A/N: Welcome to the first official chapter of "Heart, Soul, and Mind"! Today, we will be focusing in on our three heroes, Katie, Natty, and Lexie (me), explaining a bit of our background before we get onto the actual story, which will be followed by Chapter 2: "Pulled into a Book". Enjoy!
(Katie's P.O.V)
October 2nd, 2022
My name is Katie Estelaria Gemwing. And this is…well, it's not just my story since it's about two others, so it is their story as it is mine. And I will mention my two friends shortly.
I sighed, finally wiping away my tears once I got into town. I just got into another argument with my step dad, Tony and it was a lot more intense than our previous fights. That's a long story I'd rather not bring into full detail, but all I can say is that I needed to get away and have time to myself until the heat dies down.
"There are times I just hate it here," I thought to myself. "Sometimes I just wish I was in a world where I could be free to express myself and go on many adventures. A place where people aren't afraid to do whatever they want, be themselves and where nobody can get hurt. A place where there's always a happily ever after like in the Disney movies."
Although there had been a lot of ups and downs in this complicated world we call reality, there were still some good things about it. For instance, I convinced my parents to book me plane tickets to New York for the upcoming Comic Con, where I'm going to meet up with some very special friends I had made recently.
Back in August 9th, 2022, I started out as a shy, nameless guest reviewer on a Cuphead fanfiction, I had met another Cuphead fan named LexieLuthor98. At first, we exchanged our opinions and theories about the Devil. I then started out going under KG (so it's easier for those to tell me and other guest reviewers calling themselves "Guest" apart) when Lexie and I did a little roleplay in the review boxes… and then, she eventually convinced me to sign up my own account under the username, Gemwing2012 and we became online friends ever since.
Lexie and I had been intact every chance we've got since she lives in the States while I was born and lived in the UK. But that didn't stop us from expressing and sharing our love for the Cuphead franchise since I got into it when the cartoon adaptation streamed on Netflix on February 18th, 2022. We even planned to write a story based on it someday, but we have yet to decide what it should be about.
In the meantime, we'd always chat and do some role plays every chance we get since we literally live in different parts of the globe. Despite being ten years younger than me, Lexie was practically my guardian angel, always defending me against the Devil whenever he flirts with me or attempts to kidnap me.
Although I haven't played any of the games from the Super Mario franchise, you could say that the Devil from Cuphead is basically the Bowser Koopa to my Princess Peach. I've seen most of the episodes of the 1989 cartoon as a kid, but I hardly remember much about it.
If I ever have a chance, I'll have to see if I can pick out a Mario game either Lexie best recommends and play it someday. I might even watch the upcoming Super Mario Movie that's coming out in April next year. After watching the trailer and preview clip, I gotta admit that Jack Black (the same guy who voiced Po from Kung Fu Panda) did an excellent job on voicing Bowser.
Lexie is a brilliant writer. So far, I enjoyed her The Cuphead Show fanfic, "The Infamous Deal" and I have high hopes to see more of it and how the plot pans out if writer's block doesn't interfere.
Writer's block is the worst. I should know. It happened to me every time I tried to think of doing my own book series someday because I planned to become an author someday.
There had been a time I had considered opening my own fanfiction account for a long time since I happened upon the website but I didn't have the courage since I was rather shy and uncertain of what others would think of my stories. That and I was uncertain if it might cost money. But with Lexie's reassurance and support, I overcame my previous anxieties and put up an account.
I owe Lexie a lot. I would never be where I am today if not for her. She was truly a good friend.
Afterwards, Lexie introduced me to another Cuphead fan and another good friend, Natty, who goes under the username, Nataliepthatsme. Natty had written and posted this incredible Cuphead fanfic she calls "Within the Fine Lines". Sure enough, the three of us became very close, exchanging ideas and doing some role plays in between. Natty is also a great writer and is incredibly good at doing some of the Devil's dialogues.
The following month as I was on my iPad for my daily PM with the girls, Lexie told me some exciting news that she, Natty, and Liam, Lexie's boyfriend of two years, have booked a visit to New York to visit the latest Comic Con convention and have arranged a meeting. Liam's younger brother Matt, aged 9, would be there as well.
I was overjoyed. My first Comic Con convention was over at Bournemouth somewhere in between the earlier and late 2010. It was the most magical and wonderful experience of my life. It was there that I had met Veronica Taylor who had originally voiced Ash Ketchum from my favorite anime, Pokemon.
