before the frogs charged towards Devil, but they were held back by Brineybeard and Bulldog.

Mugman peeked through the crowd and noticed Cassidy, his heart breaking at the sight of her form now. “C-Cassi?”

It was sudden that when Cassidy saw Mugman, her red eyes with white pupils faded, reverting back to her normal eyes.

“M-Mugsy?” Cassidy recognized instantly, her tears trickling out of her eyes.

Devil lost his cheeky smirk and clenched his fist, controlling the veins inside Cassidy. Cassidy screamed in pain.

“HEY!” Ribby growled while everyone took out their weapons. They were about to charge towards Devil for torturing Cassidy until they saw twenty citizens coming towards them with Tremaine in their veins. They all came from the Moonshine Casino.

Devil smirked. “Well, hate to end the party so soon, but there is some…minor problems that needed to be fixed. Ta-Ta for now.”

With that said, Devil disappeared with Cassidy, Henchman, Stickler, and the six hooded assassins, leaving the resistance gang with the infected citizens.

“What do we do?!” Lenny shouted in panic.

Phear Lap brought his dart gun and shot the darts at the citizens, knocking them all out.

“Wow…uh…that was quick,” Ribby responded.

In the distance, they heard screams of terror from within the village and roars from more citizens infected with Tremaine.

“Back to base?” Bulldog asked O’Fera.

O’Fera nodded her head. “Yep. We got new people to hide.”

Everyone hurried back to the Howling Aces’ base to hide from the chaos that was happening in the village.

To Be Continued... 

[a-rogue-god]

Dove (mostly Dove/John ship) lore master post GOOOO

Things are subject to change ofc when I learn more about Shoreside and we're given more information with new episodes.

General information ofc

She/they/he basically any! She's bigender so some days she leans toward a more masculine look or more feminine look. Gender at birth is ambiguous. I don't know where I lean. Both appeal to me and exist simultaneously. Shrodingers gender. Bisexual/pansexual :]

5 foot 5 inches tall (almost a foot shorter than John at 6'4")

She's 25 years old, birthday: 5/12/1998 (using the day I first ever talked about the concept of her, may 12th! 1998 since I asked when shoreside is set, and it's set in 2023, time just yknow catches up on you when you make things so in 2023 shes 25. John is 35 in 2023 so this makes him 10 years older than her)

She lives in Florida around the Daytona Beach area with her grandparents! I imagine she's originally from another state (coughs. Pennsylvania) but probably got sent down to Florida to be raised by her grandparents due to some shitty parent drama ofc.

She works in the local library with her grandmother. Does all the running around putting books away that the older librarians can't do. Outside of that she also helps her grandparents around the house. Very helpful woman. Does a lot of the yard work, puts up Christmas lights. She'd be unassumedly strong for how she looks imo.

Some of her hobbies include jogging, writing, drawing, reading, baking. Kind of asocial until you get to know her, then she's a silly fellow. Sarcastic by nature, but harmless. I named her after bleeding heart doves, and which bleeding heart can kind of be used to describe her. Very soft hearted and kind most of the time which can be detrimental lol. Lol. (Her working with John probably makes her morals more aligned with his overtime, changing her personality slightly to be more similar)

Uh. Random facts: She has really bad eyesight. Has an old fat orange cat actually named Garfield funnily enough. Shades of blue are her favorite colors. She smells sweet. Carries uh. A sketchbook, other miscellaneous note taking stuff. Always has candy on her hajfjsjdj favorite animals include ofc pigeons, cats, axolotls, snakes. Her music taste is very all over the place, she likes Frank Sinatra and other that era crooners thanks to her grandparents, while also enjoying hard rock music, metal, pop, some techno, punk. Her faaaavorite TV show is Twin Peaks. Good lord she can't shut up about it. Has a crush on Dale Cooper.

Rest under cut for length reasons. Some shoreside spoilers.

In 2011, when the massacre happened and pieces of people were washing up on beaches, Dove was ~13 at the time and remembers seeing that shit in person on the beaches of Daytona, and all over the news. Traumatizing! But puts a want to understand what's Going On till adulthood. Probably has a phobia about the ocean! Hahaha:)

I've been playing with the idea of maybe doves grandparents being involved in the house club? But I don't think they would be!

when she hits adulthood, and specifically in her 20s, she puts effort into researching this shit in her free time.

