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Maybe because i'm slow?????? But how is the brothers without their souls work??? I got confused when reading

- What if anon

Truthfully? Not entirely sure. The Devil owning mortals' souls is a big part of the original video game, TV show, and general pop culture/folklore in general and from the bad ending of Cuphead (in which I assume the Devil owns their souls), they are depicted as very much alive, just not fully themselves.

So, here's some rambling word vomit on how I personally view the whole selling your soul thing to work:

So! While the brothers do not have their souls, the souls are still intact in the Soul Vault from the TV show, and the brothers can live while soulless. In the TV show itself, mortals can still live after having their soul taken, but are significantly weakened. In TSTS universe, I follow more of the folklore path, where people can sell their souls and live and seem totally fine (or fine enough, usually in folklore, people get weird after selling their soul for obvious reasons), though it comes with a cost which is up to the Devil to determine.

For a regular person: say a certain author sells her soul so her book can be finished this year, the Devil would agree to those terms but the author would incur some cost. Likely this hypothetical author who really wants her book to be done would die young, or the book would be amazing but no one would read it, stuff like that. I take a lot of general inspiration from the folklore surrounding Robert Johnson.

For especially gifted/special people (or just those that the Devil wants to put to work): they are lured into selling their soul and then the Devil will find a way for their entire life to basically come crashing down and then take them as his servant to work for him (or he makes their life come crashing down so that they will sell their soul to him, whatever works really). Or the person is presented with the very "fair" choice of either living as a servant of the Devil or being killed (or just tortured until they give in, as the Devil was trying to do with Chalice).

Taken in tandem with the game's mechanic of parrying a soul back into a body so it can live.... I gotta be honest I have no clue. LOL. Like obviously death is a thing in the Cuphead universe. Chalice dies, the Phantom Express exists, and I'm guessing that Inkwell General Hospital isn't just doctors constantly parrying the souls back into ill patients (though that would make for a funny short). Not to mention all the parryable ghosts and severed heads in the other parts of the game. And it's only a mechanic in the two player mode which muddies the waters even further.

This doesn't even take into account that from how the game's dialogue is written, it seems that the brothers are not worried about dying, they're worried about being "pawns of the Devil," so even though the mechanic to save their life is parrying the soul, it seems that ever the game views them selling their souls as not a death sentence.

My tentative popsicle sticks and duct tape answer is that: A mortal does not need a soul to live, but if their material body dies, well their soul has to leave it. So that's how they can still be alive. As for parrying souls back into bodies? Yeaaaaahhhhh, for TSTS I'm just gonna say that's not a thing so I can avoid that whole can of worms.

As for the Devil owning the soul itself, once the Devil has taken control of a soul, he can exert control over their entire being and they will be forced to obey him. He can even change one's personality and thoughts if he would like, though the Devil finds that too easy and choses not to. He enjoys seeing people struggle and slowly lose hope.

There are some "upsides" to selling one's soul though: the Devil can grant the soulless one some access to his power. So the only way someone can use demonic magic is if they sell their soul. For instance, King Dice only is able to use magic because he sold his soul to the Devil, as he is not inherently magical. While others with natural magic like Cuphead can use demonic magic or the magic that they had before. And then, with every soul the Devil takes, he becomes more powerful. Though not every soul is equally powerful, some souls are much stronger than others. And as the Devil grows in power, so do all those who serve him. So it's almost like the worst pyramid scheme imaginable where those who are servants to the Devil (depending on their reasons) may try to encourage others to sell their souls just so that their own power can increase.

Hopefully this all makes sense. I know I definitely rambled a lot with this one, LOL.

#the strength and the sight #the author speaks

Any thoughts on swap AUs??? Like, swaps where the characters swap roles but their personalities are like in canon 🥹

- What if anon

They are definitely interesting! I am not usually one for creating those kinds of AUs, but I enjoy looking at other people's creations for them, and it's been extremely fun to talk about alternate pathways for my own story!

#the strength and the sight #the author speaks

INK I LOVE YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT DRAWING OF THE CARDS FOR BOOK TWO

Because in the animation I'm trying to make, there's a scene where Devil holds up some cards AND THE FACT THST YOU DREW THEM AS SUCH IS PERFECT!!

I was literally wondering how I'd draw them until now so thanks for that!! Also I can't animate and I get busy easily so by the time I finish book two might come out already /j

But if ever I don't finish it, I'm still gonna show you so don't worry hahaha

YAY!!!! IT WAS SUPER FUN TO DRAW!!!

