Inkwell Hell/TCS

The **Inkwell Hell** (commonly known as the **Underworld** in the show) is where The Devil, Henchman, Stickler, and the Imps live. Thousands of feet underground and below the city of Inkwell Isles, it is a common setting for the episodes the Devil appears in.

## Features

### **Top**

While there isn't exactly a "top" part of the *Under*world, a few locations in the series that appear on the surface are associated with it and likely placed over different sections of it.

* **The Devil's Carn-Evil:** The Devil's carnival. It first appears in "Carn-Evil". It consists of what one might expect from a regular funfair, such as a roller coster, a carousel, and a couple of food stands. However, the sign that says "Carn-*Evil*" (rather than Carnival). The place seems to have employees working there, which could imply that the Imps have earth disguises. The rides seem safe enough but the games are all rigged any steal the souls of those that lose. "Soul Ball" is implied to be one of the more popular games at the Carn-Evil, and can take a player's soul if they lose. Cuphead's winning streak at the game distracts everyone from suffering this fate. It is not until Mugman inadvertently breaks his brother's winning streak at the sight of the Devil and then rescues his soul from the soul ball machine that Cuphead realises what's going on. The two cups manage to outwit the Devil by making him destroy the carnival and lastly the Soul Ball table, freeing all of the souls collected earlier. Despite this, it appears that the Carn-Evil is repaired, as shown in "The Devil's Revenge!"

* **The Devil's Casino:** The Devil's newly-opened casino, which appears to be located somewhere in an open area near a forest. It debuts in the end of "The Devil and Ms. Chalice". It is a large building of which several parts look identical to the ones of a castle, such as tall towers and a flag. A long, red carpet between two rows of decorative red dice lead to the giant golden gates of the casino. The towers on the building are shaped like chess pieces, namely rooks, bishops, and pawns. The most noticeable feature of the casino is the eye-catching roof, which consists of an architecture design resembling the Devil (minus his red nose and yellow horns, appearing more like his in-game counterpart) balancing on poker chips and bending over a couple of playing cards over a sign reading "Casino" in fancy capitals. A couple of spotlights can be seen on each side as well.

* ***"Roll the Dice"*** **Studio*:*** The place where the gameshow of the same name used to take place, as well as the former home of King Dice. After the Devil fired King Dice, he made Henchman the new host of the show as punishment for the latter's failure to capture Cuphead's soul. The studio is located in Inkwell Isles City and is seemingly being part of a skyscraper. The building itself is mostly brownish orange and golden yellow in colour and has four arched windows, all having a different design in each row. The steps leading up to the entrance door widen as they approach the sidewalk and vice versa towards the entrance, and are draped in a long red carpet. The double entrance doors are white with dark red outline and golden handles. Above the doors is a large, led sign with golden and white outlines, and an architecture design resembling a pair of dice. The sign reads in large capitals *"Roll the Dice: Starring King Dice"*. The building seems to be numerous stories tall. There is an an alley just outside the studio with a sign with a picture of King Dice that smugly says *"Thanks for Playing!"*. As shown in "Down & Out", the show was eventually canceled, leaving the former studio rundown and abandoned.
* **Stairs:** Hilariously, there is a very long spiral staircase that actually leads from the surface to the Underworld and vice versa. The Devil is forced to use them in "Roadkill" to get to the surface world after the Bubbles of Failure seize his pitchfork and elevator.
* **Gates:** Another thing that hilariously connects the surface world with the Underworld are two large gates located in what appears to be a mountain near a forest. They are frequently used when the Devil sends his third finest demons (and King Dice) to capture Cuphead.

### **Below**

The Underworld is typically filled with stalagmites and stalactites, and surrounded by fire, which can be controlled through pipes, as seen in "The Devil's Revenge!". The walls are basically canyon, but are individually depicted by different shades of pink and red, depending on the room.

* **The Devil's Throne Room:** Where the royal throne is located, along with a portrait and few busts and small statues depicting the Devil. The latter, however, don't often appear after the first episode for the remainder of the series. The room has a dark pinkish-red canyon floor with a very long cadet blue rug with beige fringes. The throne is raised; the Devil thus addresses all his minions from above. Both King Dice and Ms. Chalice are summoned to the throne room, and berated for failing to capture Cuphead and ordered by the Devil to betray the cup brothers, respectively. There are at least three large tapestries between tall, grey pillars, on the wall, each depicting the Devil chasing and torturing souls in various forms, all of which are part of (according to King Dice) "some redecorating". The room as a whole is usually surrounded by trails of fire, pressumably used to block victims from escaping.

* **The Devil's Mirror Chamber:** The Devil's Mirror is presumably positioned in close proximity to his throne. It is one of the Devil's connections to the surface and is capable of showing anything he wishes to see on its glass and in its current situation. He is seen using it to check on the process of his third finest demons in "Release the Demons!". The other person, besides the Devil, that is seen using it is Henchman, who keeps watch on the demons in the same episode while his boss takes a bath (likely to calm himself). The mirror has a greyish golden frame with a small ruby at the top and a base that resembles the Devil's horns. The mirror rests on a dark purple canyon wall.