(A lot of this is speculation and not knowing shit after this)

The first time she meets John Gein (outside of seeing him on the TV back in 2011 when he used to work for CNN) in person, I'm sure it was because she was probably trespassing somewhere she shouldn't be while he was investigating the area simultaneously where he runs into her. First it's of course all suspicion and you can't be here, and he kicks her out.

She being the stubborn woman she is, she keeps showing up and keeps having run-ins with John who, out of some begrudging admiration for her dedication to discover things, reluctantly lets her begin helping him with the shit he's more interested in, and not the goals of the company he's working for.

(He's both relieved and annoyed that Dove doesn't want payment. Yaay he doesn't have to pay her and ugh. Unpaid labor. That's okay John the only thing she wants is you to pay for both of you when you go out to eat and discuss the things you've discovered)

They probably met and began this whole thing maybe a couple years before the events in 2023, maybe 2020 idk? She'd be just out of college. At first they're just uneasy acquaintances, but eventually as they continue working together, they become friends (as they grow closer you just KNOW dove is sending him silly memes. The more weird the better), the two warming up to each other. They both greatly appreciate each other and enjoy being in the other's company, at some point both crossing a "i have romantic feelings for you but neither of us have admitted this yet" threshold where their friendship holds a more tender feeling, where they begin sharing drinks ("one large strawberry milkshake please. No we don't need two, just one for the two of us please! :]") and what not.

Everyone assumes they're dating at this point. They're not yet, but ofc dove gets teased relentlessly by her grandparents. ("Ooohhh Doveee your boyfriend is here!!" "He's not- not my boyfriend." cue very amused John look. "Oh make sure you're being safe and protected!" Wink wink nudge. "MOM-MOM PLEASE.")

Do they love each other? Of course they do. I think it would inevitably be John to say he loves her first. He'd probably say it while she's panicking about something and being worried so he decides to like. Catch her off guard and get it off her mind via kissing her, which works! Works very well because sure enough she can only focus on him holding her, cupping her face and letting her know he loves her and not to worry about whatever she was freaking out about. Yaaaay entering the actually dating now era yippeeee

Cue them now actually doing couple things outside of their working together... John gifting her sweet things like flowers, candy. Gets her a little pigeon plushie because it reminded him of her. (That plush will now be cuddled to death when she sleeps alone bc of him jfjsjfjsj) Dove's grandparents would probably trust John so much they'd give him a key to their house to let himself in to see Dove whenever tbh. Sometimes he lets her know when he's coming, othertimes not so. Showing up while she's not expecting him and jumpscaring her a lot hahaha. I'm sure he finds it funny (he does). That's fine you keep jumpscaring her like that John, well fuck you get your hat STOLEN loser! Yoink! Ope girl now you're getting grabbed and hoisted into his arms and- ooohh they're cute together actually hehehe

Their relationship is very equal despite the 10 year age gap ("MYS THATS BAD" - they are two consenting adults. It's fine. 35 isn't old. Leave me alone), Dove, unfortunately, would probably be too dedicated to him even as he kind of becomes more uh. Crazy? Ig I can use that to describe it. Not seeing anything wrong with him harassing Noah Risse for answers, only kind of at least being mad at John's attitude toward Porter's and Bryan's deaths and John being fired for it, but being just as eager to get the information they want. Would definitely help him kill someone if she had to. Hah. (Idk why I enjoy the idea of him teaching her how to shoot his gun. Yknow. Just in case. No reason! :] )

Um. I don't know what else to add. If you read this and have questions about her feel free to reply/shoot me an ask.

[infinitestarsdev]

Dev Update 2023-04-28 (New Build)

It's Friday!

I'm technically on leave from yesterday until Tuesday, but I've slipped away to put some time in to get the build ready for today!

It's mostly additional graphics and the odd bug fix. We added some more awesome portraits to the game (You have all the awesome Patrons that pledge on the Captain tier to thank for the portraits, as each Captain gets to add their own custom MC portrait to the game!)

These portraits are now showing up during dialogue scenes whenever your MC speaks. The expressions are static and don't change. I don't have any plans to change this right now, but perhaps we can revisit the idea down the line.