I was over the moon when she said my name while her character's voice when I told her I was one of her biggest fans. I even still have her signed autograph of Ash and Pikachu framed and mounted on my wall near the bed ever since then.
Anyway, back onto my subject about my friends visiting the Comic Con over at the Big Apple.
Lexie had suggested I should go too. It had taken a lot of pleading and convincing, but my parents finally gave me permission and their blessing to go. I am 34-years-old after all. So, autism or not, I'm still capable of independence.
And the sooner I get there, the happier I'll be freed from Tony's nagging and shouting over the smallest of things for a couple of days. Honestly, I just don't understand what Mum ever sees in him.
My daddy issues aside, it'd be nice to finally meet my friends in person for a change and enjoy the incredible experience of shopping among merchandise of beloved franchises and meeting some well-known voice actors from some shows, anime and video games at my very first Comic Con in America.
I was so lost in my thoughts, I nearly hadn't noticed an interesting looking bookshop. As a bit of a bookworm myself, I couldn't pass up the chance to take a look inside and see what kind of books they have.
I looked upon shelf after shelf for a book of my fancy I could bring with me to read for my long flight to America until… a great discovery caught my interest completely.
"I-it can't be…" I whispered in disbelief.
There, sitting on a lonely and empty shelf was certainly a very special book. The cover was a rich, dark blue-black leather and has the illustration of two little cartoon characters wearing black long-sleeved shirts, red and blue shorts, brown shoes, white gloves and cups for heads with striped straws in them. Embedded into the book were three gemstones. One was a radiant crystal blue, one was a heavenly sunshine yellow and the last one was a gentle rose pink. The title above the gems and beaming cup-headed characters was well painted in pure silver and written down in a very familiar title.
Cuphead: Don't Deal with the Devil.
"Unbelievable!" I gasped inwardly with excitement.
Not daring to pass up the opportunity, I grabbed the book and carried it over the counter while reaching into my black Loungefly Pokemon backpack with the little Pikachu emojis on it for my Spyro the Dragon purse I had luckily brought along with me. What makes it even more convenient is that I just so happen to have a 10 pound note in my wallet since the book was just about that price. But I didn't care if I was unable to get any change. It was worth every penny.
It was really a good thing I had left the house to collect my thoughts when I did. At this point, my fight with Tony was just a bad memory best left forgotten as I felt that my luck actually turned for the better. I would have never gotten another chance if I had left it alone a day later.
Once I got home a few minutes later, I placed the book inside my backpack for safe keeping as I made a list of things I should bring for my trip to New York. Since I'm planning to show Lexie and Natty the Cuphead novel as a surprise, I thought we could maybe read it together.
"I can always reread one of my older books on the plane and back." I noted, picking out a different book.
I had settled with a Disney book titled "Beauty and the Beast: Lost In A Book" by the author, Jennifer Donnelly. It was such a good read. Practically read it twice. Heh, a mild reference from the original 1991 version.
I even planned to bring my Nintendo Switch Lite for the trip, packing a few games to play such as Pokemon Shield + Expansion Pass, Disney Magical World 2: Enchanted Edition and Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition (the music from that game has such an epic and beautiful soundtrack).
Yeah, I'm a real gamer girl.
I also took out a notebook and made a list of certain essentials I will need to bring with me such as a toothbrush, spare clothes, money, passport and even a couple of snacks.
"Can't go wrong with chocolate every now and then." I mused mentally with a smirk as I packed up a couple of boxes of Mikado (a brand of milk chocolate dipped pocky in the UK).
Satisfied, I sat down with my iPad and began to PM Lexie and Natty for our daily Cuphead role plays and discussing our plans and arrangements for our eventual meeting at Comic Con.
After wishing them both goodnight from my side of the globe, I plugged in my iPad to recharge the batteries overnight and went over to my dresser desk to put away the drawing of my OC, Kaichi the Sprigon, after leaving it dry when I colored it in hours ago.
To make things clear, Kaichi is a small fairy sized dragon-like creature with fur instead of scales. His fur is white as seafoam with a long, bushy fox-like tail with a blue tip and small blue spines on the back of his head and base of his back. He has long, pointy rabbit-like ears with blue tips and light pink inner ears. All four of his paws are light blue with each a round light pink paw pad and a blue crest that resembles a tuft of hair. He also has silver antlers, aqua green eyes and flowery, light sea green eyes with dark blue tips and black stalks. Lastly, he wears a midnight blue bandana with a silver rim around his neck.