Oh my gosh that's perfect timing, I am so glad I could help with the designs! I can also send the reference images I used from an actual deck of cards from the 1930s if you'd like!

And no worries about the animation, those things take time! I'll be happy to see it whenever!

#the strength and the sight #the author speaks

do you have any... "headcanons" for characters in tsts? i mean youre like the god of the tsts universe so whatever you say automatically becomes canon but im asking about like, info about them thats never explicitly said in the story and doesnt really add anything to the plot

Hmmmmmmm. I definitely have a lot. I'll try and list all the ones I can remember off the top of my head:

Cuphead is a naturally gifted kid who picks up almost anything with ease, but does not really care (for instance, he can play the piano REALLY well, but only does it if Mugman wants to hear a song). Mugman is very much not naturally talented (except in his empathy) and every skill he has, he's needed to WORK for. This contributes heavily to his feelings of inadequacy.

Cuphead was born first. So Mugman is technically the younger child by about 30 minutes or so.

Cuphead can make friends easily and Mugman follows him around, just enjoying being there and listening. Except all the boys' friends end up getting somewhat annoyed by Cuphead's antics, so mainly the brothers just spend time together.

Mugman is left handed.

Cuphead loves fishing. Mugman sits beside him and reads books.

Mugman's reading level is far above the average for his age.

In school, Cuphead finishes all his homework in about 30 minutes while Mugman takes hours. Cuphead gets the better grades, but forgets the information almost instantly.

Elder Kettle found the brothers as infants on his doorstep.

Elder Kettle needs a cane because an injury he got after running after the boys when they were toddlers.

Ginette is neurodivergent (I am sure that other characters also exhibit neurodivergent characteristics, as I am neurodivergent myself, but Ginette is the primary character who is purposefully written that way. I wanted to lean into the idea of someone who is not a stereotypically "nurturing" figure, but who shows her care in other ways).

As a child, Cab Dice worked in factories.

The Devil's interior decorating skills for modern times (the 1900s) is absolutely terrible. King Dice is the ONLY reason the casino looks as luxurious as it does.

Cab taught himself to sing and dance.

Chalice is effortlessly charming although she despises small talk and surface level conversations. If she's trapped in small talk, she will nod and smile but her brain is somewhere else.

Chalice (while she was alive) would sneak mead to try it but discovered that she HATES the taste of alcohol.

I am sure there are probably way more that I haven't thought of that I'll add to the comments as I remember them. It's funny to see how much I've tried to develop the brothers' characters especially.

#the strength and the sight #the author speaks

My favorite part of the book is when the Devil finally get slimed

And is because this would just be 000.1% of what he deserves

- What If anon

One day. xD

You'll have to be waiting awhile for that one. BUT, this story is NOT a tragedy. I can promise you that.

#the strength and the sight #the author speaks

What would become of the rude patron who had bullied Mugman? Would he get the Adaptational Karma treatment at some point?

Likely not, LOL. He's just a regular casino patron and the Devil's Casino is a pretty shady place. The Devil does not particularly care about patrons bullying Mugman, especially at that stage. He sees the boy as needing to "grow a backbone" anyway.

#the strength and the sight #the author speaks

which scenes from book 1 did you enjoy writing the most?

Oh geez, there's so many scenes I LOVED writing, especially for the rewrite. Hmmmmm.

For the Original, I especially loved writing: The Devil's interaction with Mugman at the fountain, Cuphead fighting Dice during the reopening, the entirety of the chapter where the boys are injected, the Devil manipulating Ginette in Sleepless Nights, Cuphead's first fight in the arena, the sequence where Dice sings Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, and King Dice and Mugman's sequence with the chess game.

For the Rewrite, I loved writing: Chalice's breakdown in Chapter One and when she first tries to train in Chapter Three, the Devil's improved dialogue when he is forcing Cuphead to sell his soul (I wanted to make the through-line of the psychology of his interrogation much clearer), Cuphead trying to play off his injuries in Chapter Four, Ginette's new interactions with Elder Kettle and the Devil, Elder Kettle and Chalice's new dialogue in Chapter Seven, the extended scene between Dice and Ginette in Chapter Eight, Cuphead being a menace to Ginette in Chapter Nine, the Grand Hotel's flashback (that is one of my FAVORITE sequences), the slapjack game and Elder Kettle's unraveling, every single Chalice and Miss Cyclops interaction, the reveal of Castellum Cylix as a haven for debtors, Elder Kettle hugging Chalice, King Dice's extended flashback in Chapter Thirteen, the ENTIRETY of Chapter Fourteen (I got to flex all my writer muscles in showing how the Devil manipulates everyone differently), Chalice breaking down but realizing people still love her, the dream sequence with Elder..., and ESPECIALLY the reunion between Chalice and the brothers (fun fact, Chapter One and Fifteen are bookends. Both chapters have the boys and Chalice together and both have the brothers telling Chalice to go for her own safety).