We also added the new animated personal quarters to the game, with additional colour variations for different NPC's (You can see some of them at the start of Episode 2, with the distinction between Veera and Mayvheen's rooms, depending on which choices you made during Episode 1)

(If your Mah'Abeu is a tidy person, they'll make their bed in the mornings.)

I've been putting some contingencies in place for next month, (I'll probably be taking a few weeks off when my daughter is born.) From May, Tae will be drawing a few more extra characters for us every month, and you can also look forward to the very first pin-up design!

We're also starting our weekly polls from next month where Patrons can have more say on what content we'll be adding to the game each month.

To make up for my taking a break, (I'll still be around probably, just less consistently, for shorter amounts of time, and weirder hours), I've been searching for additional writers. It's been a tiresome process, but with the final round of interviews finishing up next week, I'm starting to see some progress. The intention is to have the additional writers stick around so I can add more content on a consistent schedule. I'm pretty sure we'll be able to add an additional 10-20K+ words of content each month if not more, so stick around!

I love all of you to bits, and none of this would be possible without YOU. You can download the latest build here <3

[aversiteespabilas]

Ohh god, i can't just move on from that response im so back! I love info dumps, and boy do you deliver 😭🙏

Okay, the previous draft you had for the girls are fighting is so big brain, and honestly as a concept goes waaay too hard! But I see how it would look awkward in practice. You know, i really like that we can see Tetsu's face i think that was a good move, and it really does carry forward. I mean this is a moment that lowkey shaped the way Yusuke views Tetsuya and the Usagi at large (and arguably himself).

I kinda feel like your original idea still comes through though. I may be talking out of my ass, but hear me out: to Yusuke, Tetsuya exists as a living symbol of the Usagi. Having Tetsu literally stand above Yusuke places him in a weak submissive position, he's completely helpless and is being fully judged in what's probably one of his weakest moments. In Yusuke's mind, he IS being judged by the Usagi. We're literally watching Yusuke be turned away by THE symbol of the usagi. 

and by his brother…

It's almost biblical dude. And i think THATS why the outside framing hits. This is an incredibly intimate moment that feels…wrong to watch. The scene around us is practically Begging the audience to turn our gaze and spare Yusuke the embarrassment of being watched. but we still choose to push those bushes aside and take a peek…

i think you really nailed the vibe. and this is the OPENING CHAPTER??? this goes criminally hard, Rhin need to be LOCKED UP for this 😭

and…about the paws.

I feel youuuuuuu, the rabbits are so fluffy and soff i neeeeed to touchhhh. Im in the corner of a room rocking back and forth with my arms around my knees thinking about fluffy bunnies. 

I LOVELOVELOVE the rabbit shapesss, im gonna talk about it every time!!!! the paws, and their rabbit feet?? And their twitchy wittle wabbit noses 🥺🥺 their ears are probably sooo soft…just like…imagine how supple the skin under their ears are. I might explode.

two sexy furry-adjacent OCs getting dirty in the sheets? AWOOGA BARK BARK AWOOOOOO!!! and tetsu reaching for that cake?? honestly same, Toshi’s a baddie 😭🙏 but like…it's Genuinely a really pretty piece. i'm not educated enough on this stuff to really put what I'm thinking into words, but it really does look good, kudos!

IM LOVING H&H. I’m such a big fan of your stuff and i'm definitely on the H&H train 💗🙏 

anyways, as always thank you for sharing ur rabbits (and hares) i love the RRCU and i'm having so much fun watching you and Rhin play with the dolls!! There's so much to talk about, and i wish i had the brain power to do so 😭 but trust me, I'm seeing everything you guys put out and I'm having a ball!!

- 😎

WAAAAHH I love your take on that chapter and the illustration!! You're so right. At the time, Kyouhei (their dad) was still holding the Usagi-sama title, so in a sense they were both being held against the wall, but as future Family Head, Tetsuya had to make a decision to stand for the Usagi name. Regardless, Yusuke had always seen Tetsuya as a role model more than anybody else, and being rejected by their father didn't hurt nearly as much as being rejected by him. They're brothers, but they're twenty years apart and Yusuke spent much of his childhood at his house and under his care, so Tetsuya has practically been a father to Yusuke too, more so than Kyouhei was. You might have noticed we actually tend to refer to Tetsu as his brother-dad sometimes hgfgjh you'll be seeing more of that in the latest Sword Lifted chapters.

