#And try to go back and run the studio as ''Henry'' with Sammy and Joey still in his head | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

insane-control-room · 3 months ago

Text

tied

Joey has no choice.

Henry wants him to wear a bow. Joey does not want to.

Maybe it's not serious, but an incident with Sammy makes Joey reconsider.

ink demonth - bow

Swap AU Rated: T Warnings: violence, emotional abuse, overwork, suicidal ideation, depression AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58578145 Length: 2000

Joey’s hands shook ever so slightly as he drew. Whether it was from the slight pain in his bones, to the touch of fear in his heart, or the seething sigh of anger in his lungs.

He had to draw.

Funny, how things shift. One day, he is the face (or at least, his mask is) of a relatively successful animation studio, the next, he is nearly murdered by his own workers- until rescued by his co-founder and then reduced to a mere animator in his ‘saving’.

‘It would be a good thing, Joey’, Henry told him, ‘you’ll get to keep working on the toons, and the employees won’t hate you. I’ve got the helm’.

Joey had no choice but to give the studio over to his partner. Not if he wanted to stay. So there he was, animating away with a pinching pain in his wrist and his eyes hurting (he could not tell if it was from wanting to cry, or from being awake for too long).

Then later learning that it was Henry’s coup to begin with admittances from Bertrum, grim confirmation from Shawn. His grip tightened on the pen, dipping it into the ink with deliberate motions so as to reduce the forcefulness behind his actions. He breathed, trying to ignore the memories of the past swarming at his thoughts.

His tie felt too tight on his neck. A noose.

He shuddered as he remembered a few weeks prior, when Henry was more overbearing than usual, when his already frail mental health had snapped for some time. Joey was too tall for it to be effective, but the act of sitting on a bar stool with a tight rope around his throat….

It was so tranquil that it frightened him. The languid peace that wafted over him made him slowly remove the coil from under his jaw, his hands eerily steady as he drew it away. The fact that he was so accepting of such a dour end saddened him. Even on the worst days as the studio head, Joey would have abhorred such an action; and the fact that he had contemplated it with such calmness now unnerved him.

What made him keep going was Linda, Henry’s daughter. The girl needed someone in her life, as her father had become quite preoccupied with the studio. Henry would say that he had been occupied with the work prior to taking over, but Joey was well aware that was not the case. As well as should not be the case now, as along with his tripled animation duties, Joey retained most of his old work as well. Henry only put his name and signature on it. Henry had also left Linda to Joey’s care most nights.

Johan adjusted his tie, feeling himself growing hot with discomfort. A sad anger- he could care less about the studio, it was Henry’s treatment that upset him so badly. Of his daughter, of the employees (what with the layoffs to give others “raises”), of the toons- hell, ignore how Henry treated Joey himself!

Joey stiffened as he felt a hand on his shoulder, landing firmly, and yet, causing a shiver to run down his spine.

“Hello, doll,” Henry said, his tone amiable and low. Joey mustered a smile in greeting- hoping that this was one of his (former) business partner’s ‘nice’ days. “How goes the animating?”

“I think I am m-making progress,” Joey replied, eyes dropping to the papers. His hands fiddled with the pen in his grip. “I’m on frame, um, s-six thousand s-seven hundred thirty two.”

“Good,” Henry purred. “Only around five hundred to go. That should be a week.”

Joey clenched his jaw, turning back to the papers. A hundred frames a day. Plus all the paperwork, too. As well as whatever else Joey’s brain was too overloaded to think about.

“Right,” he replied, quietly. Then, he inhaled softly to garner some courage. “Henry, c-can we- I mean, can you, please hire back one of the junior animators? F-for….”

He swallowed harshly as he took in the smile on his friend’s face. Chiding in composition; steely cold in his gaze.

Joey finished his words in the slightest mumble, “For midframes or the such….”

To Joey’s surprise, Henry gave a contemplative hum.

“I’ll think about it.” Henry said, baffling Joey even more. “I’ll give you something to think about in the meantime, though.”

Ah. Here comes the catch. Joey forced a smile- it was almost certainly crooked on his face.

“What is it, Henry?” he asked, trying to keep from sounding too nervous. “I really can’t take w-work home any more than I already do.”

“No, no, it’s nothing to do with work,” Henry laughed lowly, shaking his head. His curls followed the motion in a way that Joey may have described as charming in the past, but now made his stomach tighten with apprehension. Henry’s finger stroked down Joey’s tie. “Why don’t you wear a bow tie, Jo? Match your little devil darling a bit more.”

Johan shifted in his seat, slightly uncomfortable.

“I like my tie,” he replied quietly, now fiddling with it. Henry did not seem impressed with that answer, but to Joey’s relief, did not push on the topic. He touched over Johan’s tie for another moment, a single, gentle stroke, and then shrugged. Joey was about to turn back to his work when Henry remarked; “Don’t forget, dinner is at six.”

“I won’t forget,” Joey murmured. Henry leaned closer, a slight, steely smirk on his lips. Joey shifted backwards, trying to get some breathing room. “I w-won’t.”

“Cigarettes are not adequate dinner, Johan.”

Johan felt his throat constrict, resisting the urge to swallow. So Henry had found the pack he had bought and kept in secret.

Henry leaned back away, fingers stroking down Johan’s chest as he did. Joey did his best not to shiver. With the swagger of a wholly confident and fulfilled man, Henry sauntered out of the nearly empty art department, then paused at the doorway out.

“We could use some helping hands in here again,” he mused, making Joey’s heart lighten a touch. “Nicholson and Lambert- they were good. I’ll get in contact with them.”

“Thank you,” Joey said, but he spoke a moment too soon, as Henry raised a finger with a wolfish grin. Joey felt his heart start to sink again. “A condition?”

“Start wearing a bow tie,” Henry replied, winking. Joey could not tell if he was serious or not. “See you at dinner, honeybee.”

Johan felt the discomfort on his neck again. He lifted his small cup of tea, hands trembling as he sipped from it, hoping that it would reduce the pain residing terribly in his throat. Keep animating, Joey. Just keep animating.

The phone to the animation “department” rang. Joey sighed, pushing himself up and making his way to the ringing device. He picked it up, and did not announce himself- as everyone knew that it was just Joey there. It was a musician, sounding vaguely apologetic. They let him know that Sammy was calling him down to the music department. Joey nodded, and then realized that a nod cannot be seen through the phone, and said that he would be there in a moment.

Picking up his cane, he began the shambling decent to the music hall. Most of the workers generally avoided him, either from dislike, embarrassment, or uncertainty. He got a few smiles and waves, though, and it made him feel just that bit better.

Eventually, he made it to Sammy’s office. He knocked timidly, and Sammy grumbled for Joey to enter. Joey did as requested, quietly coming into the office. Sammy turned to face him, glaring for no apparent reason.

“You c-called for me, Sammy?” Joey asked, shifting on his feet. Sammy squinted at him, lip curling into a snarl. “I- I mean, Mr. Lawrence.”

“Not good enough,” Sammy growled at him, eyes narrow and angered. Joey blinked at him, confused and uncomfortable. “I need a token, Drew. I need a proof of your devotion, of your servitude.”

“That’s an incredibly weird and d-disquieting thing to say,” Joey commented. Sammy’s lip curled, an angry glint in his eye.Joey quickly attempted to recover the situation, biting his lip. “I think y-you need a break. A coffee?”

“Bow.” Sammy demanded. Joey stared, blinking at him. Sammy stood up, glaring at the tall man with a crazed look in his eye. “I said, bow.”

“No!” Joey stepped back, shaking his head. “That’s- that’s ridiculous, Sammy. I can call you Mr. Lawrence and treat you as respectfully as I can, but I’m not indulging this- this madness!”

Joey did not have an instant to get away from Sammy’s grasping hand. It wrapped tightly around his tie, yanking Joey forward.

“When I say to bow,” Sammy hissed, pulling him even more. Joey choked on the tug, trying to pull away from the mad musician. “I mean bow!”

He pulled even harder, knocking Joey off balance. The only reason Joey did not fall to the floor was his cane, tightly gripped in his hand. Joey scrambled to escape from him, but Sammy only grabbed his tie again. The black end in his pale hand flashed in Joey’s eye as he choked again. Sammy kicked at the cane in Joey’s hand, knocking it to the side. Sammy threw him to the floor again, Joey barely having time to catch himself on his hands to break his fall. Sammy kicked him in the stomach, making him curl up with the sudden, sharp pain.

“There,” Sammy huffed, out of breath. He stared down at the artist on the floor. “That’s better. Good. Anyways…” he returned to the desk. “I wanted to tell you that the next episode’s music is nearly ready. Go tell Norman. Also, your last sync work was shoddy. Make sure you do better, next time.”

Joey was already pulling himself from the floor, hand tremblingly wrapping around his cane, backing away from Sammy slowly, holding the cane in front of himself. Sammy turned to face him, and anger spiked once again.

“Did I say you can get up!?” he roared, and even Joey’s swinging cane did not deter him. He grabbed Joey’s tie again, and jerked him towards himself. Joey shoved him, but felt his tie tightening in Sammy’s grip- noticing that the man was doing it on purpose. Joey tried, desperately, to get away, though his skipped meals and reduced sleep and anxieties made it nearly impossible to even squirm. He felt his throat closing up tighter, and he scrambled at Sammy’s hands on his tie, trying to pull him off of the silk fabric. “You are nothing, Drew! You do as you’re told, you have no choice!”

Just as Joey felt his vision going dark, he was dropped. Unable to really move, he crumpled to the ground, pulling off his tie and gasping. When his vision returned, he saw Norman chewing out Sammy, and then his hearing- which he had not even noticed fading- returned, heard it.

“You need to apologize!” Norman was scolding him. “Joey’s going through enough, you don’t need to put more on his plate!”

“I’m… fine,” Joey replied, his voice hoarse. Norman swiveled to look at him. Joey backed out of the room. “I’m going back to work.”

“Johan,” Norman reached for the man. Johan flinched back. “Joey….”

They stared at each other for a long moment, and then Joey slipped away, his tie woven between his trembling fingers.

Henry did not mention Joey’s missing tie at dinner, but he did look at his throat. No comments were made, only the request to help Linda with her homework. Joey happily obliged, loving spending time with his- not his- daughter.

Joey took his tie into the bathroom.

He carefully undid the seams.

Remade it.

Henry complimented his new bow tie the next morning, calling him a handsome devil.

Even as Joey forced a smile, he felt his throat grow tight.

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inkabelledesigns · 1 year ago

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Bendy and the Donut Run

Oh Nemo, you have given me too much fuel. XD Okay so how would I write this as a fic? Well my first instinct is that this is a pre-ink fic where one of our human employees is out on a donut run, maybe sees some questionable ink horrors on the way to and from getting donuts, along with a bunch of shenanigans of a cartoony nature.

But then it occurred to me, Audrey likes donuts. How fun would it be to have a post BATDR fic where Audrey has escaped the cycle and the ink creatures are in the real world with this premise? Audrey is working so hard, trying to get her job done as an animator while also uncovering the secrets as to how she looks so human so that the others can blend into society and live their lives again, and she is utterly exhausted. And so in a very "main character does so much for us, we should do something nice for them" move, we could have some characters try to do something sweet and get her donuts, because she loves donuts with her coffee and doesn't have time for them.

There are multiple combinations you could go with for a story like this. My first thought is Bendy and Sammy, since that would be comedic and fun, and depending on characterization, it could be either of them babysitting the other and trying to stay out of trouble as they don't want to be caught as ink creatures. (Admittedly I have my friend Victor's (@reanimationstation ) Sammy and Bendy in mind with this take, I think their dynamic would lend itself well to this.) I also really like the possibility of Betty trying to make donuts in the kitchen, only to have Malice and Allison try to help, and it's a mess of arguing over the best technique, but eventually they learn to work together. I can also see Porter trying to leave the house for donuts, stealing them because he doesn't understand the cost of a donut, and needing to be rescued because no Porter, humans don't flow, you're gonna get in trouble.