I know that's A LOT of sequences, but I could ramble on about any one of them.

#the strength and the sight #the author speaks

in the original version what wouldve happened if the fork lady managed to kill dice

Oooooo!

The Devil would have been LIVID. The fork woman would have IMMEDIATELY been killed and the entire casino would've devolved into chaos. And, because Mugman was there with him, the Devil would eventually have asked him what happened and Mugman would have been forced to tell the Devil that he'd known the fork woman was dangerous but was not able to warn Dice in time.

The Devil would be... terrifyingly upset by this revelation. He would immediately tie it back to Mugman being too weak, but now with the consequence that the Devil's lover is dead. Cuphead's training would be put on hold while the Devil takes some time to "toughen" up Mugman himself. Mugman becomes the Devil's punching bag as he tries to process his anger and grief. After probably a month of this, Mugman would never be the same. And likely the Devil would begin training Mugman to take Dice's place as the casino's manager and forcing him to perform despite his stage fright.

Then if we jump forward in this hypothetical scenario by 10ish years, Mugman would be the manager of the Devil's casino and Cuphead would be the Devil's right-hand man who goes out and takes care of business for his father. Basically both of his sons would take on the most difficult parts of ruling Inkwell Hell while their father searches endlessly for Chalice.

#the strength and the sight #the author speaks

August Update

Hello everyone! It's crazy to think that it has already been a few weeks since I posted Snake Eyes.

Ever since releasing Book One: Snake Eyes, I have been hard at work developing Book Two: Royal Flush. Currently, I have an 11k word detailed synopsis of the entire book and I've gone ahead and drafted its all new first chapter.

Please enjoy this sneak peek at Book Two: Royal Flush! My plan is to release the rest of Book Two in the summer of 2027, but expect an update from me in winter of 2026! Thank you for all the love and support, you all mean the world to me.

#the strength and the sight #the author speaks

What if anon back!! (Hope i'm not being annoying :,(

What would have happened if the brothers died during being injected with the strength and the sight?

No, no! You’re not annoying at all! I absolutely love answering these questions!

If they died… it would’ve been VERY bad. Chalice’s assumption in Chapter Eleven was 1000% right. The Devil would have absolutely gone insane and went on a rampage and the Isles would be in significant danger. Ginette wouldn’t have been killed, but she would certainly wish she was dead. The Devil would keep her alive for… reasons that will eventually become clear.

But then after the Devil has finished “blowing off steam” with mass destruction, he would try and use the brothers’ death to his advantage to try and mentally break Chalice. He would’ve put all his effort into trying to capture her, surrounding Castellum Cylix with imps, going there himself, etc. Him being so aggressive would certainly be a gamble (as if might deepen Chalice’s resolve to keep fighting him), but with the boys’ deaths the Devil would not care about the odds. Likely, Chalice would eventually succumb to the depression that her two best friends were killed and she would hold herself responsible because she ran, and then would give herself up to the Devil.

Then the Devil would revive her and put all his effort into making her into his perfect daughter. Then he would wait and see if [REDACTED].

:))))

#the strength and the sight #the author speaks

if chalice was kidnapped along with the boys what kind of power would the devil give her (assuming he'd also want to "improve" her)

This one actually stumped me for a few days, but I think I finally have an answer.

The Devil would not “improve” her per se in the same way as the brothers as she is much more powerful than them since she is a divine soul in mortal form. That makes her practically a wellspring for holy magic, which is a big no-no for the Devil cause it’s the magic that he is especially weak to.

What I think he would do instead of giving her a new power is that he would focus his efforts on corrupting her divine soul into a demonic one (I’m not entirely sure how this would work logistically, but it would certainly be horrifically painful and involve him mentally breaking her first). Her magic would undergo radical changes and she would come out as one of the most powerful demons in all of Hell, whose power rivals that of the Devil, himself. Then once she became demonic, his goal would be to make her as strong as possible, training her relentlessly.

