Founder and chairman of the one and only pearl farm on the Inkwell Isles, "Shuckem Inc."
Sold his soul to The Devil for his businesses success, but got out of giving it up through a loophole in the contract. The Devil has been trying to claim his soul for years through illegal means.
It's been a while since I've really engaged with this community, hasn't it?
People barely know about me as it is... I might as well tell you all a bit about myself.
Where to start..?
Well, I'll start by where I was abandoned. It was around 1891.
My adoptive mother, Cynthia Wingly... had recently opened up her bakery on the third isle of Inkwell when she found me on her doorstep. Back then, it was called Cindy's Cakes and Bakes. According to her, I was probably almost one year old when she found me.
She was a middle-aged blackbird who always dressed in a very old-fashioned way, and I always called her "Gram" throughout my life.
Yeah, go ahead and laugh. She wasn't fond of the name, but eventually grew to it.
Anyways, I don't remember my birth mother or father. Gram said that the night she found me, she noticed that someone was running away from the bakery.. and that I had a note pinned to my baby dress. It simply said my name: "Josephine", a date - December 19th - and a plea to take care of me in the stead of whoever left me there. She then decided to adopt me, raise me, and love me as her own daughter.
Growing up wasn't easy for either of us. Gram was balancing her brand new business alongside raising me. I had the same kind of childhood as most of the kids in our neighborhood had growing up during that period... although Gram was still trying to learn more about me as much as I had to.
No other children in the city were like me. As a toddler, when I played with the neighborhood girls, when they ran, I tried to run, but ended up falling flat on my face. Neither Gram nor I understood how I was supposed to walk or move around at first. I only had what seemed to be a screw acting as a bottom half for where legs should be. Gram wondered if I was a robot at first, or some magical automaton. But eventually I learned to maneuver around in my own way, by being able to physically use the drill-like and became accustomed to it.
~
As I grew up, I learned to bake by watching and helping Gram make different cakes and breads for customers. Gram couldn't afford to send me to school, so I was home-schooled. At times, it got boring sometimes being in the shop all day and barely going out to do anything because of the work and schoolwork I had to do.
Everything changed the night that she took me to the newly-opened theater to see the premiere of a new opera. I was entranced by the theatrics, singing, stage effects ... that seemed to draw me in instantly. I told Gram that night that I wanted to be on stage, to be a famous performer that people'd love, and earnestly begged her to let me become one. She was reluctant at first, but on my 10th birthday, she surprised me with an acceptance letter for a local performing arts academy that was affiliated with the theater. I didn't know till later that she had saved up a lot to pay for the application. Nonetheless, it was the best birthday I've ever had.
We learned different things at the academy; the history of dance, what we'd be performing... mostly things like that.
It took me quite some time to learn it, and my teacher was especially strict... and couldn't understand
"how a gal with a drill leg managed to drag herself into the dance studio" (her words). With my ... well, body shape... I couldn't do most of the leg-oriented ballet poses we had to learn, and most of the other girls made fun of me.
Except for one.
Sally Stageplay.
Aside from my Gram, she was the only person that seemed to have any faith in me. She was a year younger than me, but she was my only friend during my time at the academy. She tried to help me get into the swing of things as best as she could to dance like the other girls... but I often messed up, and the girls usually made fun of me.
One day, when we were taking a break outside, Sally and I were playing around on the monkey bars, and when I was swinging around, she and I both attempted to dismount. While Sally flew up and landed down face-first in the sand, I managed to somehow keep my balance when I was doing a handstand on the monkey bars.
It certainly got everyone's attention. Sally and I were both surprised, and I was staying upside down for a good minute before swung off the monkey bars and dismounted perfectly on point.
My teacher... and I myself... started realizing my talents, and I managed to get a handle on my dancing. Over the years, I'd be practicing my own form of dancing, and I eventually started getting singing lessons on the side for fun. In the meantime, Sally and I stayed the best of friends.