My personal favorite would be Memory Joey trying to do this and Cyclebreaker Henry exhaustedly going after him to keep him out of trouble. On their way back with the donuts, they get into trouble, maybe get stuck in a sewer or a construction site, and they have a heart to heart where Joey admits to struggling with being a better person. Joey is trying so hard, he knows the real Joey Drew hurt a lot of people, not necessarily the why and how of it all, but he feels like that's his sin to atone for. He loves Audrey so much, even if he's not really her father, and he wants to do right by her, but he doesn't know how. Henry, believing that he too is a clone of a real person, feels this, admitting that Joey put so much blame on him for not setting him straight and leaving the studio, that he also feels like he has a lot to atone for, but the truth is, they aren't the same people. They're them. He ran after Joey because he too feels the need to do better than the real deal, because he cares about Joey and doesn't want him to end up in another bad situation by being impulsive. And for the first time, in the midst of danger and tragedy, albeit a smaller scale than the studio, they finally start to work through some of their conflicts. And I think, they come out of it better friends and trying to move forward, saying that they don't need to be like the people they came from. They can be something new, something them. They get home with the donuts, Audrey is either worried sick or just asking where they've been, and they merely smile and hand her the box of donuts. They're a little battered and smushed from their adventure, but they're still delicious, and there's at least one that managed to stay all pretty and together. Audrey is very grateful for the donuts, they gather around for some coffee, and Henry and Joey split a donut and clink their mugs together. This is the start of a beautiful friendship, again.

See I told you you gave me too much power.

#askbox #fanfic title prompt #batdr #bendy fanfic #joey drew #henry stein #audrey #bendy #batim #donuts #bendy and the donut run

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blametheeditor · 2 years ago

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5 Times Grant Pulled A Dad

1st Time

NOT FOR EVERYONE

Run Down: Don’t ask him how it happened.

Content Warnings: Cursing. Mentions of verbal disagreement, yelling. Mentions of being ignored.

To make up for the Jeremy

______________________

The sound of a door slamming shut went unnoticed for a short amount of time.

By now, he’s gotten used to the sound. If not from his previous job where you claw at each other’s throat trying to get to the newest client first before shutting your office door angrily when you lost, then from slowly learning the habits of those who work at Joey Drew Studios.

The accountant sighs as he thinks about all the reasons why this one sounded particularly loud. Wally pulling a prank. Norman accidentally kicking it closed too harshly. Sammy announcing his frustration.

But before he can stand up from his desk to investigate and ensure no one’s going to kill each other, he catches movement in the corner of his eye. It causes him to hesitate, looking over the wall of miniscule stairs with just as equally small doors dotting multiple landings designed for those who stand no taller than three inches tall. Ones that have gone completely untouched ever since he started working as the studio accountant. Yet Grant finds himself blinking at the sight of someone darting down them as fast as possible.

Out of everything he was expecting, his coworkers invading his office wasn’t among them.

Being the only giant employee has its perks. When it comes to drama and trying to blame someone for something, he’s always left out of it. Despite how much it was emphasized by the others on how much Joey bothers them, his employer has not once come to demand for something and therefore distract him from the mountain of paperwork that has done nothing but steadily grow. Not to mention the legendary pranks he’s heard numerous stories are yet to be done with him as the target.

That doesn’t mean he isn’t silently grateful when one of the doors is left open after a weekly meeting in which Grant has been apart of, but from his desk while the rest are gathered in a common area just out of sight. Finds himself listening with curiosity as Henry gets roped into someone’s project. Feels a smile tug at his lips when Shawn starts ranting. Leans back to enjoy Susie’s recording sessions when a song is being sung behind an entire orchestra.

When offered a position as the studio’s accountant, he had been told most of his coworkers would be human, not all. It had been promised there’d be accommodations for his stature, not a single room. There had been numerous assurances no one would mind a giant being hired, not that they weren’t informed whatsoever.

The others truly hadn’t minded the fact their newest coworker stood over two hundred feet tall. That certainly didn’t mean they felt the same way interacting with him.

Grant has found the routine in being asked for advice, but from a distance where he can never make out the requestor's expressions. Is respected and will grab Joey when needed, but always from the safety of walls much to small for his hand to fit through. Someone will always greet him in the morning by opening a door and waving, but never walking into the giant’s territory.

So why was Henry passing the last doorway back into the human side of the studio without so much as a glance, looking as if he fully intends to reach the bottom of the stairs.

One’s that end on the floor to Grant’s office.

“Ross?”

The teenager startles, hands frantically grabbing at the rails to ensure he doesn’t tumble down hard wood stairs and wind up breaking his leg, bruising a rib, possibly pitch over the side.

Grant nearly stands up to grab the miniscule figure before he gets hurt. The sheepish smile aimed upwards keeps him in his chair. “H-Hey, Cohen. Didn’t, uh, see ya there.”

The giant can’t help giving an unimpressed look. “Any reason why I wouldn’t be here?”

In the only space in the entire studio he could be. It’s not like he can shrink down to make a cup of coffee in the main break room.

“Well, er.” Henry winces as he carefully stands up instead of staying in his nearly-falling position before suddenly brightening up as he points at the man accusingly. “Why would you be! It’s 5 o’clock, meaning you should be clocked out and heading home!”

Grant glances at the time, a wave of exhaustion washing over him at the realization it is 5. Yet he has at least an hour left of cleaning financial reports before he’ll be able to leave. It doesn’t help that, despite everything being an utter mess, Joey still continues to spend at the budget he set long ago. A budget that multiple meetings have stated isn’t feasible.

But what would he know? He’s only the accountant.

“As much as I’d love to, there will be no clocking out until I’ve found a proper stopping point.” Less he have to restart May all the way from the beginning tomorrow and waste half a day’s work.

“Oh,” Henry murmurs.

That’s when Grant notices how...reserved the teenager is. They haven’t interacted much, but he’s heard the talented animator’s laugh and taunts as clear as day despite the closed door. Has heard Sammy’s fond grumbles of having such a rambunctious thing wondering through the halls without supervision. It only gets worse when he teams up with Wally and all hell breaks loose.

He’s come to imagine Henry Ross as a confident kid who teases everyone he comes across. Grant actually saw the personality not even a moment ago.

Now it’s gone, leaving him with a human unsure what to do.

...looking like he just got caught.

“What did you do?”

“Who? Me? Cohen, that’s a question for Franks,” Henry grins. It doesn’t falter even with a disbelieving headshake as papers that would be impossible for him to hold are carefully straightened.

“I think it’s a question for whoever sprinted into my office as if he was being chased.”

Grant’s eyes harden as Henry flinches. “That obvious, huh?”

A million questions run through his mind. Unsure what would be better. What would be worst. All he knows is that if the kid was truly in danger, he doesn’t mind using the fact he is the only giant employee to his advantage.

“I got upset at Drew,” suddenly erups. And then Henry’s hands are gesturing as he marches down the last couple flights of stairs. “I’ve been begging for help with animation, ya know? I’m quick, but he’s been decreasing the amount of time to get a reel done, so then he wants me to stay longer, and then gets mad because that means more pay, but I’m not some magical being who can get the fucking cells done within seconds!”

Grant leans forward in order to see the figure finally reach the floor. But instead of stopping, his footsteps march right toward the desk. Unafraid despite the fact he’s gone out of sight with nothing but a voice telling the being who could crush him beneath a shoe where he is.

“So I tried to talk to him, and he got upset so I got upset. I shouldn’t have but I couldn’t stop myself from yelling.”

Henry makes it past the desk, finally back in line of sight. Yet the human continues to approach him despite the shadow being cast.

“And then...and then Sammy joined in because we were being loud. He was upset at both of us, so I started to feel gained up on, until finally I just ran off before they could tell me to stay.”

The teenager huffs as he stands with his arms crossed. Looking as if the tension in his shoulders finally left. Aims a thoughtful expression up at attentive blue eyes almost directly above.

“I know it ain’t fair doing it especially because I started it. I just get overwhelmed, so when the thought of escaping comes I just take it. Ya won’t tell Drew I hide in here, will ya?”

That’s when Grant realizes he’s supposed to speak. When an incredibly fragile being marched his way up to a catastrophic giant despite never showing any signs of having interacted with the larger counterparts before. After pouring his heart out about something that’s clearly weighted heavily on him for a while and needing to feel supported when those he looks up to most aren’t helping.

“You hide in my office?”

Grant can’t help but feel indignant at the fact his space has apparently been invaded before. A bit terrified at the fact he could’ve walked in on a previous morning and not known a human was sitting only inches away from getting crushed.

Henry bites his lip. Looks away in shame. “...yes.”

The teenager certainly wasn’t expecting a hand to carefully sweep him up going based on the terrified scream. But while none of them have met a giant, Grant has certainly met his own fair share of humans. Is well trained in the art of keeping them safe while giving them what they want and yet he’s not distracted.

Another shriek erupts as Henry is carefully dropped into his button up’s chest pocket.

“New rule. You can come in here whenever you’d like, but not when I’m not here, and not without telling me.”

Grant grabs his long forgotten pen before glancing down at his companion staring up at him in awe. “I-I can?”

“I don’t mind you being in here,” the accountant mumbles. He scowls when it becomes clear he lost his place. Hopefully he won’t have to backtrack too far... “I just have to know where you are.”

He pauses as his pocket is kicked at until Henry finally rights himself in order to stand up. “You’re the best Cohen!”

“Mhmm.”

“Even if you are a bit scary.”

Henry ducks down before a look can be aimed toward him. Unfortunately, being in a pocket means a finger poking him in retaliation can’t be fled from. “Only when teenagers have snuck into my office.

“You never have to be scared of me, though.”

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batimcthulhu · 2 years ago

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S3 - S4 Interlude: TL;DR Recaps

Cliff notes versions of the RP writing from the interlude between Season 3 and Season 4!

Links lead to the full chapter on AO3.

(( ALL TL;DR RECAPS))

((🎶 SEASON THREE MASTERPOST 🎶 ))

—————————————————————

Reality of Imperfections (part 1), Friday, July 20th

While everyone’s still waking up after the ritual, Joey pulls Susie aside to talk – and immediately sees the lines in her face and patch of silver in her hair. She’s taking after him a bit too much…

But he turns the charm back on and tells her (a) that she should ask him before doing weird rituals next time and (b) that she has a powerful fire in her and she musn’t let go of it or let some other spirit replace or smother it; no one but Susie herself will do for Alice Angel. Susie is shocked and touched and promises to give it all she’s got. Joey also notes she’s a good dancer, and they should go dancing sometime.

A Discussion of Henry's No Good Very Bad Loop, Friday, July 20th

While Henry is dissociating at work over vague memories of the night of the Contest, Bendy stops by and the two get talking about What Exactly Happened with that scythe spell. Bendy knows that in the bad loop, the one where Henry killed Everyone, Henry had seen the Masked Messenger's TRUE face and become convinced he needed to destroy everything because maybe it would break the loop. It doesn't sound like something Henry would do unless he was desperate... but every time he's tried the scythe spell before, it had always felt like it needed more from him. Maybe that's the sort of desperate he needed to be to get this spell to work. Bendy slowly understands that Henry doesn't actually want to kill anyone remorselessly.