And also I agree with you! Chapter 1 goes criminally hard, it's so so poignant and still makes me absolutely insane, it actually hasn't changed significantly from how it was back in December 2023 when it was first written and most family lore was in progress/very vague. Fun fact, what is now Chapter 1 of a 45-chapter fic was actually a little one shot thing Rhin had meant as a gift for me, after a sudden collective episode of insanity and me drawing their Apoc Miyamoto (now Yusuke) with my own rabbits Yuki and Jojo.

Check out my genuine reaction:

There was plenty of screaming, plenty of "OHMYGOSH THEY'RE RELATEEEDDDD", plenty of gushing about each other's characters, plenty of lore-adjusting and giggles about there being two Jotaros, and before we knew it we had a whole plot staring at us in the face. At the time, Rhin had been meaning to write something about their version of Usagi in the Good timeline, where he was not Leo's partner but Kenichi and Mariko's. All of that converged into the RRCU as we know it today!

The reason we're each taking care of a different "timeline" is merely that Leo's established partner in each of our canon verses (Run O' The Mill Verse and Covetverse) was different, as well as other stuff going on with the Hamatos, so in Run O' The Mill Rabbit, Leo ends up as Yuki's partner, whereas in Covet (the Good one), Leo's partner is a human named Juan, and in Soft Apoc (Covet's Bad one) Resistance Leader Leo is dating an older, rugged Yusuke who goes by the name of Miyamoto. That means in the Covetverse, and by extension SL, Yuki's romantic partner is Cooper the dog instead. It's an adjustment that just needed to happen, BUT! Save for a couple of events, the canon lore of the Usagi family remains consistent and exactly the same. In fact, everything that's been written so far in H&H and everything we know about Yusuke's life before meeting Yuki at the bar, including the Girls Are Fighting scene, happens in exactly the same way. The timeline thing adds a big element of fun because Rhin and I can both build from the same lore but still surprise each other about how things happen and do it our own way, hehehe~

Man, now you got me infodumping about timelines and stuff- It's a bit confusing, I know! But there's really not that much of a difference when it comes to the rabbits, they're the same characters in just slightly different circumstances. H&H will only diverge from SL's canon in its very last chapter, and I'll add a little note about it when that happens. ANYWAY! That was all to say that SL's chapter 1 went criminally hard for a REASON! It was meant to be a standalone thing to narratively cement the connection between all our characters, and I hold it forever like the freaking treasure it is!

Moving on to paws/feet, I LOVE drawing them, and in fact I love it so much that I keep drawing my characters barefoot even when it would make a lot more sense for them to wear shoes dfjghjhh in fact Rhin often writes them wearing and taking off their shoes and in my art I always gracefully ignore the shoes, apologies for that! Other times I'll put sandals on them, or otherwise shoes that leave their toesies free, which is honestly hilarious but also HAVE YOU WATCHED ZOOTOPIA?? They know what I'm talking about. We deserve to see their cute giant feet and I'll stop now before I get pointed at-

Actually hold on, that "tetsu reaching for that cake" made me cackle jdfgjdjkg HE DOES LOVE SWEETS okay I stop now

Always and forever thank you for the interest you show and for these wonderful comments, it TRULY makes us bounce off the roofs every time! I often find myself posting stuff and wondering "what Sunny will think of this one", hehehe

Have a delightful day, friend!! <3

[ear-worthy]

Never Post Podcast Debuts: Why The Internet Can Be So Good, Bad & Evil

Think about the biggest disappointments so far in our lives. Not your life. Sure, you didn't get that job because you never went to the interview, but we're talking about our society. 

Maybe it's that flying cars and jetpacks are still relegated to Bond movies. Or the Marvel Cinematic Universe went down like the Hindenburg in 2023. Or Elon Musk went from genius to someone who makes less sense than your grandpa.

Just like Apple's old slogan -- "There's an app for that" -- we've updated it for podcasting -- "There's a podcast for that."

I have a new podcast for you that should make your ears burn.