I am very proud of how he had turned out as I had hoped and I'll be able to use him in some of my stories someday, while going deeper into the Sprigon lore.
I smiled to myself about the Cuphead book, still not believing my luck. I also thought about Lexie and Natty's reaction when showing it to them. I was super excited to arrive in New York in four days. But I also couldn't wait to show my friends the book.
It was going to be the best Comic Con experience of my life.
(Natty's P.O.V)
October 5th, 2022
I scrolled through my phone hoping to find that one song I wanted to play before landing. The one thing about me is that whenever I go somewhere in the US, I try to find a song that fits the place I'm going to.
The thing was I kinda have to make it quick because we were landing soon. Once I reached that song, I pushed play and sighed. I was very excited for this trip.
It's best if I bring you up to speed. My name is Natalie Sue Poke, but most of my friends call me Natty, ranging at 23, yet a lot of people mistaken me for being 16. Back in February 22nd of 2017, I joined on a website called to read stories based on my favorite characters like Mario, and Sonic.
To be honest, I wasn't sure if I wanted to post any stories I created. I mean, sure, I love writing stories and creating new adventures, but I was a little uncertain about sharing them to the public. I wasn't scared of criticism or being put down, but I'm a private person and didn't express my work out in the open.
I did read many stories based on the game Cuphead and was instantly hooked. My first story I read was from a user named Blackwolfen with her story called "Alicia in the Inkwell Isle's." I was inspired to write my own story, based on similar events, new characters and plot twists. I called it "Within the Fine Lines."
I'm also working on another project based on another fanfic, but that's on the backburner for now.
I've gotten a lot of nice reviews and lovely comments from people. Two people really stuck out to me.
The first one was someone by the username of LexieLuthor98. I appreciated the feedback and took her advice wisely. I took a look at her profile and the stories she's written and they're pretty good. She's in the process of writing her own story of Super Princess Peach, which is super cool, by the way.
The other username that stood out to me was Gemwing2012. There was something about her review that was so gentle and calming, making me feel proud of the work that I'm doing. She always finished her review with "May your dreams shine :)" I thought that was a nice touch.
After a few months after my first story, as well as the beginning of my sequel, Lexie and I began chatting, recalling past stories, and even hearing about how she and Katie wanted to create their own Cuphead story someday. Because I was a huge Cuphead fan, as well as watching The Cuphead show and laughing my head off countless times, they asked me to help.
I was shocked! Two people who love Cuphead as much as I do, asking me for help? Of course, I said yes. As we came up with scenarios and figured out a plot, they would compliment me on how well I do the dialogue between the Devil and his right hand lackey, King Dice. I mean, I was rather surprised myself, considering I normally don't play the role of the villain. There were some scenes that made me scared.
It wasn't too difficult to play different characters, considering that is what my older brother and I do a lot, but it was nice to roleplay with two other girls who shared the same interest as me. You don't see that a lot these days.
It felt so strange but wonderful to know that in a matter of months, we'd be talking, exchanging stories, and roleplaying as if we'd known each other for years! The thing was Lexie lives in the States like I do, while Katie lives in the UK. The main thing we had to be aware of was the time change. While it was morning in the States, it was nighttime in the UK and vise versa.
The good news was we were able to find time to chat with one another and then resume our stories when it was time to call it a day. Who knew that three women from different places would meet under the same inspiration of stories?
As we chatted and got to know about each other's stories, Lexie came up with the idea of going to New York to the next Comic Con convention. Now, I'm not a huge fan of Comic Con, especially when I don't know a ton of anime and other games, but if it means I have the chance to meet two people who share a common interest, sign me up! It took some convincing from my parents, especially since I would be flying to New York all by myself. I know they were worried, but I'm 23 for goodness sake. Not to mention Liam, who I know from my friend Audrey Keller, would be there since he is Lex's boyfriend of about three years now. Ah time flies when you're having fun.
Besides, it was going to be for a week in the summer, and the place I work at just had a big event, so things are starting to slow down. My parents did help me figure out travel, the flight (which I had to pay for myself) and recommendations of great places to eat in New York. We did go to the city with some friends a few years back, but they wanted to help me figure out places to eat in case we all get hungry.
With all that settled, I packed my bags and headed out. I made sure to pack the essentials, along with my Nintendo Switch, in case we wanna try our luck in Mario Party or Mario Kart (which I will dominate as usual), my Bible and devotional book, a few reading books, and my laptop.