In that scenario, I think his focus would be barely on the brothers, using them mostly as a way to motivate Chalice (and keep her loyal) and as partners for her to spar against. He would be very obsessive over making her “perfect” while the Cup Brothers live in her shadow. He would refer to all three of them as his children, but Chalice specifically is the one who fascinates him the most. He would still love the brothers, but they simply are not as “interesting” as Chalice would be.

#the strength and the sight #the author speaks

"What if" anon strikes back!!!

What would have happened if Elder Kettle was not captured along with they?

And how would be his relationship with Chalice

Also, not really a question, but i really loved your ideas if Mugman had the Strength and Cuphead the Sight, maybe because i'm bias with Swap AUs, i love they

Funnily enough, this was the original idea for the Strength and the Sight! In the edition I wrote in 2018-2019, Elder Kettle and Chalice worked together to try and rescue the brothers!

But for this version of TSTS, I would say that Elder Kettle would still work with Chalice and would be struggling with immense survivor's guilt. His plotline would be a lot more focused on him as Chalice's mentor as he tries to help her fight against her growing feelings of inadequacy. There would be another aspect to his arc if he was working in the rebellion with Chalice, but... I can't say anything about that just yet. ;)))

He would also be learning to fight using the sword from the cottage and would be the de facto leader when Chalice is out doing reconnaissance. The resistance would greatly benefit from his wisdom and patience, and he would act as an excellent balancer to Chalice's impulsive nature and need to do everything herself.

#the strength and the sight #the author speaks

something i thought was interesting was that in the original version in chapter 8 cuphead says he won't let the casino change him and throughout the story he tries not to be manipulated by the devil, but then in the new version he's more swayed by what the devil says to him especially in ch 14

what made you decide to change this?

Oooooh!!! There are quite a few reasons I decided to tweak this plot point.

Firstly, the sequence in which Cuphead originally declared that he would not let the casino change him was cut in the Revised Version because Ginette's dialogue was so severely changed.

"Mhm. Once upon a time, long long ago, I wasn't much older than you when I got swindled into selling my soul away. The Devil's been at this game for thousands upon thousands of years." Ginette gestured to the staff common room. "Everyone you see walking through here: They all have their own story of how they got tricked by the Devil." She bitterly chuckled. "We're all not too different from you boys." "Even King Dice?" Mugman asked. "Yep." Ginette said. Her face contorted a little at the mention of his name. "I was here when King arrived... He's a lot different now than how he used to be, that's all I'll say on that. This place has a reputation for changing people." She looked at the brothers. "Don't let it change you, okay?" They nodded. "I'd rather die than change," Cuphead said. "I never wanna give the Devil that satisfaction." "If only it were that easy." Ginette thought, but she said nothing. She didn't want to shatter their dreams. Maybe they could escape in a way she hadn't yet thought of, though she doubted it.

(If you listen closely, you can hear my screams as I die inside at this dialogue, LOL)

So, because this sequence does not directly take place in the Revised Edition, Cuphead has some similar beats that communicate his determination to resist the Devil's influence, but they manifest slightly differently. And I did want Cuphead to be more vulnerable to the Devil's manipulation, given that he's just a ten-year-old boy dealing with an ageless entity that has been manipulating mortals for millennia.

There are still a few instances in the Revised Version where he is depicted as actively resisting the Devil's manipulation:

Cuphead refuses the Devil's offer to replace Dice in Chapter Six.

He does not fight Bon Bon in the arena and actively attacks the Devil instead in Chapter Ten.

He expresses his fears about becoming a monster and succumbing to the Devil's influence to Ginette in Chapter Eleven.

He screams at the Devil once he realizes that Dice is not being punished and again in the kitchen when the Devil tries to call him "son" in Chapter Fourteen.

But I did want to emphasize in the Revised Edition that Cuphead does not resist the Devil perfectly. Although Cuphead does not act on it, he does begin to doubt how he treats Mugman after the Devil speaks to him at the beginning of Chapter Fourteen. He still does try to reassure Mugman with Elder Kettle, but there is a growing doubt- mainly because everything the Devil said to him is not entirely false. Mugman does rely on Cuphead and is quite anxious. But then the Devil uses these facts to accuse Cuphead of not giving Mugman chances to grow and that Mugman is inherently weak because of these traits.