When I turned 18, Sally and I graduated from the academy (people were impressed that Sally graduated at a younger age than most girls). We were practically inseparable; we started off as background dancers, spent birthday parties together, nothing could split us apart. We were often 'rivals' (mostly for show by the director), since she and I would be cast back-and-forth with starring and supporting roles.
When I wasn't performing at the theater, I was helping Gram with the bakery. She supported me as best as she could, and I wanted to repay her... I even wanted to put some of the pay I started to receive into supporting the business, since it wasn't getting many customers (despite Gram's insistence otherwise). Some people eventually recognized me when I was working, and started flocking because of my rising fame.
~~~~
Ever since I was a child, I was told by Gram never to go into the cavern that laid beyond the "ghost tracks". She told me that "demons spawned from there, and to never follow anyone down there". At some point, we started getting drunkards stumbling into the shop that we realized that they might've come from whatever was in the cavern.
My life was sublime, I felt like I was on top of the world.
That was... until he came onto the scene.
He was so handsome back then. Word was going around that he was working with a new business nearby and was representing them in financing the theater.
It was typical of the girls in the theater to gawk and stare at the handsome gentleman waltzing around the theater.
I'm somewhat ashamed to say I was one of them.
I found out later that his name was "Dicell". I noticed over time that he would start coming to my stage shows and performances. I met him after one of my larger revues, when he came by to my dressing room to compliment my performance himself, and he even gave me a beautiful bouquet of roses.
Over the course of a few months, we started to get to know each other... in secret, of course. Both for professional reasons, and because Gram was highly suspicious of strangers.
However, I gathered up the courage to tell Gram about him, and asked if we could invite him for over for dinner. She trusted me, and agreed to have him over. He came back with me after a performance one night, was a complete gentleman towards me and Gram. Everything went well.
Or so I thought.
After he left, Gram told me that she didn't want me seeing that man anymore. When I asked why, shocked, she told me that there was something about him that set her off, and she was concerned for my safety. I was in my mid-30s at this point, and though I've always trusted her judgement, I thought it was insane at that time.
Things still seemed to be going smoothly in my life, but I couldn't say the same for Sally. Even though we were stayed friends, her life wasn't going very well. Despite being in a loving relationship with her future husband, she confided to me that the lack of work at the theater was taking a toll on her economically. She was already behind on rent and was worried that she and her future husband would be left on the streets. Even though I tried talking the director into using her more and paying her more, he simply shrugged it off and didn't seemed bothered by it.
For a week, I couldn't find Dicell in the audience nor saw him after my shows. I did notice that he was chatting with Sally more often. I didn't think anything of it... until I noticed one day that they both came out from the cavern, with Sally seeming very happy and excited over something.
After Sally left, I confronted Dicell and asked about what was going on with them, and he said with a straight face that nothing was going on.
~~~
I haven't been the same after... after I was essentially given the boot.
After nearly 17 years.
It was as if overnight that Sally Stageplay started getting more billings for performances at the theater. I was obviously happy for her... but then my workload and pay started decreasing. I was shy of 35 when the director essentially told me:
"Look, Jo... you've been doing a heckuva job getting money flowin' for this theater... but we've really need... well, younger blood to keep this place afloat. And to be frank... the reviews with you haven't been too friendly lately... I'm sorry, Jo, but we gotta let you go. No hard feelins'."
It was as if my entire world was crumbling in on me.
Attempting to swallow my pride, I bid farewell to my friends, co-workers, everyone... and simply wished them all the best. They seemed sad to see me go.
But I couldn't find Sally anywhere. Or Dicell.
Gram was sympathetic, despite me feeling as if all the work I've put into this wondrous life I've made for myself, and the sacrifices Gram made for me to get there had all gone to waste within an instant.
After getting booted from the theater, I stayed full-time to help Gram with the bakery for the last 6 years of her life.
We started seeing less and less customers.