* **Control Rooms:** Where the Imps work. The rooms are basically a large cavern that seems to be divided into departments with individual work stations. Typically, multiple switch boards, typewriters, sonar screens, electronic displays, and control panels are present in those rooms, as well as a couple of maps, bulletin boards, radars, and a "24/7/365" busy atmosphere. Multiple Imps are on duty at all times to ensure continuous vigilance.
	+ **Soul Counter/Soul Tubes:** This is where souls are collected. The souls of Inkwell Isle residents are sucked into the Soul Bank through the tubes directly under the Devil's carnival, accounted for, and put in the Devil's soul vault.
	+ **Soul Vault:** The souls the Devil captures are all put in a ginormous vault through the tubes. According to the Devil, he plans to own every soul one day, even those of the innocent.
	+ **Gluttony Department:** Where gluttony and other concepts related and/or similar to it, such as famine and hunger-induced rage, are monitored by different teams of workers.
	+ **War Section:** Where the Imps calculate wars, the causes, and the consequences of them on all sides, under continuous video surveillance and recording.

### **Headquarters**

* **The Observatory/Office Room:** A small office room is located above the prisoners' grounds and is usually occupied by the Devil and Henchman. In it, there are a few bulletin boards, a file cabinet, a water dispenser, and a coffee machine. There is also a clock on the wall and at least two pots with plants. Additionally, the large golden spoon and utensil set that (apparently) came with the Devil's pitchfork is hidden in there.
* **Prison Grounds:** Where bad souls are tortured, enslaved by the demons, and commanded by the Devil. In those grounds, there are suspended cages over a lake of fire, a pillary, and a few manacles on the wall to restrain prisoner. Each punishment is guarded. The prisoners themselves appear to be disheveled and barely-clothed with rugs, likely to protect their modesty.

* **The Devil's Office:** The Devil's office first appears in "Dance with Danger" when Chalice first encounters the Devil. Not much is seen in this area, aside from a golden desk and a soft cushioned chair identical to the Devil's throne in regards of upholster, over a checkered floor. The front of the desk depicts a solar symbol. It is likely where the Devil "greets" every soul that ends up below.

* **The Devil's Bedroom:** Where the Devil sleeps. In the room, there's a large king-sized bed shaped like a circle with a red blanket. It is draped in a canopy and is filled with yellow cushions. Above the bed hang a couple of the Devil's portraits, such as a one that looks like Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, one that looks like either a woodcut portrait of Jacobus Gallus from 1590 or the Cobbe portrait, and one that depicts the Devil and Henchman dressed as ancient Greeks. Nearby, there is a huge window draped in large red curtains that gives a view of the souls tortured outside. As there is lava outside where the souls are tormented, the room may be located near a volcanic area.

* **The Devil's Bathroom:** Based on what is shown, it seems to be a rather tight space. In the bathroom, there is the bathtub, toilet and a mirror over a golden sink, next to which a pink towel with the Devil's initial can be seen. The upper half of the walls is dark fuchsia with light brown bricks exposed at the bottom half. It looks to be the only bathroom in the entire Underworld. Although the washroom is primarily seen used by the Devil, it can be assumed that it is actually used by everyone in the organisation, shown in a deleted scene where Henchman uses it.

* **The Staff Room:** This is where the staff meetings between the Devil and his Imps are held. It has a long, pink canyon table and sixteen chairs, with a big one for the Devil at the end. Henchman's seat is, fittingly, right next to the Devil's. About two large statistics boards can be seen hanging on the wall and there is a coat rack near the entrance.

* **The Devil's Theater:** The Devil's theater is the room where the Devil often holds performances for his demons. The room consists of a typical, large Proscenium theater stage with red and yellow curtains and numerous rows of chairs at the front that stretch out far into the area. It is rather raked, meaning the stage is gently sloped rising away from the audience's seats. Like many stages of the sort, it has a golden architectural frame, whichever, in this case, is arched in shape to closely resemble the Devil's serpent form. Located on the left and right side of the stage, are two loge seats.

* **Library:** Where the Devil's reads a book about controling his rage in "Release the Demons!". It has a big red chair facing a magnificent fireplace, and a pink carpet on the colourful canyon floor. The library possesses four cupboards and many books. Over the fireplace hangs a portrait of the Devil likely impersonating Frans Hals' portrait: Young Man with a Skull.

* **Community Refrigerator:** This is where everyone in the Underworld stores their meals. In "A Very Devil Christmas", someone has been stealing lunches from the community refrigerator, even though they're clearly labeled. At the end, it's revealed that it is the Devil. The community refrigerator could imply the existence of a kitchen as well, or at least, a lunchroom for everyone in the organization.

## Trivia

* At some point, some fans began wondering whether King Dice also *lived* in the Underworld, but show headwriter Deeki Deke implied in a tweet that he actually lives on the surface.
* No one explicitly refers to the location as "hell" inside the show, instead referring to it as "underworld" or "down here". This could be for censoring purposes, due to the fact that the word "hell" is technically categorised as a swear word in some purposes.
* The Devil's room and the throne room are the most occupied rooms in the area.
* A deleted scene from "Sweater Off Dead" reveals that skeletons might also be living in the Underworld, alongside the demons. Though, as it is deleted, it's unknown if it's actually true.
* It is also mentioned in the aforementioned deleted scene that "as usual, they're out of forks, but have plenty spoons".
* The Underworld might be some kind of dimension or a planetary sphere that's half the size of planet earth inside it, likely covering earth's outer core. This could explain why there is heat full of lava and fire everywhere in the area.
* The Devil's Casino is reminiscent of Bowser's Castle, specifically how it's depicted in *Super Mario World*.
* The tapestries in the Devil's throne room show the different forms he takes in the first part of his boss battle in the game.
* As the Devil seems to be commonly associated with solar symbols throughout the series, many of them appear in numerous scenes and places associated with him, such as his Carnevil, the base of the stage in King Dice's gameshow, and his office. One such symbol appears behind Ms. Chalice during the series' opening sequence, foreshadowing her association with the ruler of the Underworld. Many fans refer to said symbol as a "morningstar", due to the word's association with the fallen angel Lucifer.