On The Same Page, Saturday, July 21st

After the premier, Peter comes home with Jack, and the two are able to just… relax in each other's company for once. Peter is finally able to share that he's thinking of moving! Back to New York! He wants to try again with Jack, if he's willing. And though Jack is still with Joey and Sammy, he thinks a separate relationship with Peter can work just fine, once they talk about it. Beans herds the two of them to give her food and then go to bed, and Jack uneasily avoids talking about his strange new powers but happily falls asleep in Pete's arms. The next day, Peter's gotten some interesting calls -- an offer of a trial run at the NYC paper he's been helping, and a mysterious and brief call to meet up, from Joey Drew.

It's All In The Legs, Saturday, July 21st

Sammy and Joey want to have a sexy night in after the premier, but they're struggling against their own fears and reminders of the past week. The first attempt at undressing reveals a strange golden scar across Sammy that neither of them understand, and the second alerts Sammy to the unmistakable presence of ink... in Joey's legs. Joey shares as much as he can remember of how the ink got there, finally accepting that Jack's healing really happened and horrified by what that means, and the two eventually sleep trying to comfort each other. But come the next day, Joey pulls himself together and sneaks out to make a phone call.

Those Old Songs (Part 1), Sunday, July 22nd

Sammy stops by to check on Jack, who confesses he'd like to talk to the Prophet sometime about what happened to him, tired of knowing too little. Sammy agrees that keeping each other in the dark has only hurt them, and they head out to the closed Studio to get some ink and have that chat. After some panic navigating the dark and quiet building, they find Bendy, who agrees to get them the ink they need and chaperone the conversation just in case Prophet tries anything weird.

Those Old Songs (Part 2), Sunday, July 22nd

The Prophet is eager to hear about Jack's experience and can immediately tell that he was chosen by the Messenger, like Prophet was, given a gift with which to serve his Lord! Bendy's less sure; usually gifts and deals and special attention are reserved for the host, someone that the Messenger wants to break. Jack compromises and says he needs to think about this, while Bendy suggests that maybe THE TIME OF SACRIFICE isn't right now anyway and Prophet has some time to chill first, and enjoy other things. Like, Jack's been teaching him music! Bendy offers to play a little song -- one the Prophet himself wrote back in Haiti. Prophet's touched by the song, but still wants to check in with his Lord soon.

The Reality of Imperfections (Part 2), Sunday, July 22nd

Joey invites Susie on a date, they dress up nice and he gets her some chocolates and before heading out they sit down to discuss… MAGIC. Susie's known about magic but hasn't done it before; Joey's first spell was to keep the Studio going in its first year. He catches her up on their adventures so far and the way their magic has made them a target, and Susie is determined to help if she can. She confesses she once hoped she could make Alice real like Bendy was, and Joey replies that he's his own being, not quite Bendy - but those imperfections give him life, and the same is true for what Susie brings to Alice. They head out for their date, excited to talk cartoons; Joey has an idea for bringing that light streak of hair into Alice's design.

Those Old Songs (Part 3), Sunday, July 22nd

Jack finally catches Sammy up on what happened - that he saw the Masked Messenger in his dreams and was forced into a deal and given a gift to help others. Sammy's distraught, wishing Jack had escaped the supernatural mess that the rest of them were caught in, certain they're doomed to a bad end. But Jack couldn't leave him without trying to help. He catches Sammy up on the rest, feeling guilty over how his interference might affect Joey, and promises he won't keep using his new powers indiscriminately when they don't know the consequences… and the two are finally able to relax a little.

Change of Plans (Part 1), Sunday, July 22nd - Monday, July 23rd

Joey's call to Peter only says he wants to meet up the next day for a loose end he doesn't want to bother the others with. This loose end turns out to be the request to meet up with Mr. Y, now the boss of that occult mob, which Peter thinks is awfully risky, but Joey is convinced Y would have already killed him if he wanted to. Peter also thinks the others should know… but Joey doesn't want them getting hurt if things go south -- Peter can astral project and isn’t so close with Joey, so he's a better choice. He gives Peter an apartment where his body can rest in the meantime, and as he heads over, Peter learns that Joey Drew's apartment is not quite as flashy as Joey himself.

Change of Plans (Part 2), Monday, July 23rd

At a nearby cafe, an ominously friendly Mr. Y insists he and Joey need to work out what terms they're on, exactly. Joey confidently asserts it's not so difficult; he just wants to animate cartoons -- and the mob boss says he can roll with that, if Joey swears his people will stay out of Y's organisation's way. But when Peter never turns up afterwards, Joey discovers he’s still passed out from astral projecting, and tries to use the dream spell to find him. Since Peter's not properly ASLEEP, this only links their minds while trapping Joey in Peter's immobile body, which Peter's having trouble calming down enough to re-enter. When Joey's own nightmares start intruding, he tells the panicking reporter a story to imagine himself waking up next to Jack, easing him back into his body and inadvertently leaving them both with a lot of gay feelings.

A Deduction That Suits You, Monday, July 23rd

Peter grabs a shower at Joey's apartment before leaving, but forgets to grab a change of clothes, so when Joey scolds him for being unprepared, Peter marches out in a towel to challenge him. The two snipe at each other smugly until Joey blows smoke in Peter's face and Peter responds by KISSING HIM ON THE LIPS. Joey suddenly realises that not only is he attracted to Peter, but Peter's attracted to him, that Peter's attracted to him because he started to see the REAL him, and he's not sure he's ready for that! But that doesn't stop him from pushing Peter onto his bed and making sure he knows that if Peter's going to be close to any of them, then he doesn't want Peter to leave.

Coming Back, Monday, July 23rd

Sammy stops in to awkwardly offer Susie some friendly company after their harrowing supernatural experiences, and they get talking… about the spirit, what really happened with that ritual, who the Prophet is -- Sammy accidentally swaps places with Prophet for a moment when they find something they can both agree on, and Susie thinks he's "a bit much," but sweet. She worries her mistakes were too big to come back from, but Sammy doesn't think it's all on her -- he played a part too, when Allison messed with his head. They both promise to look out for each other from now on, not in a rush to act on any feelings, for now just glad for each other's company.

Talk About Your Feelings Challenge 1934, Saturday, July 28th

Jack invites the other two boys over for dinner, hoping to find out how they'd feel about him dating Peter, too, and get their blessing… but both Sammy and Joey think that people like them don't get to have Real Relationships and are baffled by Jack's question. Jack's hurt, worried his boys didn't think they were dating at all; Sammy slowly tries to understand his own unexplored feelings while Joey wrestles with the concept of truly opening himself up to others when there's always a risk they might leave. But they can at least reassure Jack that they have no problems with Peter, and reassure each other that they want to stay together.

Duck!, Sunday, July 29th

Henry jokingly throws a ball at Sammy during tennis and accidentally triggers his memory of attacking the Prophet with the scythe spell, and Sammy suddenly has a pretty good guess where he got that golden scar. Sammy works out how to "sync" on purpose and swap in Prophet again, hoping for answers, and the Prophet is able to inform Henry that the scythe spell makes a weapon out of the user's soul, and a soul must be willing to kill to be wielded. And, well, the version of Henry that Prophet recognised from the Bad Loop is certainly willing to kill, since he wiped out the entire cult back in Haiti! including Prophet! Henry's pretty shaken up by this, but when Sammy swaps back in, he's distraught too, having caught a piece of the Prophet's memories when they synced. And after everything that's happened with HIS other self… he's not ready to believe this Other Henry will be so easy to leave behind.

An Affair Between Trust and Design, Sunday, July 29th

Joey gets lunch with Henry's wife, Linda, to go over exactly what happened to Henry and share as much info as he can. Linda's concerned by the way some of this reminds her of a figure she's encountered in her research -- a "Phantom of Truth" that's meant to herald the Yellow King -- but with no yellow sign, it's not a perfect match. Joey also has an important question for Linda: How did Henry know when to risk throwing away everything, just to have a life with the person he loved? If someone, hypothetically, were unsure about this, how could they know it'll work out? Linda says you can't ever truly know, but the right person won't make you choose between your dreams and your love. Joey's… not sure what to do with this, but he'll keep it in mind.

Sammy's Bad Night, Sunday, July 29th

After experiencing supernatural inspiration, trying to play banjo has become nerve-wracking for Sammy, and gives him no relief from the leftover anxiety and loose ends of their last crisis. He makes a mental note to talk to Joey about letting the Prophet out to contact the Masked Messenger, which would at least give them some direction, and feels the Prophet agree -- then abruptly wakes up outside, hours later, and hurries back inside to find encouragement from the Prophet scrawled on his bathroom mirror. They must’ve swapped accidentally, leaving Prophet to wander out of his apartment and pass out. Shaken, Sammy tries to push it out of his mind and sleep.

Love Requires Sacrifice, After All, Saturday, August 18th

Joey brings Sammy and Bendy to show off the secret room he's had built as a sanctuary for the Prophet, eagerly insists Prophet swap in to see it, and immediately offers him pure, starry Ink to contact the Masked Messenger with. Prophet is suspicious, but accepts and offers the gift to his lord and receives a vision: an exhortation to "find that which the Phantom seeks, who bears already the scars of following the Mender's lead." Bendy does his best to contact that presence as well, hoping to bargain for time to spend with his new friends, but doesn't seem to get the response he'd hoped for. Joey ALSO intercepts the connection, and gets a face-to-"face" meeting -- it seems the Masked Messenger has been discussing a bargain with him, too; one where the elder god agrees to leave Joey and those he cares about in peace, if Joey creates a “properly stocked” alternate world to entertain him? Joey confidently asserts he can do it.

Double Date, Sunday, August 19th

Sammy and Jack meet for a little lunch date and also to discuss Prophet's latest prophecy. Jack's concerned "the one the Phantom seeks" might be Peter, and Sammy swaps in his other self to see if Prophet can offer more insight. But when the Prophet seems unable to put his impressions into words and unsure what to do with himself outside of an urgent crisis, Jack suggests they play a song together, and Prophet puts together a happy tune at the piano, thrilled to have Jack working alongside him. Sammy wakes up not long after, panicking when he finds a half-remembered song in his head. He confesses how much music has frightened him lately, and Jack tries to reassure him that it's okay if it takes time, offering to practice with him to help ease him back into it.

The Danger of Wanting, Wednesday, August 29th

Susie's going to perform one of Alice’s songs live, so she and Sammy get together to rehearse... and to talk through their feelings on the creative mania they both went through. Susie describes her experience being swept up in it, and the way her friends’ ritual had trapped the spirit in her, and warns Sammy to mind the spirit’s wishes if they seek her help again. Sammy's impressed and glad Susie’s still singing after all of that, and while they're both caught up in a lot of feelings, he kisses her. He immediately backs off, though, defensively insistent they can't have a relationship, though he can't tell her he's taken; Susie is confused and a little heartbroken… but she accepts it, knowing they still care about each other.

Invisible Lines, Thursday, August 30th

Sammy confesses to Jack that he kissed Susie, not sure what counts as "cheating" in their relationship. Jack realises his partner has found someone else he has feelings for, and tries to encourage a confused Sammy to communicate, and not assume everything he wants is out of reach -- it's okay to ask others what they're comfortable with. Maybe Joey would be fine with it, and maybe Susie would be, too!

Checks and Balances, Saturday, September 1st

The things on Joey’s mind are hard for him to talk about. Instead, he asks Jack about his new "mending" powers, which Jack is a little more able to talk about now, and then asks if Jack's good with money... and finally gets around to his point: he wants a life with Sammy and Jack, one where he doesn't have to spend the rest of his dwindling energy Being Joey Drew. He's thinking of closing the studio. Jack is shocked, but, if Joey is asking for help, and trying to plan ahead...? He must really mean it. Jack promises to support him, and offers to help teach him finances.