But this doubt also exists in the original, although there is less attention drawn to it:

"Whenever Mugman's in a spot of trouble, who rescues him?" The Devil continued. "You do. See, Mugman is soft because you made him so. Someone weak who depended on you. It made you feel strong, better about yourself, sure, but look at what it did to your brother. It made him into the fearful boy he is today. Now I must come in and help him in the only way you've left for me. Trial by fire." No. Cuphead's mind was racing with anxiety. This couldn't all be his fault, right? Or could it be? "Of course, it wasn't just you who made him soft." The Devil said, mockingly patting Cuphead on the shoulder. "Elder Kettle did. Ginette, especially. Hell, with how she loved on him, it practically infantilized him. Growing boys like you two need tenacity. Not empathy." Cuphead's face had shame written all over it. Was he truly the reason for Mugman being the way he was? Elder Kettle had always told Cuphead that there wasn't anything wrong with Mugman. That he just had a big heart. Was that all a lie?

And:

Most nights, Mugman was plagued with nightmares, tossing and turning. Calling out for Cuphead, Ginette, and Elder Kettle. Whenever a nightmare struck, Cuphead would crawl onto Mugman's bed beside him, squeezing his hand reassuringly, and the nightmare would subside. After the Devil told him that he was responsible for Mugman being weak, Cuphead constantly was second-guessing himself. Should he even be guarding his brother? Was he just hurting him in the long run? But, in the end, he thought of the promise he'd made to Ginette. The casino would not change him. So, he persisted.

But, despite it all, in both the Original and Revised Edition, Cuphead still chooses to watch over Mugman while he sleeps (albeit with the line about him keeping his promise to Ginette cut, mainly because I think it's stronger with Cuphead actively choosing to continue to care for Mugman rather than him keeping a promise). He still is protective of Mugman while they are out on the Third Isle, and throughout Chapter Fifteen, every time he is with Mugman, he is trying to make sure he is safe.

This was a LONG ramble, but in short: I wanted to make Cuphead's struggle feel more realistic, given his age and situation. At some moments, he is more swayed by the Devil's words. And at other times, he doubles down on what he believes. This theme will carry forward, especially into Book Two. ;)))

I hope this all makes sense! If there's another instance you were meaning to reference that I missed, let me know!

#the strength and the sight #the author speaks

what was the inspiration for dice's backstory?

Most directly, it is this line from Roll the Dice: "There is no better way to go from beggar to king."

To me, it feels like a direct reference to Dice's life before the casino. Although the canon of the video game and the TV show are quite different, I do occasionally draw on the TV show for some details (especially the physics of ghost Chalice- she can physically interact with others, but can also phase through solid material as needed; also, she can turn invisible). This is one of those cases where I use the show for inspiration.

But, even before the TV show was released, I always had the idea that Dice had come to the casino as an impoverished teenager with nothing to lose. That came from my wonderings about who would sell their soul to the Devil and actually do well in a place like the Devil's Casino. For someone who came from extreme poverty (which was not uncommon in the 1910s, when Dice was a teen, such as the recession of 1913-1914 that led to high rates of unemployment), a place such as the Devil's Casino would feel like paradise in comparison. Especially for Dice, who I imagine as a street urchin who had worked in factories but left to be a street performer. The Devil's Casino to him represented economic safety and a place where he could perform freely.

As such, the casino means everything to Dice. Which is why he runs it so diligently and why he is so desperate to keep everything exactly the way he wants it. The casino and the Devil are all he has.

#the strength and the sight #the author speaks

"What if' anon! Not a what if now, is just that i love the thoughts you had on each, is very fun to see! 🥹

Oh yay!!! I'm glad you liked listening to my ramblings!!!

I really did love the questions. It gets me to think about my own story in a whole new way, so thank you so much for your asks!

#the author speaks

im not the what if anon but ive got another hypothetical for you

what if instead of chalice it was one of the boys who was destined to defeat the devil

OOOOOOOOOH.

Hmm. How do I answer this without massive spoilers for Book Two? I suppose I will keep my answer somewhat vague, but a LOT would be different.

