The madness from Baking by Death continues! And this time, the whole family is headed to the Underworld.
Alice Martin is the newly ascended God of Death, haunted by past mistakes and trying to get her life together. Of course, with an Underworld in shambles, the Reaper’s union threatening a strike, and her enemies plotting to thwart her at every turn, it ain’t easy. Add to that a pregnancy, a relationship with the living embodiment of Fear Itself, and a precocious nine-year-old kid with the power to upend the hierarchy of the gods, and Alice has her work cut out for her.
Vladislaus Straud tragically lost his first family when he became Phobos (Fear Itself), but now he’s enjoying life as a stay-at-home dad to nine-year-old Gwendolyn. Between tea parties, sword-fighting lessons, and a certain surly skeleton maid, Vlad has plenty to keep his mind busy…and off the ravening hunger for destruction growing inside him. Fear may be a father, but his primordial nature calls.
When a vicious attack exposes a liability in Vlad’s power, the Martin-Strauds are forced to grapple with inner demons, overpowered gods, and an enemy they’ve never seen before. And they’ll do it all while managing a home renovation project that could determine the fate of the worlds.
Can you ignore your in-law’s parenting suggestions? Is Vlad’s aesthetic cottage-core or just hoarding?
Central to this wildly careening adventure:
- William Redding and Morgyn Ember attempting to navigate their new relationship with all the finesse you’d expect from two beings who haven’t dated in centuries.
- Penny Pizzazz trapped in a binding spell with the physical manifestation of Transmutation magic and his hair-raising plans for tearing apart the fabric of reality.
- Akira and his sister Titania holed up in Sulani with her dead husband’s mistress (who just so happens to be Caleb Vatore’s long-lost sister).
- Caleb Vatore testing out life as a beach bum and testing the patience of his zombie BFF and mermaid lover.
- Mikel and Miss Hell clinging to life in a damaged rocketship hurtling through space.
- And Miko Ojo using her powers of emotional manipulation to finally live her dreams.
Everyone’s evolving, but into what? And will it save the worlds or destroy them?
Notes:
That’s right, friends, I’m back on my bullshit! I’ve updated the site, built new sets, and gave everyone fancy new looks with beautiful cc. And I did it all while spending way too much time playing Cottage Living! As a reward for your patience over these past few months, please enjoy this completely absurd opening title sequence. Keep your eyes peeled for easter eggs…
Credits
days
hours minutes seconds
until
Underworld Family Values begins!
Oooh I loved that teaser! Welcome back 😁 and this time I get to be there from the beginning, woo! ” Forgetting” Deacon and only adding him at the very end made me laugh. Poor zombie guy – we love you, don’t worry. The makeovers look amazing!
20 days. That’s the… first weekend of September? Yay! I am so interested in that picture of all the embodiments and I don’t even know why. This is going to be one heck of a ride.
Haha thank you! Yes, my goal is first weekend in September. I just want to have a few chapters in the queue when I start (since I will inevitably fall behind lol).
Poor Deacon! He kept walking into other scenes when I was filming them and I was like: dude, it’s not your time yet! He’ll have his time to shine in Book Two lol.
I had so much fun creating the Embodiments!!! God, my cc folder is ridiculous now, though.
Anyways, buckle up!!
tag yourself; I want to be Sulis but am actually Miko
Hellllllll yeah—welcome back!! I watched the video three times hunting for Easter eggs, despite apparently kind of sucking at it right now. Uh. Anything to do with the stack of magic-y books next to Morgyn’s trash can? More prophetic tomes? Ooh, ooh, next do BC Morgyn stepping into the trash. Or why are the Old Gods hanging out in the Casbah Gallery storage room, or is that just what it looks like off the set? Seems like Penny may have an, I don’t know, brother or something who also might be a witch? I did pause on the Embodiments pic for a while but my faceblind ass can’t recognize jack.
Anyway, plot points. Lilith and Caleb reunite?! Gotta say, of these character dynamics, it feels like Miss Hell/Mikel is going to be interesting, if not difficult to write. They’re both gonna grey-rock each other until one of them breaks down. And why is Grim holding a shovel; WHY IS GRIM HOLDING A SHOVEL. You already have a zombie, bro, chill.
