The Worthshitful Company of Fishmongers
Originally posted to Instagram bugboyminis April 2025
Uncounted days, trudging and shifting through the sludge, searching for something Fryer had seen in his dreams and was mighty enthusiastic if vague in describing. They had seen it. The searching eye. The amber ocular. It had to be found. That was their sole occupation now.
Billy paused to retie his boot. The leeches always wriggled loose, unhappy to be pressganged into shoestring duty.
A wriggling in the muck caught his eye. He fished the squirming creature out of the swill. One glaring eye stared back at him. Leathery skin all lurid yellow wrapped around a rather square fish. It licked it's gaping lips and blinked up at him. It seemed to see something past him and looked all to smug about it.
Fryer's shout came from ahead, "Quit slackin' and c'mon!"
Billy considered the guppy for a moment longer, it seemed somewhat like what they was after. But it was hard to be sure. He stuffed it deep in a soggy pocket and squelched on. Maybe he'd slow the others later.
This was such a multipurpose project. I made these as an entry to the 2023 Yellow Cube event, as a potential warband for Swill before it was even a playtest and it still had tanks and I threw in a Tonk for extra measure.
Luckily I took some decent built pictures at the time.
Chief Fishmonger Fryer
I threw myself into this yellow cube community event at the time and started on the Scab Tank one too. I remember the energy was high, everyone was buzzing with the collective weirdness and burgeoning community.
I threw some scrap orcs and greenstuff together as that was all the bits I had at the time. Hastily painted then vibrant yellow and slimy. And then had this brilliant idea to photograph them on a wet surface to get the reflections. That involved jugglingy lighting with a shallow lid full of water with a black fabric sheet wicking the liquid out. I spilt water all over the shed and got a bunch of too dark photos.
First Fillteter Hans
I burnt out a bit following this event. I think other people experienced something similar. It wasn't at all the intent of this event or any of the others that spawned around it but it was a byproduct of that collective wave. I think there was a kind of parasocial desire to participate and be noticed and hopefully connect when so many of us were still very much solo hobbying. And the multitude of events that cropped up after yellow cube 2023 I think ultimately crashed the wave for a time and overwhelmed many with too many deadlines.
Bilge Billy
I think we have another wave of events happening now but they feel rooted in friends and encouragement. To anyone watching from the sides of these events I'd say, feel no pressure to take part but have no fear to dive in. And message people, talk to strangers, they will become friends.
Company Banner Bearer Boris
I'm glad myself and many people have formed tangible friendships from these online hobby spaces since 2023 and overall the community is more connected and in-person. But I think yellow cube 2023 was a pivotal and formative moment for 28.
The Sulfurius Sinker, Company Scab Tank
I've played one game of Tonks so far with the tank and Swill has come and gone as a potential game without me getting around to trying it. But I think at some point I'll try to put them into a game or maybe clip the heads and use them for something new.