Chalice as a ghost would likely not exist, she would have simply died and not come back... depending on a few factors. Instead it would be one of the brothers as a ghost that is trapped in Inkwell, unable to move on, as the prophecy was given thousands of years ago. And they would have a similar backstory/storyline as Chalice does. Of which I will not disclose just yet for... reasons. :))))

Except of course, Cuphead as a ghost would struggle with unresolved anger most likely instead of perfectionism. And Mugman as a ghost would likely struggle with imposter syndrome and paralysis on making difficult morally grey decisions. And either of them would have immense survivors guilt as in this scenario, as the other brother definitely would NOT have survived the Devil's attacks that destroyed the Calix Animi Order. At that point, the goal for whichever brother was the prophesied hero would be to defeat the Devil as quickly as possible so his spirit can be put to rest and he can be reunited with his brother.

OR, it could be that the Calix Animi Order was waiting for the prophesied hero to arrive, but he never did. So they fought off the Devil for as long as they could, waiting for their hero, only for him to be born thousands of years later. THAT would be such a tragic piece of lore. It would also be called the Poculum Animi Order instead of the Calix Animi Order (as the artbook translates Calix Animi as "Chalice of Courage," and poculum means cup, so, roughly, it would be "Cup of Courage"). In that case perhaps Chalice is trapped as a ghost to be a mentor to whichever boy was the prophesied hero.

In that case, the Devil would have acted VASTLY different both in TSTS and the original game. He would have lured the boys into his casino and would have never even gave them a chance to earn back their souls. He immediately would have forced them to sell their souls and then trying to figure out which one is the Poculum Animi. Unless it was obvious, then his goal would be the same: To break the Poculum Animi into willingly surrendering. Likely that would be through the brutal torture of the other brother.

If I remember this ask after Book Two is released, I will come back and expand on this more. :)))))))))

#the strength and the sight #the author speaks

"What if" anon again!!!

Might i add more

2 WHAT IFs? 😈

What if Number 1 - What would happened if The Devil injected Cuphead with THE SIGHT and Mugman with THE STRENGTH?

How have any different reactions? (I mean, it would, since Mugman would be forced to be STRONGER and Cuphead that tries to bury his emotional feelings like no big deal gonna have to deal with all the time

"That's not THE STRENGTH isn't?")

What if Number 2 - Something similar to the DLC

What would happened if Cuphead or Mugman escaped instead

And the kidnapped duo being

Mugman and Chalice/Cuphead and Chalice

Oh man, now you're really making me think! This is so interesting!!! Prepare for a LONG answer.

Question 1: What if the serums were swapped?

Based on the lore I gave the serums in Chapter Five, the personalities are an essential aspect:

The Devil had wanted the serums to complement the brothers' personalities and talents, drawing from the ancient formulations of the Calix Animi. Cuphead and Mugman already balanced one another out naturally. Once the injections were complete, their new capabilities would function in a similar fashion.

The very un-scientific way that I view it is that ancient Calix Animi magic is fueled by personalities, mental state, and emotions to a degree. Hence why poor Chalice's magic is very unstable currently. So if someone from the Calix Animi (CA) bloodline uses CA magic that does not align well with their personality, I would imagine that it is just less potent. But if someone uses magic that aligns well with their personality and they channel their emotions into it? Then the magic is incredibly powerful. Something similar would be true of serums based on ancient CA formulations.

So, I can see two possible options for what would happen:

#1. The serums latch on to whatever hint of the personality traits that they can find.

So, Mugman's suppressed wrath and anger (see Chapter 26 of the Original Edition, but actually don't look it up if you don't want spoilers; also my writing was much worse back then) would become enhanced and almost uncontrollable as the Strength is meant to be a blend of "power, aggression, and hardiness." But I would say that Mugman's healing abilities would be greater than Cuphead's, as Mugman is naturally very resilient. While Cuphead is gifted and tends to naturally succeed, Mugman struggles and has learned the valuable skill of pure grit.

As for Cuphead, I can see him becoming suddenly overcome by an acute social awareness (which I think would drive the boy absolutely crazy). He has a natural knack for telling when people are trying to hide something (See Chapter Nine with Ginette) and for reading between the lines in terms of strategy (See Chapter Fifteen with the Devil's request), so I can imagine that becoming enhanced. He would turn into an excellent strategist, but be constantly overwhelmed by the social pressures and awareness that he was once blissfully ignorant to.

#2. The serums actively changes the brothers' personalities, morphing them into weird amalgamations of who they once were.

This is the much more disturbing option. Instead of merely enhancing what little traits were already there, the serums would actively distort the brothers into becoming what the serums need. It would be a much more arduous healing process and would likely kill them. But if they lived, it would feel as if the brothers' personalities had been mixed and then unevenly split back apart.