Your Songs Remind Me of Swimming (Part 1), Monday, September 3rd

Joey’s eager to work with Sammy on the music for this new film, an important cartoon that he thinks to himself is THE film, but Sammy’s anxious and defensive, feeling like he can’t play or compose like he used to after their creative mania, and snaps that the work he’s done so far is good enough. Joey’s devastated. He’s never heard Sammy say something like this before… it sounds like Sammy doesn’t want to make music with him anymore. Sammy’s horrified to realise he’s hurt Joey, but doesn’t know how to fix it, and storms out.

Heaven and Earth (At Least We Stole the Show!) (Part 1), Monday, September 3rd - 5th

Joey was planning to bring Sammy to an awards show across the country, where their latest hit song is being recognised, but with things a bit rocky between them, he invites Susie at the last minute. She’s delighted to come, just as excited as Joey to fly in an early airplane for the first time and get dressed up for the show, and they both easily flirt and have fun putting on a perfect performance of a charming couple as they attend the show and party afterwards. Susie enjoys the fantasy of something romantic after getting rejected by Sammy; Joey thinks about how different this show would be if he came with his boys, and the tiring stress of keeping everything secret. He and Susie look good together. Is this what it’s like to be normal? Could he be normal? Would he… even want to?

Heaven and Earth (At Least We Stole the Show!) (Part 2), Wednesday, September 5th

Joey’s energy won’t last forever, so Susie makes up an excuse of having champagne together with Joey so he can leave gracefully – and Joey realises this performance, this Being Joey Drew with Susie – he loves it, and the charming performer is a real part of him, too. He actually does get her a bottle of champagne, and when Susie teases a kiss, willing to just indulge in the fantasy of the evening if he is, he kisses her back. They share a bed and each confess that they’ll never truly be in love with each other – Susie wants someone who loves her as more than a perfect angel, and Joey admits he’s “just odd” when it comes to romance – but they don’t have to be in love to have a wonderful time. They gotta do this again sometime!

Your Songs Remind Me of Swimming (Part 2), Friday, September 7th

Returning from a nice night out, Joey asks Sammy to serenade him, still worried that Sammy just doesn’t want to make music with him, and Sammy finally confesses that he doesn’t know if he can play without panicking, that he hasn’t been playing for fun for a while. Hoping to fix things, Joey insists on playing together – he’s not good at any instrument, but Sammy’s good at fixing his mistakes! – and gives him some piano chords to bounce off of. He’s so relieved when it works that he barely notices that Sammy did freeze up at the keys. The two argue as Joey tries to figure out what Sammy wants from him and Sammy struggles to articulate it, and Joey finally realises why Jack wanted them to talk about their relationship – it’s so much harder when they don’t tell each other anything. They do their best to kiss and make up, resolving to try.

Note To Self, Monday, September 10th

Henry writes questions to the other version of himself in his sketchbook, not expecting an answer, but one day, he writes "are you going to hurt them?" and gets an immediate reply, in gold text: "no." That harsher version of Henry insists through the magic gold writing that he was only killing Sammy's attacker, not harming Sammy, and that Henry has always known why his more stoic self has to kill sometimes; he’s always had doubts about whether minimising damage was the right answer. "Will you hurt them?" Henry asks again, and the writing he gets in return is angry: "i will protect them."

I Said, Can I Get An Amen, Saturday, September 15th

Prophet and Bendy study some of Joey’s notes and spellbooks together, including looking into his attempts to separate himself from the Stone, while Bendy frets over tomorrow’s ritual where the two Sammys might finally be able to combine. But when the Prophet tries to sync with Sammy over their shared desire to “become one,” it doesn’t work. Sammy no longer agrees…? The Prophet worries his other self is just scared, and urges the Lurker to talk to him about it. Sammy, it turns out, still wants to do the ritual to seek the spirit’s aid, but not to combine with Prophet – to help him. He reluctantly admits he doesn’t want to lose this person he’s grown close to, or to be alone in his head again.

The Ritual (Part One), Sunday, September 16th

Sammy, Henry, and Joey set up a ritual to summon a spirit -- the same spirit who helped combine their ghosts and living selves into a whole person back in Haiti -- in hopes of getting some help with the Sammy/Prophet situation. The spirit appears, possesses Henry in order to talk with them, and observes that this situation is a little different; Sammy and Prophet have spent more time apart, becoming tangibly separate. Sammy is stressed and defensive but finally manages to say he doesn’t want to merge, he just wants to help Prophet. There is a way, the spirit responds -- to accept some of those early memories from the Starpools that created him, and not leave the Prophet to endure them all alone. As Sammy prepares, the spirit notes that there’s another presence in Henry, too – quiet, fragile, but content to sleep.

The Ritual (Part Two), Sunday, September 16th

Sammy syncs with Prophet, and the spirit holds them both awake at the same time, so that Sammy can experience the parts of Prophet’s memories that he’d blocked out. After he'd drowned in the Starpools… he couldn’t die, and kept drowning. The Masked Messenger appears, pities his plight, and offers his help if Sammy will trust him – but Sammy can’t see it as anything but a deal with the devil, and even though he tries to take it, that doubt makes the Messenger’s hand intangible to him. He begs for help, and the Messenger agrees to give him what he really needs – the ability to Believe – and touches him, cutting out his doubt, filling his mind with Understanding, and setting him free. It’s an excruciating process, and Sammy realises that no matter how happily he describes it, even the Prophet can tell this is a painful memory. When they wake up and Joey tries to be ready to support him, Prophet is hostile and none-too-happy with “The Traitor’s” involvement, but Sammy insists they’re all just trying to help – Prophet shouldn’t have to be alone. Ritual complete, the spirit releases the hold on Prophet and leaves.

The Ritual (Aftermath), Sunday, September 16th

Henry wakes up, and the boys all check in on each other as Joey gives him a snack and threatens to arrange a spa day for Henry. Joey also runs off to let Jack and Bendy know how everything went, and then excuses himself to take some time alone and process all of this. If there’s two of Henry and two of Sammy then what does that mean for him? Sammy, meanwhile, shares what he’s learned with Jack and Bendy, struggling to remember names and places after such an overwhelming encounter with Prophet’s mind.

Lost Shepherd, Monday, September 17th

The ritual left Sammy’s sense of direction scrambled, and when Joey finds him lost in the Story Department, he guides him back to his office to try to figure out what’s going on. Though it’s hard to talk about, Sammy manages to share with Joey what the Prophet showed him, and Joey shares his own experience in turn, one he’d never talked about – that he’d truly believed in the Masked Messenger’s deal, that he’d wanted it to work. Now that he’s seen how that worked out for him, he doesn’t believe that the Messenger can deliver on any of his promises. As they talk, Sammy realises that all the things about Joey that make him an idiot are actually things Sammy likes about him, and Joey decides that it doesn’t matter if he’s the “original” Joey or not – this is his Sammy, and his Sammy chose him.

Never Too Late To Learn, Thursday, September 20th

Susie wants to brush up on her shooting skills in case of more supernatural trouble, and invites Sammy along. Despite being on edge, he’s comfortable taking tips from her, even as they both adjust to toning down from their previous casual flirting – but the first actual shot Sammy takes is so startling that he accidentally swaps in the Prophet, and Susie immediately tries to impart some gun safety to him, too. She also takes the opportunity to ask him about the god he serves, and, thinking of her own reasons for resorting to possession, earnestly reassures him that he’s loved by people, too, not just a god. When Sammy returns, they talk some about the Prophet and why he acts so strangely, and Sammy eventually admits the trouble he’s had since the ritual. Being open with Susie really does seem to help more than Sammy had expected…

Lost and Found, Saturday, September 29th

When Peter arrives at Jack's, there’s an emergency in progress – Jack’s cat Beans is missing. Peter immediately helps with the search, and finally finds a larger-than-usual Beans has made her nest in one of Jack’s bags. No wonder she’s been hiding away, she’s pregnant! Soon enough, Beans starts to have her kittens, and Jack and Peter rush to get everything set up for her, while Joey stays back to keep watch – and spots a kitten who wasn’t cleaned enough, struggling to breathe. Joey panics a bit, but manages to wipe off its face and bring it to Beans’ attention. By the time Jack and Peter return, the kitten’s cleaned up and doing fine… Joey needs a minute to think about this, an idea that makes him think of the Prophet – that someone lost and drowning could be saved just by offering a hand.

Turned Around, Wednesday, October 3rd

Staying in Jack’s house for now, Peter runs into Sammy outside of his attic room, acting strangely evasive and claiming he just “took a wrong turn” up the stairs. But Peter’s been in that situation before, in Carcosa, and this is kind of freaking him out – does it feel like things are changing location, like directions don’t make sense? Sammy’s freaked out in turn, realising that with his sense of direction scrambled, he can’t tell. When Pete can’t quite calm down about it, Sammy agrees to not take his eyes off him as Peter checks to make sure all the doors are going where they should, and it turns out reality is behaving just fine, but they’re both grateful that the other is willing to take this strangeness in stride.

"what do you have there henry" "a gun" "nO" (Friday, October 5th)

Henry wakes up from a nightmare, and not wanting to take any risk, he pulls an emergency gun out of its safe and sneaks out of the room to check on the kids and the wards he’s placed on their rooms. Linda is… concerned to see her husband tense and armed, but as he admits nothing happened and realises he was worrying her over nothing – suddenly, Henry’s confused, and can’t remember what he was doing or why he has a gun. He recalls Prophet waking up instead of Sammy in New Orleans, and finally explains this to Linda – that he thinks there’s another version of him, that woke up instead of him. What if that Other Him hurts people? But Linda insists that this other Henry doesn’t seem like some threatening entity. He just seemed like how Henry would be, if something had really scared him. To Henry, it’s the most reassuring thing anyone has had to say about it.

To Have Your Cake… (Saturday, October 6th)

On a weekend morning Sammy finally asks Joey if he would trust Susie enough to tell her about… the two of them. Joey’s anxious about the idea, and even more alarmed to learn that Sammy’s asking because he wanted to date her, too. Is this just… what happened to Joey with Henry, all over again? And why tell Susie, when she could just be blissfully ignorant of this secret? But in telling her what’s really happening, they would have the chance to let their own relationship feel… real… and maybe they both want that. Joey can’t stand to wait, though, and suggests Sammy come with them tomorrow, to a night out dancing that Joey and Susie had already planned.

…And Eat It Too (Sunday, October 7th)

Susie is shocked when Joey unexpectedly brings a dressed-up Sammy along to their fun dance night, and Sammy is obviously stressed about it, too, but tells her that he had something to talk to her about: she deserves to know why Sammy insisted she shouldn’t date him, and to get to make that choice herself. Joey listens, vibrating anxiously as he lets Sammy just talk without interrupting, and Sammy explains that he’ll always have the Prophet with him, and he’s already dating Joey and Jack. SUDDENLY A LOT OF THINGS MAKE SENSE TO SUSIE… She takes a minute to process all of this, but decides she already knew that all of these people would have an important place in Sammy’s life – she still wants to try. They kiss, and Joey’s glad Sammy gets to experience showing his affection publicly, when they usually have to stay hidden; gets a chance to see they can have both.

Chance To Try, Wednesday, October 10th

Jack brings Sammy home early after some panic at work left Prophet having to step in. Sammy’s upset that this happened and asks where Jack and Prophet stand – are they dating too? He doesn’t feel ready to give Prophet the pieces of his life that should be his, like work, and Jack… but maybe this is not so different from other conversations they’ve had about dating, communication, and trust. Jack cooks him a warm meal and Sammy decides he wants to attempt to share it, to give them a chance to try this, and brings out the Prophet. Prophet is frustrated that Sammy has been so scared to trust him after insisting they stay separate, and shares some of his worries with Jack as he tries food – for maybe the first time? Jack suggests that sometimes compromise is worth it, even when it’s hard. When they switch back, and Sammy sees how much this meant to Prophet, it seems worth it to him, too.