Now technical details. JEEBERS BUT HELL you put so much effort into your CC collection, sets, etc. Not going to lie, I’m a little jealous. The highlight of the video for me was the super slick TV transition, but the photos at the end were also cute. And the song choice. Goodness! It’s perfect! I had to look up the group to see if everything they did was Halloween themed (and am still giggling at the units of “I’m two guys, multiplied by ninety-three guys”).
Love Deacon’s mouth moving at the end because it looks like he’s testing out different pronunciations of a polysyllabic word, which is something he would do. Intensely. “In-CORR-i-gi-ble? In-corr-AYE-gi-ble? IN-corr-A-gi-ble? In-corr-a-gi-blé?”
HAHAHA, WE ALL WANT TO BE SULIS, EVEN ME (I think I might be a Vlad, lol). I think that you are going to really enjoy her in this story.
Ah yes, prophetic tomes. Congrats! You have spotted easter egg number one. Somewhere in this story, Morgyn will find themselves chasing after a set of books, but will they be worth it?
And if the TV transition was your fave part, you’ve spotted easter egg number two! The guy in the graveyard is Transmutation with actual clothes on (so shocking, right?), and let’s just say TV will figure heavily into his story along with Penny (what can I say? I am a trash tv junkie).
Yeah, the Old Gods are chilling off-set where I build a lot of my rooms for BBD, and also where I would love a door to lead them into the storage room of the Casbah Gallery circa the 90s because I believe in my heart, Sulis and Iliana would be best friends.
Lilith and Caleb do reunite! In true BBD fashion, it’s going to go as well as you think it would, given that Caleb has issues with codependency and hasn’t seen his therapist in weeks.
Miss Hell/Mikel. First of all, thank you for picking up on those vibes. Second of all, I was scared to pair them together and procrastinated on writing every scene with them, but I think I’ve figured out a dynamic that works, and now I’m obsessed with them.
Maybe Grim is holding the shovel because Kicks and the Himbo are having an adventure with another zombie. I mean, can you ever have too many of those?
Man, late 90s/early 2000s Ferosh was obsessed with that band. LOL, that line always gets me. The whole song is perfecttt.
Poor Deacon. Wandered into every scene thinking this was his moment and had to wait until the end.
Okay, from what I’ve seen so far, there’s no universe in which I don’t love Sulis. If there’s a scene where some creep harasses a middle-school girl in front of her and then gets set on fire while she walks away casually, I will take to the streets with an “I <3 SULIS" sign. And I'm pumped for the new season, if not also jealous of this fabulous buffer you're building up! (ok, 1-27 is in the hopper now, so that is one darn weekend now, lol)
Transmutation… TV… hmm… OH NO.
Yeah, Caleb's therapist (forgot her name) deserves a raise, and another raise, and should be seeing at least 5 other characters. Maybe also Miss Hell when she gets back from space? At least she's far away from CC&T!Bernard. I'm intrigued by her new dynamic with Mikel, as well. Mikel! Teach her to trust again!
Is "adventure" a euphemism?
Oh definitely a euphemism 😂😂😂😂😂😂
And my buffer always evaporates as soon as I start posting. I change stuff around, get complicated ideas for screenshots, basically I betray myself.
Eee I look forward to it!
Oh my gawd, my brain trying to digest Vlad as a stay-at-home dad. I mean I’d call him “Daddy,” but that’s a whole other thang.
“…they’ll do it all while managing a home renovation project that could determine the fate of the worlds.” Hahaha holy shit, that’s some project. I.LIVE.FOR.THIS.
Can you ignore your in-law’s parenting suggestions? Is Vlad’s aesthetic cottage-core or just hoarding?
LMAO hahaha this is like a setup for a reality show I need.
I really can’t wait to see Morgyn and William and their awkward dating encounters.
Ooooh. Mermaid lover. Likey.
I wonder how long Mikel will last in a rocket ship with Miss Hell? Like is he her flight snack?
I will have to comment about the video at a different time. :\
Unfortunately, this comment will lack :\
Before I forget, I DIED (towards the end of the video) with Miss Hell & the Alien dude photo. The poster of the “hang in there cat” BHAHAHAHA. I just wanna know WHO is that poser directed to? hahaha omg.
Your videos are always mind-blowing, but (and I mean this with admiration and not shadiness) but I can see (compared to your newest 5-minute The Strauds video) just HOW much your video skills have improved. Like I still think about that flickering skull-and-crossbones. The transitions. Goodness. You are such a talent, and it is so exciting seeing you grow in your work.
Looking forward to reading this (while I wait for chapter 6 to drop)