Mugman would become much more temperamental, perhaps even becoming similar to the Devil in his ability to manipulate others through mental or violent means. He would still become scared, but instead of hiding behind others, his fear would now cause him to violently lash out.

Cuphead would become frightening quiet, constantly overwhelmed by his sudden awareness to the wants and needs of others. He would still act out impulsively, but he would immediately after realize the weight of his actions and beat himself up over it constantly. He would not necessarily begin to become dependent or need to hide behind Mugman for protection, but he would develop a constant need for external validation.

---

Question 2: What if only one of the brothers was kidnapped?

In short, the Devil would do everything possible to kidnap the escaped brother. While Chalice has someone at her side, she is much stronger and will not mentally break in the way that the Devil needs her to in order to try and stop the prophecy from fulfilling. Chalice would not know the extent of the Devil's reasoning, but she would quickly realize that the Devil wants the other brother and will do anything to get him.

Cuphead I feel would be the easier brother to catch. Chalice would probably try and hide him away and tell him to lay low, but Cuphead would not listen. Not to mention, the Devil would absolutely use Mugman to lure him in, as Cuphead is immensely protective of him. I could see the Devil controlling Mugman (perhaps using a charm to hide the boy's yellow and red eyes that show he is being controlled) and pretending to have escaped the Devil. He would run up to Cuphead, hug him tightly, and then sedate him.

Mugman would be harder, as he would defer to listening to Chalice. She would probably have him holed up in Castellum Cylix and not tell him anything of what is going on outside. Surely, the Devil would be trying to lure Mugman in by threatening to hurt Cuphead, but if Chalice controls the flow of information (especially given her questionable mental state as a child-soldier), she would simply not tell Mugman about these threats. The Devil would quickly discover this and try to find other ways to reach Mugman, telling the boy that he is being lied to. Or he would bring a grievously injured Cuphead to Castellum Cylix's barrier while Chalice is distracted somewhere else (probably killing imps to rescue someone) and Mugman would fold immediately.

And then, the moment the Devil has either brother, he would interrogate them on everything that Chalice has been doing.

Wait a minute, I just scrolled up and realized I misunderstood the question. Dang it. Well I've already written that whole thing out but I will answer the actual question now, lol.

I think the Devil would be pretty upset if that happened. Since Chalice is bound by fate to defeat him, as long as she continues to struggle and fight against him, her efforts will be assisted by fate, itself. The primary reason why he does not immediately set out to capture her after Chapter One is because he knows that if he takes her against her will, she will be determined to escape, thus still actively participating in the prophecy. Instead, he NEEDS to break her and have her actively surrender herself to him. That way she is, in effect, relinquishing the prophecy (See Chapter Fifteen's excerpt). So he would keep her separate from whichever brother was captured with her and all of his efforts would go towards mentally breaking her.

Likely, it would be easier for him to break her if Mugman was captured with her for... reasons that will become clear in the last chapter of Book Two. But either way, he would be sure to use either boy to punish and inflict horrific suffering on until she gave in.

As for the boy who was not captured? Man, that would be brutal. Imps would absolutely swarm the Isles trying to find whatever boy escaped, and they cannot go invisible like Chalice did. I can see Cuphead/Mugman being taken in by the runaway debtors and an underground resistance forming, but it would be much weaker. Chalice is a child soldier with years of military experience. Cuphead and Mugman are gifted children, but who have only fought in brawls. Likely, that version of the resistance would not survive.

If Cuphead had escaped, the Devil would simply use Mugman to lure him in. If Mugman had escaped, the Devil would threaten to kill Cuphead or perhaps some of the runaway debtors to bring him back. Not to mention, Cuphead's arrogance would make him a TERRIBLE resistance leader. And Mugman's anxiety would have him constantly second-guessing himself. Not to mention, they are just ten years old. Chalice is only thirteen, but she's been pushed to be older for so long, she does not seem like it most of the time.

In that version of the story, I could see the main conflict being that all three of the children are eventually captured and the story is them trying desperately to hold onto hope as the Devil tries to convince them that nothing can save them now. That sounds like an AWESOME story, but it would likely be MUCH darker than the current version.

ANYWAY! Those are my VERY long-winded answers! Thank you for asking and letting me ramble on, I very much enjoy it.

#the strength and the sight #the author speaks

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