—————————————————————

((🎶 SEASON THREE MASTERPOST 🎶 ))

(( ALL TL;DR RECAPS))

#quick recaps #call of cthulhu: haunted hijinx

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inkdemonapologist · 3 years ago

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[BatIM Call of Cthulhu Masterpost]

nEW SESSION (summary here!), where there’s been an unexpected development to the music issue and its time to [checks my notes] taLK TO THE PROPHET AND BREAK INTO SUSIE’S APARTMENT??? Also, the Prophet and Joey have made.... a truce(???), Prophet is concerned Sammy isn’t going to stay on task now that music is returning and has left him a sort of alarming note, and Jack is uh, trying to hold, too many things, maybe some things he shouldn’t be holding, Jack please put those things back,

anyway heres a stack of out-of-context quotes from our session under the readmore:

[Sammy is played by me, Joey is played by Boo (inkyvendingmachine), Henry is played by Maf (inkcryptid), Jack is played by Mochi (whatyouwantedmetosee) and Thren (haunted-hijinxer) is our GM!]

[Jack] My favourite thing is, there are so many reasons that Henry could've avoided things that I have no idea WHY Henry isn't affected. [Jack] Like, is he not affected because his art isn't a performance? Is he not affected because he warded his house? Is he not affected because he'S FILLED WITH GLOWING BLOOD?!?

[Jack] He got as far as feeding his cat, and I feel like feeding cat isn't a performance-- [Sammy] Not usually, not unless you sing a song to your cat, which-- [Jack] Awww! [Sammy] -- which, now that I've said that, sounds like something Jack would do actually,

[Sammy] Ohhhh, that's right, Joey just heard some people play some bad notes and start panicking, and then he stood up and passed out, [Jack] Which is probably how Sammy feels every time he hears people mess up music!

[GM] He finds news on the radio, but they’re not talking about that right now. [Joey] What are they talking about? [GM] Something mundane; business or sports or something. [Jack] The, the sportsball team, got a…..uh….. a, a point. Congratulations, sportsball,

[Joey] If the sportscasters sound normal, then Joey is instantly VERY ANGRY.

[Henry] Henry’s not very musically inclined, but he knows some songs, [Sammy] Like, can you hum Twinkle Twinkle Little Star -- [Jack] “Anyway, here’s Wonderwall.”

[Jack] Jack has made a vague list of the kinds of people who seem to be affected. [Jack] There’s also “NOT HENRY?????” with a bunch of question marks in this list.

[GM] He’s told that Peter is out of town for a week. [Jack] Hmm. [Sammy] PETER WHERE ARE YOU GOING? [Jack] Hmmmmmm. [Sammy] Jack, is Peter coming here, to check on you, [Jack] HMMMMMMMMMMMMM,

[Sammy] *exasperated* NPCs Stop Getting Involved In The Occult Challenge [Henry] Stop Getting Involved In The Occult Or Draw 25

[Joey] Peter had never seen a Bendy cartoon, and this needed to be fixed. [Joey] The premier is this weekend, and he sent tickets to Pete to correct this, error, in his ways. [Jack] ...I think it is very slowly dawning on Jack, that this means that Pete has been pulled directly into yet another… supernatural nonsense... [Sammy] WE DIDNT DO THIS ONE!!

[Sammy] I CAN’T BELIEVE PHONES ARE THE ANTAGONIST OF THIS ADVENTURE

[Henry] Oh wait--! oh, no, nevermind, I forgot he and Allison probably aren’t together yet. [Sammy] Yeah, I think they just met; they had a meet-cute where they found out they both like Frankenstein and that’s it. [Jack] They actually got married today, since nothing else was happening at the Studio, [Sammy] That’s why Allison hasn’t shown up, she was busy getting married!

[GM] Bendy might’ve been keeping tabs on Henry, but it depends I guess on how distressed Joey is seeming. [Joey] Joey is probably just going to bury his sorrow in studying magic. [GM] Okay! That’s fine and normal Joey behaviour!

[Sammy] Sammy will note that nothing got done in the music department, because he has good priorities.

[Jack] I like the idea that it’s just like, when the teacher isn’t in, and nobody does the work the substitute teacher gave you, [Jack] Everyone’s just playing pokemon in the back, [GM] I thought you were going to say “poker,” but I like the way you ended the sentence better.

[Jack] HMMMMMM. I wonder if we know, any suspicious women, who were around on that specific day, who are known to have, skill and interest in magical things, [Joey] And also were aware of the cutouts, [Sammy] *cheerfully* Yeah, weird! Anyway!!!!

[Jack] Sammy was acting weird about Allison. Far too agreeable for a Sammy!

[Sammy] *talking about Prophet* If you want to lock him in somewhere, or restrain him, I’ll cooperate. [Jack] Just handcuff him to Jack! [Sammy] SAMMY IS UNEASY WITH THAT PLAN, [Jack] *laughing* What could go wrong! It’s not like Jack is significantly less strong or anything!!

[Jack] Not everyone makes up their entire self, Joey!!! (Affectionate)!!

[Sammy] I give my word, my sheep! [Henry] How good is your word? [Sammy] I mean. It’s pretty good.

[Henry] Henry’s trying to decide if it would be rude to doodle during this very serious conversation. [Jack] I mean, Jack is taking notes, so I feel like-- [Joey] --you can get away with fake note-ing. [GM] No one will know! [GM] Well, Bendy will know, because he’s up high. [GM] Ceiling Bendy

[Sammy] He’s not gonna give you a grade afterwards, like, this isn’t a lecture, [Jack] Time for Prophet Pop Quiz!

[GM] What’s Prophet writing? [Sammy] Um, I gotta think about this... [Jack] “Dear Frightened Shepherd, that Allison person sure is nice, isn’t she?” [GM] “What’s up with everyone ragging on her?” [Joey] “I think I have finally found a way to bridge the gap between us!” [Jack] “I think you need to replace your sheep, they seem kind of suspicious for no reason,” [Jack] “To Do List: Get Better Sheep”

[Sammy] Does this feel like something that’s trying to take his focus, like, very compelling creative ideas? [GM] Yes. [Sammy] ...Prophet will write “don’t get distracted” five more times.

[GM] His mind is abuzz with thoughts of dancing and actoring, [GM] Ideas to be the best Joey ever! [Jack] Oh no.

[Joey] He will wave at the cutout and make a “come here” motion. [Joey] Though also, he’s looking at the cutout like, I’m not quite sure how this works, but I’m going to trust you that it works! So I’m going to do this and see if Bendy shows up! [Jack] Like someone trying to learn how to do phone video calls for the first time, [Joey] YES. Joey’s actually like really close to the cutout, and the motions -- you can make them out, but it’s really awkward,

[Sammy] They’re in no danger. I will take care of the Shepherd’s sheep. [Jack] ...JACK’S BEEN DOWNGRADED!! He’s no longer PROPHET’S sheep!

[Joey] I like how everything Prophet says really just feels like, Knife Cat face.

[GM] You could probably make a Mythos roll to figure it out. [Joey] *rolls* Oh! Extreme success! [GM] Joey’s back!

[GM] Bendy will lead Joey back to the room, where hopefully there are three alive, non-fighting boys!

[Jack] Part of me was like, “What if Jack DOES turn into a cat…?! It’d be pretty hard to write things!” [GM] *laughs* We’ll keep that in our back pocket, in case Jack ever fails a Mythos check. [Jack] Meowthos check…

[Henry] I’m going to have Henry look, look with his Special Eyes.

[Sammy] *failing a roll* Prophet is just, NOT on the ball today, in any way shape or form. [GM] Really hard not to think about music. : ) [Sammy] Ohhhhhh boy, [Jack] Prophet just writes a note to Sammy that says “HOW do you LIVE like this???”

[Henry] Henry’s gonna try to scribble what he remembers of the symbol! [Sammy] Didn’t we learn, from the last scenario, about reproducing weird symbols, [Henry] No.

[Joey] Did Joey get burnt? [GM] Make a dexterity roll! : ) [Henry] *mumbling* Y’all this entire building is made of wood. *Joey fails* [GM] 1 point of damage, you singe your hand -- on the plus side, you kind of were holding it as it burned up, so it doesn’t fall on the wooden floor. [Sammy] OH GOOD, we’re not LOCKED IN A CLOSET that’s about to burn down? GREAT!

[Joey] We could head over to the infirmary -- [Jack] Jack is already pulling the burn ointment out of his bag. [Jack] He’s prepared this time! [Jack] He’s been practicing, he knows what you’re all like,

[Joey] Joey will give him a smile that’s most recognisable as the “I know you will do good!” smile. [Sammy] Prophet will also smile! It is not a friendly smile. [Jack] It’s a “smile” in quotation marks, but it’s like, baring your teeth as an act of aggression.

[Jack] Jack lets him go to do the call, but just before he picks up the phone, he says, “Don’t call him Petey.”

[GM] The phone rings, and is not answered. [Joey] Okay! Joey hangs up, says Peter checked into his room, but is not answering. Most likely asleep. [Jack] Half of my brain is going, “what if he’s just stood outside Jack’s house?” The other half of my brain is concerned about manias. I hope he’s not decided that now is a really great time to do more writing, and now he can’t stop, and this could go wrong-- [Jack] This is what Jack’s mind is doing, thinking of all the terrible possibilities. [Joey] While humming. [Jack] ...yes. He’s writing some very troubling lyrics.

[Sammy] *talking about Jack’s compulsive humming* Like Cornifer, [Jack] *starts humming Cornifer’s theme* Dangit, now it’s in my head, why would you do this to me? [Sammy] It’s in character! [Sammy] Method acting. : )

[Joey] Joey’s going to grab supplies to make sure Bendy can… hang around with them! [Joey] Sleepover supplies! Let’s grab your sleepover bag! :D

[Sammy] I don’t know why the idea of a wild Bendy running around across the rooftops is so cute to me… [GM] Probably on all fours, [Jack] Scampering,

[Jack] It’s a good thing Henry’s around because I don’t think Jack can… carry??? An entire Sammy??? [Jack] Like he’s good at holding but he’s not strong at holding.

[Joey] We’ve all been acting terrible for the last 24 hours… [Joey] WAIT. We’ve all been acting terrible for the last 24 hours!!!

[GM] Bendy hides under a blanket or something. [Jack] Comfey… [GM] Cozy boy, [Joey] Bendyrito. [Sammy] BENDYRITO,…….. [GM] Rolled up… snug...

[GM] Is everybody coming into the apartment, or just the two? [Jack] Hmmm….. Jack isn’t fond of either of these options. Going in is suspicious and weird; staying outside makes it look even more like they’re breaking in, to steal things, as opposed to, y’know, breaking in, for,,, “good” reasons(???) [Sammy] We’re not breaking in, we’re just walking into this apartment! What’s so weird about that?! [Jack] That’s breaking in. That’s what breaking in is, Sammy. [Sammy] They don’t have to know that we don’t belong here, maybe Susie gave us a key! [Jack] ...they heard us knocking. [Sammy] [Sammy] We’re BEING POLITE!! SHUT UP!!

[Henry] Jack, did you pick up kleptomania.. [Joey] I thought Jack picked up Being Prepared! [Jack] H-he’s just hoarding a little bit!! It’s fine!!! It’s very, useful, see, already Joey got injured!! It was useful to bring lots of things with him okay!!!!!!!!!