It was going to be weird not seeing my family for a week, let alone in a different state, but I know I'll have fun and get to know the girls more as we spend time together. Another thing I hope to accomplish is to be inspired to write more stories. Not just Cuphead, but to expand my horizons, challenge myself and to experience a new perspective on life.
I opened my window flap and gazed out into the big city.
Well, as Taylor Swift would say…Welcome to New York.
(Lexie's P.O.V)
October 7, 2022
Just a day earlier, my boyfriend Liam, his brother Matt, and I landed in the Big Apple, having flown in all the way from Texas. I got settled into a hotel before walking on the way to the New York Comic Con.
Lemme start from the beginning. My name's Alexis Kate Luthor, but my buddies call me Lexie for short. I'm 24 years old, but I was around 16 or 17 when I joined. I used to be a user by the name of KitKatt1998, but decided to change it to my nickname, LexieLuthor98.
I started out simply writing fanfiction for the Super Mario franchise, particularly Super Princess Peach, but that has pretty much been put on the back burner due to school and work stuff going on.
But then, October of 2017, my interest was radically changed. It was the same month of Super Mario Odyssey. I had sooo been looking forward to this game, particularly because Nintendo teased it as the "one where Mario and Peach get married". Imagine my disappointment when it turned out Peach rejected both Bowser and Mario on the moon…it was unbearable.
It was around the same time that I discovered…Cuphead. I originally watched gameplay on YouTube, and was instantly in love. The animation, the sounds, and most of all, the characters! The protagonists, Cuphead and Mugman themselves, reminded me of Mario and Luigi, but younger! Curious, I checked out the story, and was horrified to find they'd gotten into a deal with the literal Devil of all people, and it was up to me, the player, to help them (and you get to beat the crap out of him in the end).
I was SOLD!
I bought the game…three times actually since I had to switch devices quite a bit, read some Cuphead fanfiction, and just like that…I was hooked!
As I read some fanfiction, I scrolled through the comment section of one that I was reading and saw roleplay from a user named KG, later renamed to Gemwing2012. We messaged each other via the review boxes and I came to know that she was a nice young woman named Katie Gemwing, all the way from the UK. She also revealed that she had autism, which was a condition I was diagnosed with myself (but later overcame thanks to awesome family and therapists). I could tell she wanted to publish fanfiction, but she didn't know how.
Empathizing with her situation, I decided to step up to the plate and help her. I helped her create an account and we started to chat daily on the messenger app. We exchanged ideas, theories, and of course, roleplay on the app. I even came up with jokes where I smack the Devil with a Bible to get him off Katie's back. Ah, good times…
I then met another user online, named Natty, also named Nataliepthatsme from Chicago. She was a major fan of my Super Princess Peach fanfiction and my other Cuphead fanfic The Infamous Deal based on The Cuphead Show. I also read her Cuphead fanfic Within the Fine Lines, which is amazing. I gave her advice from my own writing experience and I was pleasantly shocked to see her include me in the ending. Actually, more like floored. We're actually working together on a sequel to the fic with me as one of the supporting characters.
I decided to introduce both Katie and Natty to each other since I felt we would all work together in harmony. The three of us had such a strong connection and we hadn't even met in person yet. It's an amazing thing to chat and express myself freely with like-minded people.
At some point, time went by and eventually I attended the wedding of my current boss and friend Audrey Keller where I met 26 year old Liam Jones, who would later become my boyfriend for two years. He's a very sweet and spiritual man, who loves video games and movies as much as I do. He has a younger brother Matt, who's 9 years old. Liam moved from Australia many years ago and at some point his parents passed away, causing him to have to raise Matt on his own, yet he always keeps up his spirits. We were friends for about a year before we decided to make it official, him and Matt moving from New York to Texas to be closer to me.
I love him very much.
Eventually, I came across discounted tickets to NYC, and decided to use that as an opportunity to visit the Comic Con with my two favorite people. It took a lot of convincing from my parents to let me come visit the Big Apple, especially to meet up with people I chatted with online. But, they knew I'm a smart woman, and I'd have Liam and Matt with me, so they felt okay with me going.
Fast forward to the present day, Liam, Matt, and I walked in front of the Jacob K. Javits Center, my Mario backpack in hand. It was there I spotted…
"Is that…" Liam asked, trailing off.
I interrupted Liam, waving at the girls in excitement.
"Katie! Natty!"
I embraced them in a hug and after a long conversation, we walked into the building together…oh if only we knew what would happen next…after the Comic Con.