  Never Post, a groundbreaking member-supported, employee-owned podcast, is making its mark in the podcasting space with a mission to redefine discussions surrounding the internet. In bi-weekly episodes, Never Post explores the weird, wonderful, and contradictory aspects of the online experience from philosophical, legal, linguistic, and artistic perspectives, among others. 

What does that all mean? Simply, why is the online experience so time-saving, helpful, supportive, and informative, and, at the same time, a Dante's Inferno of trolls, incels, conspiracy theorists, racists, Russian bots, Chinese Bots, and Elon Musk.

Well, Never Post will draw connections and pose questions, hoping to unravel the complexities of technology and human relationships. Through engaging conversations that foster collective curiosity, Never Post aligns itself with a community of listeners marveling at, being frustrated by, or simply navigating the intricate landscape of the internet.

Made by a collective of writers, independent producers, researchers, composers, and inquisitive creators, Never Post’s staff live online. They set out to understand why the internet – and the world, because of the internet – is the way it is.

The show is hosted by Mike Rugnetta (Fun City, Reasonably Sound), a five-time Webby award-winning co-creator of the YouTube series Idea Channel (PBS Digital Studios), original cast member of the renowned Know Your Meme web series, and internet video pioneer. Rugnetta is joined by senior producer Hans Buetow, an award-winning podcast veteran whose work at The New York Times and American Public Media has reached millions of listeners.

Prior to never posting himself, executive producer and Charts & Leisure founder Jason Oberholtzer grew a community of nearly a million followers on Tumblr, and has published two books related to the internet as a creative space.

Never Post explores why the internet – and the world, because of the internet – is the way it is. In addition to reporting on current events, the show facilitates conversations about what it's like Being Online in 2024, looking at the internet through the lenses of art, philosophy, fashion, linguistics, and more. Big ideas meet personal stories, with tech lawyers, security researchers, artists and others as guests.

Led by a team of dedicated, long-time creators, Never Post is committed to modeling a content-production process that is sustainable, and inclusive both on the mic, and behind it. The team of Never Post is also working towards providing resources for those who want to learn how to tell stories with audio, or run their own audio-first productions. Never Post is available on all podcast distribution platforms starting January 31, 2024, with exclusive premium content accessible at www.neverpo.st for members and subscribers.

Check out Never Post. It's employee-owned, so it's not some media play toy owned by a narcissistic billionaire. Plus, it'll explore the internet for us. Thank goodness, because I don't want to deal with Nigerian Princes, QAnon sycophants, flat earthers, people who don't read books but still want to ban them, people who fire off a Bible quote for every possible situation, evildoers tricking you into clicking that one link, deepfakes, photos of Aunt Rose's colonoscopy, and Walmart clearance items that even China won't take back.

[screentonescast]

Screen Tones, a Webcomic Podcast

Show Notes

Hooks

Release Date: January 11, 2023

Featuring

Ally Rom Colthoff (Varethane) - She/They, http://chirault.sevensmith.net/ http://wychwoodcomic.com/

Claire Niebergall (Clam) - She/Her, www.phantomarine.com

Kristen Lee (Krispy) - She/They, https://www.ghostjunksickness.com/

In This Episode:

Today we're going to be going fishing… for webcomic readers! For a successful fishing expedition, it’s important to have a good hook.

A story’s hook can be difficult to pin down– it’s that chemical X, that plot point, character dynamic, quirk, or memorable worldbuilding factor that grabs a reader and makes them keep reading. 

Marketing will often discuss a “hook” as it relates to crafting a logline or elevator pitch for advertising purposes, but we’re going to be focusing more on those moments in storytelling that make readers go from “I’ll give this a chance” to “oops, I can’t stop reading”.

1:45 What is the hook of your story? How did you work that out? Was it planned, or a realization after the fact?

Our hosts talk about the hooks for their comics. From the expected and planned to the unexpected turns their stories took that drew in their readers.

Hooks are always technically present, whether you intended to or not, and they can also vary from reader to reader. What made one person stay may not be the same as why another has stayed.

13:38 What makes a hook unsuccessful?

Having your hook rely on an event that happens too late in your comic. If you find yourself thinking "I just have to get through the boring parts and then this gets realllly good" it's likely you will have difficulty holding readers with this hook.

Hooks that are exciting to you but don't actually surprise or have meaning to an outside reader. You may think something is super interesting, but if you conveyed it incorrectly or left out some details to readers, a hook may not hit as well as you thought it would.