[GM] They do not have the police called on them, so that’s nice. [Sammy] Oh good! [Jack] Thank GOODNESS. [Henry] Love when that happens! [GM] If you guys got arrested, the Lurker’s just out in the car all night, [Henry] oh NO, [Jack] Worse punishment than jail… [Joey] Lurker learns how to drive for fun. [GM] *laughs* Gets curious, [Joey] “I said I wouldn’t leave the car, but--”

[Joey] WAIT. There’s a very important factor that we just decided but didn’t say. [GM] Oh? [Joey] If we have Henry heading home, and everyone else sleep over at Jack’s…. [Joey] ...the Lurker finally gets to meet a cat. *everyone gasps* [Jack] Oh that’s SO important

[Henry] And Henry will probably look at these, while in the car, to make sure they don’t have any gold writing on them-- [Sammy] Isn’t Henry driving??? [Henry] ……Henry is not going to look at them in the car,

[Sammy] We’re all going to bed, Sammy, you don’t need a banjo to sleep! [Joey] You might sleep worse if you have a banjo, actually. You might not stop.

[Sammy] Jack you wanna join us? We’re gonna just jam all night! [Jack] It really is Jammy… [Sammy] *laughs* TRUE Jammy!! Real Jammy Hours… [GM] That makes it a pyJAMa party… a real jammy jam…

#call of cthulu: haunted hijinx #sammy lawrence #Jack Fain #joey drew #Henry Stein #Bendy the Lurker #when in doubt just keep drawing #cthulhu game quotes #everyone except henry got a new insanity and we're doing... fine!

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inkyvendingmachine · 3 years ago

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IT’S NOT BREAKING AND ENTERING IF YOU DON’T BREAK ANYTHING REDUX Season 3, Episodes 3+4

💀 Call of Cthulhu: Haunted Hijinx Masterpost 💀 🎶 Call of Cthulhu Season Three Masterpost 🎶

Warning: This campaign is an edited version of Call of Cthulhu: Song and Dance scenario from the Tales of the Crescent City book. While a lot has been changed, there IS spoilers for it throughout these posts.

SORRY FOR DELAY... This one is gonna be a long one because I tried to shove 2 episodes together in an attempt to maybe get caught up ish...

ART CHANGES THIS SEASON!! @inkdemonapologist and I are collabing on all the art for these summery posts!! Shazz does lines, and I compose and colour the pieces.

OKAY, gets around to… doing summaries again for myself this time.

Some Reporter Guy apparently got let into the house and has been making a lot of notes. Peter is excited (and relieved) to see Jack, and Jack likewise happy to finally know where he is. There’s some initial catching up to be done… but it’s obvious the boys, who are all more caught up in this sudden burst of creative energy, are a little preoccupied right now with something on their minds, or in their minds. Sammy quickly wanders off to play the piano instead of continuing convo, Joey has his own moment that involves dancing with Jack and then disappearing into another room to have a breakdown, leaving Jack to talk with Peter, who ends up staying the night. Joey eventually emerges and he and Sammy end up staying up all night composing stories and songs.

Oh, also Beans and Bendy get to meet!! It … did not go very well, but it didn’t go badly!

Meanwhile, Henry has a lovely uneventful date night with his wife studying ritual circles.

Come morning, breakfast is made and attempted to be put into the hands of the boys who are all more focused on their continued obsessive creative endeavors. The only one who actually ends up eating a full meal is Beans. Some plans are made to meet back up with Peter later that night, but they’re all going to go do their own investigations first. Jack tries to steal some of Peter’s surplus of notes while he’s getting dressed, but this attempt is easily seen and mistaken as a helpful action by Peter as he runs out the door. Henry shows up not too much longer later and the remaining boys figure out their day.

During this, the discussion of where Bendy is to go comes up… along with asking Sammy, by the way, how long he is okay with Prophet being out? Because Bendy did promise to ask this… Sammy is caught off guard, and doesn’t have any uhhh specific time table?? But is fine with the Prophet running around as long as he’s being helpful… AND! AS LONG AS HE PROMISES NOT TO HURT SUSIE.

With that sorted,

Henry and Sammy are going to head to the studio, to work on the cartoon. They still have a release coming up soon, and while it’s not ideal to be delayed by all this occult stuff… well, there was a buncha good content made last night that can make up for lost time!!

Meanwhile, Jack and Joey (and Bendy, fused w/ joey!) end up heading out to follow up on their leads in hopes of finding Susie. It’s clear she’s involved somehow, which is on top of them being worried about her. There’s also some squinting going on with Allison still, especially as Henry shows off the sleepy spell he found leftover from her assumed break in. So Joey first tries to get information on her, like why is she even in the area and where is she, by phoning their mutual friend (the sponsor) and catching up with him. Information easily received, Joey then goes onto try and phone Allison, but gets no response. Well… they’ll check in on her later. Onto finding Susie and the girls she is probably hanging out with:

First, Joey and Jack return to the hospital they visited the night of the chaos. The one where, according to the paper Henry found, the girls (who included Susie possibly) ended up going to. Also the one where Jack saw someone who matched the description of Lady Orchid… When they get to the front desk though, despite Joey’s sweet-talking, they only get a hint of information from the receptionist, who refuses to acknowledge the girls were ever there and is clearly trying to keep Joey from talking about it. But maybe the could ask the guy who wrote the article if they’re so sure that the girls were there…

Jack notices someone who was eavesdropping going for the phone, and drags Joey out of there to inform him. With that in mind, they immediately head towards the paper… both to hopefully find this journalist, but also to warn Peter that someone is going around covering stuff up to do with Lady Orchid.

Once they get to the paper and warn Peter, they find out the guy who wrote the article has been fired for a false story (probably threatened to keep quiet); Peter gets them the guy’s address, and Jack and Joey go to talk with him.

They head out to the reporter’s apartment, with Joey turning this more and more into a fancy detective story as they continue. When the reporter answers the door, he’s got a black eye and a split lip and doesn’t wanna chat, but Joey finally gets his way in for an interview by agreeing to pay the man enough money he can skip town and go see his sister.

The reporter guy confirms the information from the article, says he was there because he rushed over when he heard a gunshot. Gives descriptions of the girls, one def sounds like Susie. They smelled of herbs and oils. Also he traced that Mercedes car and found it belonged to the Savoy family.... so the Savoys’ daughter, Nichole Savoy, might be the “Nicky” from Susie’s audiolog.... The guy gives Joey the Savoys’ address, as well as information on the third friend, a young woman named Colette.

Joey has stolen one of Jack’s notebooks to write this all down.

The reporter also confirms he was cornered by the police on the way home, beat up and told to drop the story. So he did.

MEANWHILE, Sammy goes right for the music department and gets to work. There’s actually a lot of people in Music, it’s very busy! Everyone is eager to work and Sammy starts getting everything back on course.

But at one point when Wally shows up, Sammy does end up talking to him. He’s friendly with Susie, after all, so Sammy asks about anything he knows with Susie’s whereabouts, and if he knows anything about a cake from the other morning. Wally actually does know a lot about this, about Susie and how she was going to her friend Colette’s audition, though most of his info is useless fluff. Also Wally says that there was no cake in the morning, there was one left the previous night. He assumed it was for him and Tom while they were working late. Nice perk!

Sammy does not Murder Wally but he sure thinks about it.

Wally does try to ask for Sammy’s keys when Sammy is trying to escape the convo because Tom has started getting mad about lending his. Sammy gets mad, intimidates Wally to find out that Susie borrowed them. To set up some surprise and not to tell sammy. (that night he found the cake.) ((wally pls put two and two together….)

Art Department is doing well. Henry is found by Tom, who asks where Joey is. When told Joey is just out until later, he gives an update on the work to Henry… and also asks if there’s been anything weird going on in the studio. Henry brings up the break in, and that some stuff is missing, and THEN Tom admits he saw the person breaking in, and caught them, but didn’t see they had anything so he thought it was fine. He apologizes for not bringing it up earlier, he didn’t think it was a problem until All The Musicians Went Weird.

It was Allison, he says. She was near Joey’s office. Weird that Tom just doesn’t have any more information but still didn’t feel the need to report this...

Henry and Sammy meet up near the end of day to share info. That info sharing gets heated when Sammy’s insistent that Tom’s story is fishy, and they start arguing over who is more suspicious / likely a culprit, Susie or Allison.

Joey and Jack get back in the afternoon, and the two groups meet up for a meal and info trading -- after trading info and forgetting to eat, Joey goes around all the departments and sticks his fingers into today’s work.

They argue about Allison again and Joey brings up that probably what happened with Tom is the same thing that happened to Sammy the other day. Sammy objects that Allison did anything to him, Joey’s just trying to take control of things that aren’t his (music department) and needs to stop. Rest of the team… does not side with Sammy on this.

Henry offers to try a purification thing on Sammy, like when he used his blood to remove the Yellow Sign. If something is in Sammy’s head, it’ll be expelled. If not, nothing will happen.

Sammy goes along with it but he’s upset.

Sammy is more upset when he realizes that a lot of the positive impressions of Allison he had faded away instantly. Joey is making a “/well?/” face of wanting to know if he was right or not. This isn’t helping.

They agree not to talk about it but then talk about it; clearly Allison doesn’t need to be alone with someone to do her thing. Though it is becoming more and more clear that while she might not be the one causing all the issues, she is causing some issues and might have information they don’t. The boys decide to try and call her, and when they don’t get an answer, decide maybe they’ll just stop by…

Though also before they leave, Joey tries calling the number he got for Colette, the third friend of Susie and Nicole, the one Wally also knew about. The number (and address) goes to her parents’ place, and they are not pleased to be talking with Joey. They’re not pleased their daughter has gone off and done whatever she is doing, and they don’t know where any of the girls are.

Speaking of just tapping all information sources, the boys go find Norman and see if he’s seen anything going on.

He’s def noticed things are weird. He’s not pleased when they ask about Susie, since he also overheard Allison Talks the other day and wonders if we’re planning on throwing Susie to the side so quickly just for another magic buddy. Sammy, no longer under Allison influence, snaps back “Of course not.” They drop that discussion and Norman admits he knows Susie and and her friends were planning on meeting up at 7th Haven, some club, to celebrate or commiserate whether or not Colette got the part she was auditioning for.

With Norman tapped for info, they head out to try and go visit Allison since she isn’t picking up her phone.

Bendy wants to come along to keep an eye on them, Joey would rather he didn’t since we don’t know what side of all this Allison is on yet, and we DO know she knows how to mess with Bendy. Sammy does help Bendy’s nervousness about leaving them alone by enchanting his mask with the spell that lets Bendy see through it. He won’t be wearing it, but he will carry it along.

They head over to Allison’s hotel room. Before approaching the door, Joey checks the area for possible traps, even though there’s no reason for him to be affected right now. Once clearing, he knocks once, twice… and takes out his lockpicks to break in.

They head on into a rather disarrayed room for Allison. Not like a scuffle happened, more like she’s not keeping herself together rn…

Including a prophecy scrawled on the wall, quite like Prophet does.

Investigations start. Some notes are found but not a lot. Henry turns on his eyes, finds a weird piece of paper hiding behind a shelf that has a golden arrow pointing to it.

When the door closes and everyone is inside, suddenly Sammy, Jack and Joey all pass out and drop to the floor.

Henry finds runes that he quickly figures out he does not know how to deactivate, so instead he drags Sammy out of the magicked room and into the bathroom and manages to wake him up. And then there’s a knock on the hotel door.