I stopped hearing from Dicell, so we lost touch.
Gram's health started getting worse. She went through a near-fatal heart attack and was no longer able to operate the bakery, thus I inherited the shop and began doing all the physical labor while she handled finances.
I never could figure out how Sally rose to fame that fast.
Until the day the Cup-brothers stopped by our bakery.
This was around the time that they were hunting the debtors of the Devil's Casino and reclaiming their soul contracts. They both came in, much to Gram's delight, for some reason. She asked them what they were up to, as I got to work on serving a cake I recently finished. Cuphead told us what had happened, how they got involved in the first place (the poor souls), and that they were going after the pirate Brineybeard down by the docks. Out of sheer curiosity, I asked who else was on their list.
Mugman yanked the list out of Cuphead's hands and handed it to show us as they scarfed down the cake I had served them.
It was a miracle how the scroll didn't tear in my hands.
Sally Stageplay was on that list.
I was severely enraged. Everything that had happened to me, that meeting Sally had with Dicell, how we lost touch, how Sally suddenly became a hit sensation overnight... all the pieces fell into place.
I held in my rage until after the Cup boys left. When they bid farewell, I muttered under my breath: "Give Sal' a swift kick to the bloomers while you're at it."
Gram heard me, however, and criticized me for my language. I honestly didn't care anymore.
When the sun came down, I told Gram I had to go take care of something after closing up shop, and would come back as soon as I could. I ended up breaking my promise to Gram when I was told where Dicell - who now went by the name of "King Dice" - worked.
He had become the Devil's right-hand man. And I confronted him when I saw him standing guard at the doors of the Casino.
If I had a penny for every swear I threw into his face, I could easily flood the streets of Inkwell Isle III.
I told him I knew of Sally's deal with his 'boss'. I told him I realized the cause of the loss of my dream job. The last thing I asked him was: "...Why did you do this to me?"
He simply just smirked at me, and responded: "It's just business, sweetheart. Honestly, you should have expected this." I was confused.
He lifted my chin, and said: "Sally's been aiming for your spot for years, we're the ones she came to and we just gave what she deserved. Nothin' personal."
I angrily slapped his sleazy hand from my face. I could barely find the words to say anymore. Nothing that would change anything.
I had returned home in an angry, heartbroken huff. I noticed that the lights upstairs were still on, which was weird since typically Gram was always insistent on saving what resources we had left. I went upstairs to find her asleep in her rocking chair. I gently shook her shoulder to tell her I'm back home, and sorry for taking longer than planned.
She slumped to her side.
In a panic, I called an ambulance and she was instantly taken to the closest hospital.
Gram passed away in her sleep, at the age of 89 years. And I wasn't even around to say goodbye to her.
~~
A small handful of people came to her funeral, to my surprise, including Elder Kettle, the elderly caretaker of the Cup brothers. It turned out that he was a close friend of Gram's, and said he'd be happy to help me in any way I could.
Things got calmer on the Inkwell Isles after the Cup boys defeated the Devil and freed all the debtors. I was considering confronting Sally about her deal with the Devil, but even stepping foot outside the theater brought back sour memories, and couldn't bring myself to face her.
My neighbors, bless their souls, helped to support me as best as they could. Over time, I renamed the shop to Swingin' Sweets, started focusing more on sweets and candies than cakes and bakery items, and hoped to make a fresh start.
*~*~*
It's been nearly a year since Gram passed, and since I officially took over.
Business has been slow, but I'm still try to make the most of it. Just making it to the end of each day is a blessing in of itself.
*~*~*
I’m somewhat surprised at how this took to write, but I hope that somewhat gives you a better idea about who I am.
So... ask away.
(Special thanks to my awesome friend @lifeismarvelous for the drawing of teenage Jo and Sally Stageplay, go check out her stuff!)
All other art in this post was drawn by the ShadowMun, aka @ShadowGirl7, aka me.