Working out a concise way to describe your comic that includes and clearly displays your hook can be way more effective than simply saying, "My work is like X and Y. If you like those, you'd like mine!" Focus on sharing the feel and specifics of your story. Know what makes your story exciting and convey that in your writing and art and how you tell people about it.

31:05 How do we make a hook stronger?

Move it forward. As far forward as you can to avoid the less than reliable hook of "It get's better I promise. You just have to wait!"

Share some juicy details in the beginning. You don't need to share ALL of them, but sprinkle enough to create a question in the readers head. That question will be a hook of its own to keep them reading.

Workshop your comic with others. Hear their feedback and see what they're getting out of the story.

Start your story on the right hook. Don't overuse new terminology and world specific words. This can sometimes cause readers to get overwhelm or lost before they even understand where the story is going to go.

Familiarity can help draw readers in and allows them to focus on the actual story and characters.

43:40 What are hooks you loved?

Bicycle Boy - Amazing art and poses a lot of questions within the first few pages.

The Meek - Surprising reveal a couple pages in

Running out of Time (novel) - "It's 1845 where we are, but out there it's 1946

Kill Six Billion Demons - Sets the intense, high paced tone very quickly

Mortal Engines (novel) - "the city of London was chasing a small mining town across the dried out bed of the North Sea". Things you know doing things they shouldn't normally do.

Thanks for Reading!

Have a comment? Question? Concern?

Contact us via Twitter @ScreenTonesCast or email screentonescast@gmail.com

Screen Tones Cast:

Ally Rom Colthoff (Varethane) - She/They, http://chirault.sevensmith.net/ http://wychwoodcomic.com/

Christina Major (Delphina) - She/Her, www.sombulus.com

Claire Niebergall (Clam) - She/Her, www.phantomarine.com

Kristen Lee (Krispy) - She/They, https://www.ghostjunksickness.com/

Megan Davison - She/Her, https://www.webtoons.com/en/search?keyword=megasketch

Miranda Reoch - She/Her, mirandacakes.art 

Phineas Klier - They/Them,  http://heirsoftheveil.fervorcraft.de

Rae Baade(Rae) - They/Them, https://www.empyreancomic.com 

Renie Jesanis - She/They, www.kateblast.com

[hedonicghost]

hi, have a personal post talking about our current relationship with art and our mental state.

so, for all of our art career, we've striven to have a consistent work schedule. doodle at least once a day, do a drawing once a week. it fluctuates of course, but we usually stay on track. the only time we falter is during bad depressive episodes or when we focus too hard on being "content creators". part of the goal with renaming our art accounts was to focus more on art we like to do for us to get our own enjoyment out of it.

however, october-january are really rough months for us, trauma-wise. a few anniversaries, holidays, the works. we also got a higher dose of our depression medication in november that may or may not be aiding in our "losing interest in things we enjoyed" symptom. because of all of that, we haven't drawn nearly as much or as frequently as we have previously intended to, which has been making us feel like we're letting ourselves down, not just our followers/friends/family.

along with that, art has been our only voice for years. we have dyslexia and poor memory that impacts our vocabulary, as well as a stutter/stammer when we speak, so our ability to vocalize our feelings/opinions has never been strong. that's the main reason why we turned to art in the first place.

so, with being in such a deep depressive state and a strong art block at the same time it feels as though it's feeding itself. the depression feeds the art block and the art block feeds the depression. we're hoping that after the [redacted]th of january, we'll be in more of an upswing, and we reassess our medication in march, which will hopefully only help us more. however, until then, we're left very frustrated and... silenced, i guess. we want to be able to depict all of this in a way that feels fulfilling and in a way that leaves us with less weight on our shoulders, but we don't have that ability any more. for now, all i have are a few pseudo paragraphs of sentences i'm sure are running on too long and phrases i can't vouch for the sanity of and words i couldnt be paid to verify the spelling of.

i hope this post serves as both an outlet for us to be able to express what we usually would in a bad mspaint drawing (lol) and an explaination to you as to why we mightve been short or silent online. i really hope 2023 looks up not only for us, but also for you reading this.

also, thanks for reading this if you do. it helps knowing that maybe someone out there can understand it.

- basil