I don't know where Serena is getting these statistics. Possibly nowhere. She's undoubtable encountered instances of all four, however (all of whom might have been Elliot).

And so concludes Paranormal Helpline with eleven comics! An odd number (literally), but I felt a quick affirmation of Serena being where she ought to be was the best way to end it.

Also, it would have been ten if I hadn't thought of the previous comic.

As for the next storyline...

I'm not sure when it will begin because I want a rough draft of the lot of it written before I begin, and I'm only ninety percent certain what it'll be. I'll find out Friday if Plan A has wheels (I plot to do a lot of writing Friday).

If I do go with Plan A, it will undoubtedly be longer than Paranormal Helpline, but nowhere near as long as the 171 comic Cinderella. I point this out mostly to make clear that writing out a rough draft in advance shouldn't take ten thousand years.

"She does a very good job, too. It's just we have a whole vibe we're going for here, you know?"

There's one more comic to go in Paranormal Helpline! That comic could have been today, but then I thought of this, so it'll be Thursday instead.

After that, there'll be a break for an amount of time (I don't know how long I'll need yet).

As for THIS character... Her hair kind of escaped from me. It's similar to what I originally had in mind in some ways, but I wound up with something pretty wild. I guess people who answer paranormal helplines aren't allowed to have easy-to-draw hair.

I'm not sure what her real name is. For simplicity's sake, it almost certainly beings with a "B." I'll sort that out if and when it becomes necessary.

That was probably hyperbole, but still.

Let Serena do what she does best.

Anyway, this is why this storyline won't be 700 comics long.

At first, I was concerned about not showing Serena's face in this comic.

Then I remembered it was probably the same face three times and stopped worrying about it.

There is a line cut from this that I decided not to include due to potential lore ramifications. It would have been said under Arthur's breath after "several monsters":

"Good lord, a manticore?"

Now, I liked that line. It's why I wrote it. This storyline fits well enough into canon, however, that I would effectively be establishing actual manticores as "a thing."

Lions with human faces and scorpion tails aren't so relatively out there that they couldn't exist, but I still don't want to confirm they exist, that one was running around Moperville, AND that Serena took one out.

Which is a shame, because as I said, I liked the line.

What, you thought she wouldn't file a report? Who do you think Serena is?!

Because Arthur's asking, and he'd really like to know.

The most horrifying thing about this is the ketchup stains she's going to get on that chair. Maybe they have magic for that? They probably do. Heck, Susan probably has a spell for that, or will have one eventually.

Anyway, I feel this is the natural follow up to the previous comic, and one that was potentially seen coming.

Nonetheless, I like it.

I'm not genuinely certain of what order I thought of these comics in, but it feels like the first comic (in which she dealt with people not taking the helpline seriously) was first, and this was second.

Not that I immediately knew what she'd be facing. I just knew what she'd be doing about it.

The gun's being held safely based on what I'd learned back when Raven and Grace set out to face the giant boar, and the hatchet has a protective cover over the edge. The hatchet cover I'm mostly aware of because I've seen them on axes being sold in stores. Most of them, anyway. There seemed to be an issue with such covers coming off (or maybe customers not putting them back on properly).

She also has a necklace of garlic, and a bag presumably filled with whatever else one might imagine she could need for fighting monsters.

Assuming it's not her purse.

It's probably her purse.

Could still have things for fighting monsters in it.

Accusations that I chose to do this storyline following the gargantuan Cinderella due to its simplicity are completely unfounded and absurd.

I mean, look at her hair!

"I am. Also, the rest of it."

Yes, but focus on the hair. That's the complex bit.

She says "Maybe," but...

They did replicate the outfit at one point to create a fake Cheerleardra sighting, and it was presumably accurate.

Granted, that doesn't mean Serena knows that, or this detail, off the top of her head. It is accurate information, however.

- Voltaire says Elliot's name (why the sighting had to be manufactured)

- Edward tells Elliot about the plan (the actual discussion begins on the previous page)

- Evidence that the sighting had been done (Elliot's still fuming on this page after reading some internet comments)

- Alternate universe Susan thwarts a p-p-p-pirate ghost! (From some early EGSNP April Fools nonsense)

That moment when you've only figured out a character's hairstyle from one angle, but you have to draw it from another one.

Also, you've only sort of figured out the first angle and heavily referenced the first drawing to recreate it.

Anyway, by virtue of it being more interesting than her just denying everything to keep up the charade, Serena will actually be helpful when normal people call her.

(Assuming they actually need help.)

She probably makes stuff up once the situation is taken care of, however.

This character was introduced here during part 4 of the False Kings main story arc.

Panel one of this comic is newly inked, but is nonetheless nearly identical to the first appearance, yes. Serena isn't going to spend the full storyline filing her nails, though it would certainly make things easier. Had I known from the start she'd be returning for several comics in a row, I might have simplified her hair a bit.

It's rare that I can guarantee a storyline won't go one for dozens of comics, but this is one of them. A bit of fun with the sort of nonsense that gets called in to paranormal investigations.