One of the hotel staff is concerned about what is going on in the room, sees 2 boys passed out on the floor and a third recovering in the bathroom when Henry opens the door. Henry…. Tries to fast talk that they were all just drinking…

The Staff leaves… skeptically. Henry and Sammy quickly try to wake the other boys up and get them going we need to go now,,,

Joey forms a plan when they realize that escape will not be that easy. He works off of Henry’s poor fast talk and turns it into a more believable story, having each boy play their part to make the scene work. They… do not get let out, but they don’t get taken away by the police either. Just held in the back until they can check with Allison…. And when Allison finally shows up, she backs up their story.

Joey goes to speak with her immediately because BOY IS THERE A LOT TO TALK ABOUT NOW,

They head up to the room where instantly the shouting starts. Nobody is pleased that she has been messing in Sammy’s head. That she broke into JDS. She seems extra pissed off at Tom apparently, thinking he gave her away… And thinks that we caused all this stuff to happen as some kind of… revenge on her?? To spite her??

Joey is baffled at her. He is appalled. He also realizes she might be the best help they can get right now.

Sammy is furious.

Eventually Joey manages to smooth it out enough to get info from Allison. She knows that three people have called upon cosmic powers of creativity from beyond to possess their mortal bodies. Something needs to be done about it before all this Mortal Form Of Creativity drives people to their deaths.

Joey tries to grill her for details the night she broke in, Sammy is upset that for some reason all this is okay????? It’s not okay just we have more important things to deal with right now. Sammy is still yelling until Jack calms him down.

Joey brings up the Savoy family and tries to get information from Allison on them. She knows of the family but doesn’t understand why they might be involved. Joey explains some, but casually leaves out that Susie might be one of those three people.

Some magic notes are traded. Joey gets an interesting dream walking ritual from Allison that he wants to spend the night learning. He hands off what notes he can quickly reproduce that were the ones stolen from him and feel very similar to what the girls are doing… including how to possibly undo the ritual. The two agree to reconvene later with what info they have and move on from there. Allison might have a way into the Savoys’ house even, if Joey wants to come with her for that…

As they leave, Allison asks if they really didn’t learn about her actions from Tom. Joey repeats that he learned it himself, but. If she dares touch what’s his again, any truce they have is over. “Do not mess with what is mine (Sammy)”

Allison seems to understand that…

There’s a debriefing and catching up with Bendy back at the studio, who is kinda freaked out because he watched Sammy pass out on top of the mask and then proceeded to see nothing.

Also catch up with Peter who has been calling the studio since they were supposed to meet a few hours ago. Peter tells them he has found a lead dealing with a local mob who got the ink?? And is supposed to deliver it to the Savoys???? And he’s gonna continue looking into this. Stay safe, Peter.

Henry and Jack head back home for the night. Henry wants to see his family, Jack needs to feed his cat. (Beans keeps Jack responsible. Thank you Beans.) Joey and Sammy end up going to the studio, where Joey spends a long time working on learning this Dream Walking spell so he can try and use it on Susie.

Sammy ends up taking a nap while Joey spends like 6 hours learning this spell. Joey realizes Sammy is asleep when he finishes the spell, and decides that… a good, safer test would be to poke Sammy in his dreams.

He goes over and lays his hands on Sammy and… manages to get in there.

Sammy is having a stress dream. Joey is… maybe a little story-telling mania rn, and while his original plan was just to quickly test this and inform Sammy he figured out the spell, instead he gets caught up in trying to make Sammy’s terrible dream into a good one! Since Joey has gotten caught up in the dream and obviously Sammy is going to get caught up in a dream where things are just going nicely… the boys both get to actually sleep.

Eventually Sammy wakes up and finds a sleeping Joey just flopped in his lap, and Joey wakes up soon after since there’s no more Dream to be inside anymore. Sammy’s confused why Joey just flopped all over him instead of doing the things he said he was going to do last night.

Joey is immediately excited that it worked!! He runs back over to work another ritual into effect so he can try and reach out to Susie before she wakes up. Sammy starts writing down music from his dream meanwhile–

And then suddenly Joey is thrown across the room!??!? Slams into a wall!?!??!?!?

When Sammy goes to grab him and figure out what the fuck happened, Joey says that he definitely ran into… something big. Something is possessing Susie.

Sammy tries to argue to try the spell on him, but Joey doesn’t feel like it’ll change anything except perhaps mess Sammy up. He goes to make some phone calls and inform/gather the team while Joey recovers.

And… maybe we just need to go do some reconnaissance on the Savoys…

[Next Episode]

[Previous Episode]

#call of cthulu: haunted hijinx #batim #Bendy and the Ink Machine #sammy lawrence #Jack Fain #joey drew #Henry Stein #im sorry this is late as heck #my brain has just been laggy recently

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rosies-batim-blog · 3 years ago

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LAMP au Stuff #1

The Ink Demon/”Bendy”, despite showing up before the machine gets turned on and possessing Henry, is actually going to try and mostly stick to the script.

Yes, major parts are being derailed, but so long as the story keeps progressing and doesn’t seem like it’s being completely changed, “Bendy” is hoping that Joey won’t notice that something is wrong.

Because their plan relies on them getting to The End and from there to Joey’s apartment.

They don’t know how much control Joey has over the story once it’s been kicked into motion (or if he fully knows what’s happening in it) and, frankly, they don’t want to find out.

So, Joey must be kept in the dark.

(Although, based on some of the things Joey says in Henry’s memories, they think he doesn’t actually know what happens once he sends Henry in. Just how long it takes for Henry to finish a run.)

As such, “Bendy” will probably be doing his best to play Henry’s “part” in the story. Following his lines/actions as close as he can during the slower parts of the chapters. (Since most of the cutscenes are supposed to be out of Henry’s control and as such Joey would never expect Henry to be able to do anything during them.)

That said, they’ll still be doing things to streamline/make the whole thing easier for themselves. Such as trying to sway various monsters to their side, or remove them from the equation if they’ll be a problem later on.

(And, maybe, trying to be nice to his host by rescuing some of them for Henry.)

The major ones are (as many an AU writer knows) Sammy/The Prophet, The Projectionist, Malice, Boris, Allison, and Tom.

Each has potential bonuses, or detriments, to “Bendy” that will probably have an effect on what he does with them.

(Which is me saying “I don’t know what’ll work best, so I’m telling you ALL the options.”)

Sammy would probably be easiest to sway since the Ink Demon would just have to flex his powers to prove he's the real deal. A loyal minion can be useful in a pinch, and could potentially make dealing with things later easier. (Like splitting up to finish Malice’s chores, or having back-up in a fight.)

But it could also be easier/more practical to just snatch Sammy's soul and shove him into the shared body as another passenger.

After all, Sammy isn’t fully sane (and not that subtle) and his presence could alert others to the fact that something wasn’t right with “Henry”. It could be a problem if Sammy started rambling about the “mercy” or “skill” of his “Lord” when he’s obviously referring to Henry and not “Bendy”.

The Projectionist would probably get soul-grabbed since he only shows awareness in the train room and the Ink Demon won’t be there to "rescue" Henry. And if he’s not aware, it won’t be possible to sway him to their side. It would mess with a “major” cutscene, but so would the Ink Demon not showing up. As much as having the Projectionist along would be helpful, avoiding getting into a fight would be more practical in the long run.

“Bendy” has no plans of swaying OR soul-snatching Malice, not only because they don’t get along, but because her being an enemy is needed to get deeper into the studio. (Oh, he plans to keep her from getting Boris, but until then it would be easier to keep her chapter as close to the script as possible.)

That said, he’s completely down to mess with her.

Mostly due to Uncanny Valley spookiness or the Demon being unsettling while pretending to be Henry. Not reacting the way she wants/expects, grinning too wide around her, taking some cheap-verbal shots when he can. You know, getting under her skin.

The Ink Demon also finally understands Henry's soft spot for Boris, now that he can hang around the wolf without scaring him senseless. Boris is a good boy and he wants to keep him safe. He drops the creepiness around Boris/hides it better to make sure the wolf will stay near. Again, he tries to keep acting like Henry around the wolf so that things will progress the way they’re meant to.

But, if he fails to keep Malice from getting her claws on the wolf, he plans to soul-grab to keep him from the puddles. (And to keep Henry from getting upset/depressed again.)

“Bendy” doesn't have much of an opinion of Allison and Tom, and he may have outright dodged them instead of being a prisoner of theirs. That would make them the one point where he deliberately goes off-script.

But, if they did catch him, he’d try to play along as long as he could. (Though, should they try to take him out/realize that something’s wrong, he’d try to soul-snatch instead of sending them to the puddles.)

(It’s implied that “Bendy” and Thomas knew each other, but their relationship wasn’t great. The demon now knows that it’s more to do with Joey than anything on their parts, but I’d say there’s still a divide/disconnect between them.)

Now, I’ve done some thinking about the soul-grabbing and Henry’s view/perspective, so I’m going to talk about that.

Henry has no control over his body, he’s basically a passenger/viewer in his own body and can’t really do anything about it. But he still feels everything happening to him, like the ink on his clothes, when “Bendy’s” picked things up or moving them around, when they get hurt, etc.

It’s very unsettling and would be really terrifying if the demon wasn’t trying to respect Henry’s limits and trying to do things that Henry wants to happen.

There’s also an emotional/mental connection between the two as well, letting them communicate without having to speak out loud and tell how each other is feeling. (Which is how “Bendy” knows how Henry is doing if he thinks the human might be lying or trying to hide it.)

“Bendy”, however, holds the majority of the power, so he can keep Henry from knowing everything in his head (as well as peer into Henry’s mind/memories when he needs to). He can also cut Henry off to keep him from seeing or feeling something happening. He tells Henry about it but says he’ll try to avoid doing it unless it’s something really bad or will majorly upset the human.

Soul-grabbing involves “Bendy” shoving his hand into the person’s chest, pulling out a ball of light, then shoving it into Henry’s chest instead.

Any soul that gets added is “knocked out” for a while before they wake up and join the mind connections. They’re all in a situation similar to Henry’s, they can see and hear everything but they can’t do anything unless the Demon allows it. Though, for them, all other senses are muted.

But, since the demon has power over the souls once he grabs them, so when he shoves them in, he also tries to mend the soul’s mind/personality while he’s at it.

For some of the souls, it’s easier to mend the damage than others. (Especially since he’s got Henry’s memories to compare them to.) Though it’s never an instant fix.

He might have a “safe haven” that they end up in when he lets Henry’s body rest/sleep. Or at least a spot to let them feel like themselves/have some space instead of being constantly forced to be around each other. (Like a dreamscape house or something. Possibly based on someplace that Henry knows that isn’t the studio.)

#like a man possessed au #lamp au #henry stein #sammy lawrence #bendy #ink demon #malice #the projectionist #norman polk #susie campbell #allison pendle #Thomas Conner #allison angel #tom the wolf #boris the wolf #rosies aus #bendy and the ink machine #batim

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charley-and-the-swap-machine · 2 years ago

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CATSM: REINK'D (Chapter 2: Part 1)

Who is "Sammy Lawrence"?

The Voice Of Thomas Connor

It's dark and it's cold and it's stuck in behind every single wall now. In some places, I swear this godforsaken ink is clear up to my knees!

Whoever thought that these crummy pipes could hold up under this kind of strain either knows something about pressure I don't, or he's some kind of idiot.

But the real worst part about all this... are them noises the system makes. Like a dying dog on its last legs.

Make no mistake, this place... this... machine... heck, this whole darn thing... it just isn't natural.

You can bet, I won't be doing any more repair jobs for Mister Joey Drew.

-------------------------------------

"Ugh, my head....what happened?"

Henry came to his senses, and found half of his face squished against a pentagram, surrounded by candles. What the hell is this? How did I-

Soon, every memory came flowing back to him, and he went to one conclusion. Well, I guess there's only one thing left to do...press on. See if I can find a way out.