I decided I couldn't leave her unnamed if she was going to have several comics devoted to her, so I went looking through a book I have with a section on names. I stumbled upon Serena, and found it extremely fitting.

Thank you for reading Cinderella!

This story arc wound up meaning a lot to me, and I wanted to end it on sincerity. It's also one of the future storyline that could end on "they all lived happily ever after" without being cheesy, and I went for it.

(Maybe it's still cheesy, but this is Cinderella. It's allowed.)

The next storyline will begin May 12, and is going to be a short and simple bit of silliness featuring a receptionist dealing with reports of supernatural nonsense (she's been in literally one canon panel thus far).

After that, I'm not sure. The next longer EGSNP storyline could be back in main canon, or it might be another Alternate Universe scenario. It depends on what I feel most motivated to do. I look forward to finding out!

Now to sleep for two weeks. Story comics will still be happening, but I've assured myself I can sleep-comic. Somehow.

- When last we saw Edward (early 2025?!)

One more comic remains before the conclusion of the epilogue! This will be followed by a two week EGSNP break that I just might really, really need.

Many thanks to everyone who has enjoyed Cinderella! For everyone else, um... Thank you for tolerating Cinderella! I usually underestimate how long storylines will be, but this DEFINITELY went on longer than I could have imagined.

As for this specific comic, it's another of the reasons why I wanted an epilogue.

The father in the original 1697 Perrault Cinderella was very much alive throughout that story, but he basically didn't do anything other than get married. He's so inconsequential to the story that the Disney animated version killed him off in its prologue, and the story makes so much more sense with him written out of it.

Speaking of the Disney movie version, I know people talk about Disney making stories less dark, but they didn't do that with Cinderella. There are lighter elements, such as the music and the animals in outfits, sure, but the stepfamily is far more antagonistic in the animated movie than in the original story.

(If you're thinking "hang on, what about (horrible thing)," you're probably thinking of the later Brothers Grimm version.)

Everything ends with everyone on good terms in the 1697 Cinderella. The "evil stepmother" not learning anything is probably lore accurate.

This comic is one of the reasons why I wanted to have the epilogue. If nothing else, I wanted to show that Sarah and Grace's friendship continued beyond the ball.

I imagine plenty of people would have taken that as given, but I wanted to show it.

She really hasn't.

I'm genuinely not sure what lesson Hope is assuming Bishop has learned. I'm not sure even Hope knows? She might have assumed there must have been something.

I original wrote several other options for where the conversation with Bishop could go, but they all felt like starts of much longer conversations I didn't really want to do. This is the epilogue, darn it! It's meant to be a series of quick moments wrapping things up, not part 7.

Though, for the record, even those other options would have begun with "blah blah blah."

"Blah blah blah" was gold.

- GAH!

- More recent GAH!

Either fairy godmother Hope can go through walls (which hasn't really been supported thus far), or she snuck along the floor in some form and suddenly appeared from there.

Either answer is disconcerting, really.

- The morning after the first night of the ball

- Meeting Liz, wearer of a suit

- "Well, i-it's worth noting that (Liz is)—" (morning after the second night of the ball)

- Ashley interrupted by Sarah a couple comics later, presumably on the verge of mentioning exactly this

"I'm going to actually say it this time, and goodness help anyone who interrupts me!"

Indeed! Liz was actually Lady Liz, daughter of a duke!

Also those other things with Cinderella Tedd and Sarah, but that's old news for us.

There's still moments I wish to show, loose ends to tie, and bits of closure to give, but I consider this the official ending!

(By which I mean there's more to show, but this is the moment I wanted to technically end on, so I'm cheating, but it's technically NOT cheating, as epilogues are an established narrative device! HA!)

Given that I missed Tuesday, am blatantly (not) cheating what counts as an ending, and the epilogue will be relatively short, the next break from EGSNP will be AFTER the epilogue comics.

- The shoe found

- The shoe held (whether it was whispering secrets at that time is unknown)

"So, um, when Cinderella runs out of the ball and leaves a slipper behind, that slipper stays glass while the rest of her magic outfit returns to normal. What, are we to believe this was some sort of, magic upon magic slipper that stays a glass slipper so long as Cinderella isn't wearing it? Boy, I sure hope someone got fired for THAT blunder."

Don't worry, random hypothetical person complaining about about a Fairy Tail from the late 17th century! I've finally fixed that plot hole, thereby making my version of Cinderella the best there's ever been! What's more, I've created a potential hook for a sequel: Cinderella and the Whispering Glass Slipper!

"Oh. I, ah, I was joking, dude. I even quoted The Simpsons. I don't really care about any of that."

...This... ENTIRE ARC... Was written to address that issue after you sent us a letter about it.

"Did... Did I forget to include a 'just kidding'?"

YES. YES YOU DID.

- Gah! (Startling Cinderella)

It's reasonable to assume that Fairy Godmother Hope is nearby at all times. It helps prevent being startled when she inevitably appears.