He staggered to his feet and looked around for his axe, soon finding it propped against a coffin of some sorts. As he picked it up, that same, strange curiosity came though him once more.

No, Henry, you are NOT opening that thing. He thought to himself, turning away from it before turning his head back.

....Well, maybe a small peek wouldn't hurt.....right?

Putting down his axe, he ever so carefully opened the coffin.

.....Henry then felt a wave of disgust go through him.

Inside lay a rotting cadaver, covered with the black substance found everywhere in the studio. It hugged the body loosely, but was just tight enough to expose a grotesque figure, mouth agape and hands in an unnatural position. Rigor Mortis. The teeth had rotted already, and the body itself gave a stench putrid enough to make Henry gag. This is a dead body. Joey used this to do something....horrible. Oh, god.....Joey, what the hell were you doing......?

Henry quickly shut the coffin, shutting the nauseating scent of rotting flesh and ink back inside. Keep pushing forward. He thought, as he blinked a few times and turned away, grabbing his axe again.

He hacked through the doorway before him, before finding himself before a staircase. Goin' down again, huh?

And so, he descended downwards....

.....Hey, Joey. Again, what the fuck?

Everywhere were......shrines. Shrines littered with writing, candles, maybe a few bowls and cans of that soup he found everywhere. Bacon soup? How would you even do that? Put bacon in salty water and throw in a few bits of vegetables? Shrines containing that same, grinning face he saw everywhere. Charley. What was Joey doing? Running a cult? Turning this....what is he even? Some oversized cat? A monkey? Some guy with a horribly deformed nose? I'm the one who designed him, what was he again...? Was he trying to turn this oversized whatever-the-fuck into the next Jesus or something? He was just discovering more and more things as he went on....

A larger shrine caught his eye, with words in dark scribbled letters. 'He Will Set Us Free' Who the fuck is 'he'?

He pressed play on the tape recorder, and stepped back.

---------------------------------------

The Voice Of Sammy Lawrence

He appears from the shadows to rain his sweet blessings upon me.

The figure of ink that shines in the darkness.

I see you, my savior. I pray you hear me.

Those old songs, yes, I still sing them.

For I know you are coming to save me.

And I will be swept into your final loving embrace.

But, love requires sacrifice.

Can I get an amen?

--------------------------------

The tape shut off with a click. Henry stood there, dazed. He sounded familiar...but I can't put my finger on it. Who was he..?

"I said, CAN I GET AN AMEN?" A voice echoed out of nowhere, and Henry turned around wildly to search for the source. "Oh, FUCK OFF!" He shouted in response.

No reply followed. ....Either he shut up, or I'm finally going crazy. I'm hungry.

Going over two one of the shrines, he grabbed a can of bacon soup, searching for a pull tab. ....Oh. No can openers here, guess I'll have to improvise.

Switching the axe upside down, he awkwardly pried opened the can, tearing off an uneven chunk of metal. He then gulped down the contents like soda pop, expecting something rotten, but...

Oh. That's actually....decent? When did this.....'expires in'....oh, that is a long time ago. Well, it certainly doesn't taste rotten, so I guess that's fine.

Tossing the can away, he continued onwards.

Making his way to a hallway, he soon found that it was flooded with ink. I need new shoes anyways.

He trudged through the dark fluid for a while, before noticing a figure pass by and freezing up.

"OH! Hello! Excuse me! Can you help me? Hello?" He called after the figure, as they stared at him with glowing eyes, before turning back around and walking away.

"Hey, come back!" He continued, rushing through the ink, before turning the corner and realizing they were gone.

"Where the hell did he go?" He muttered, staring at the Charley cutout in their place, giving that toothy grin to Henry.

He was sure he'd gotten himself into a bigger mess now as he looked around...

#batim au #bendy and the ink machine #batim #batim ask blog #batim charley #henry stein #‟pen to paper‟ 📽️

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hello-im-not-a-possum · 3 years ago

Text

18. Skeleton

Buddy and Sammy find the “goldfish room” as the latter calls it, AKA the closet where Joey keeps his skeletons, literally. And in the process, Buddy learns about a few of the skeletons in Sammy’s metaphorical closet. (Set during ink hell, pre loop, post Buddy befriending the lost ones/searchers.)

The Prophet was a strange ally.

It was weird to work alongside someone who worships the guy who tore you in half and is the biggest reason why you’re stuck in a nightmarish, inescapable studio, especially when it wasn’t the nicest or friendliest person before getting claimed by the ink. (Although, as he thought back on it, had he ever met Sammy before it was claimed by the Ink?)

But ANY ally was better than an enemy, especially when that ally knows the studio better than anyone else down here. Besides, it seemed like the Ink man was either unaware of their past or didn’t even know who they used to be, and even if it did, it wasn’t angry about their past issues.

At the same time, working on scavenging trips with the former musician was a nightmare; it was way too tranquil about the situation, and there were too many weird murderous monsters that the wolf and gofer were aware of.

“I do not need to run, little wolf. I can evade these creatures without issue through my Lord’s gift.” The Prophet calmly stated as Buddy gestured confusion about why it didn’t run when the pair heard something that sounded suspiciously like the projectionist’s screams. “Besides, running through these halls is risky, I would be heard by those… more unsavory denizens of this studio and get ambushed by them.”

He wished his typewriter was quieter in instances like this, being able to type out ‘But what if you get caught by your lord?’ and other messages to hand to him without risking alerting the Ink Demon would be great. Or just having his voice back in general.

“If my Lord decides to send me back to the puddles, then it is his right to do so to prove I have changed.” He answered the unspoken question. “But it does mean that I have to work harder to get him to notice how much I have improved, get him to notice me…”

‘Please don’t read my mind unless I give you the “go for it” gesture. It’s creepy otherwise.’

“My apologies, little wolf, while your thoughts come in quieter than everybody else’s… they’re still noticeable, especially when it’s just the two of us.”

Buddy hesitantly nodded and just tried to lead the Prophet out of the ransacked room to look for more stray supplies.

A few more hours of searching lead the pair to a locked room, something that experience told him meant that either it was another dead end or a hidden treasure trove of supplies, and not wanting to go back to the safe house empty handed, he was ready to roll those dice.

Buddy gestured for the Prophet to stand guard as he picked the door’s lock, and as the door slowly creaked open, he was thankful that he couldn’t speak because the scream that came out from his mouth would’ve been loud enough to alert every monster in the studio.

The former gofer felt sick to his stomach when he saw them. Piles upon piles of rotting, mangled, corpses. Human Corpses, not toony corpses like the other Borises or the butchered up members of the Butcher gang. Most of them were unrecognizable, partly because he had never seen most of these people in his life, and partly because they had decayed so much that what remained was hard to figure out who was who and what. The oldest corpses were nothing but skeletons and clothes, and the freshest one looked like…

...Like his own body.

“The goldfish room...” The prophet muttered loud enough for Buddy to hear, startling the poor pup out of his skin as he didn’t hear him enter behind him.

The wolf shuddered and continued to scour the room for anything worth the hassle of all of this. Boris wanted to take a few of the bones, which Buddy unenthusiastically obliged.

“Don’t eat those!” The Prophet interjected so loudly and harshly that it startled both the former gofer and the wolf toon. The ink creature’s anger was so much scarier with how rare it was to see now. “Especially not him! He’s my-” The Prophet stopped itself by covering its ‘mouth’ with its hands as if it was about to reveal a big secret and just took the skeletal arm out of Buddy’s hands and put it back where he found it. Its voice went back to it’s normal calm tone that reminded him of someone who was on the verge of falling asleep, but Buddy heard somberness in the musician’s pitch. “...they’re unclean...”

‘Prophet?’ Buddy gave him the “go ahead, read my mind” gesture. ‘Prophet, what is this place? Who are these people?’

“...You’ve seen your own corpse among them, correct?”

Buddy nodded.

“I know you’ve met Joey, but tell me; ...Has he ever called you ‘Henry’ before?”

‘Yes he has, but what does that have to do with…’ he gestured at the bodies on the floor ‘this?!’

“Henry’s been gone for a long time now.” The prophet stated, but there was a hint of recollection in his tone that weakened the calmness, and the more he talked, the more broken (for lack of a better term) his voice became. “Do you think that you were Joey’s first replacement goldfish? That after Henry left the studio, you were Joey’s only other other Henry?”

Buddy’s ears began ringing and he heard music; it was loud, distorted, fast-paced, and all over the place, the type of music that makes your heart pound out of your chest and makes your hackles stand up, the type of music that tells you to run, but doesn’t clue you in to where or why. The prophet’s body started to shake and tremble.

“The first Other-Henry was actually named Henry as well. And like his predecessor, was an excellent artist who really connected with the characters...”

‘Sammy? What’s going on? do you hear this too?!’

“But unlike Stein, Ross was a very stubborn person who refused to let anyone push him around, especially by either Joey or myself. Surprisingly, I liked that man, but he didn’t last long...”

Fear kept Buddy’s legs frozen to the ground as he covered his ears in a fruitless attempt to muffle the music, it felt like it was being played directly in his head, and then it clicked when the whispers started up, whispers in their tone, but not in volume, they were loud enough to drown out parts of what the Prophet was saying;

‘Sammy help us!’

“The next one was more like you, a younger, less experienced and more skittish person, his first name was ‘Lawrence’ so everyone called him ‘Larry’ to avoid confusion...”

‘Sammy, where are you?’

“...But he was also too nosy for that poor boy’s own good.”

‘you’re too weak!’

“The one after that was a scatterbrained fellow, very passionate about his work but didn’t focus very much on one topic or another...”

The Prophet’s monologue was completely drowned out by the music and chorus of desperate and angry “Other Henries” at this point. Buddy knew he was still talking because of the musician’s gestures, but didn’t hear a single word out of him.

‘Saaaaaammyyyyyyy....’ ‘You’re such a spineless coward...’ ‘Sammy please save us..!’ ‘Why did you let Joey kill us?’ ‘The ink... it’s so cold...’ ‘No wonder Susie hates you so much...’ ‘Sammy, please! It hurts!’ ‘Why did you let us die?’ ‘Why won’t you help us?’ ‘You’re no better than Joey.’ ‘Sammy, help us!’ ‘I thought you loved me...’ ‘Sammy, help us!’ ‘You promised me that you’d always be there!’ ‘Sammy, help us!’ ‘They were right about you...’ ‘Sammy, help us!’ ‘Saaaaaammyyyyyyy....’

He knew that the lost ones, searchers and Prophet could hear each others’ thoughts, but didn’t understand what that was like until now that he was hearing Sammy’s thoughts. No wonder most of them were always so depressed and on edge...

‘Sammy?’ the gofer shook Sammy gently, only to hear his own voice join the chorus of other Henries as one of the ones who sounded like he was mad at him. ‘Sammy, snap out of it!’ he shook the Prophet harder, still not waking the Ink creature out of its trance. ‘SAMMY!’ Doing the first thing that came to mind out of desperation, Buddy slapped the mask clean off of it.

The music and voices died as if they were a candle light snuffed out by the wind.

For a few seconds that felt more like hours, Buddy and Sammy stared at each other in silence before Sammy put its mask back on as if nothing happened and led the toon wolf out of the goldfish room, took a key out of its pocket and locked it behind them.

-----

Back in the safe house, Buddy started up a pot of bacon soup, the stuff tasted a little bit better when it was hot while Sammy tuned the banjo in the dining area and Dot tried to stir up conversation.

“So... how did the supply run go?”

“Fine.”

Buddy involuntarily let out a snort as he took the soup off the stove and took out his typewriter.

[It was the scariest one we’ve ever done so far.

While looking around for stuff, we ended up in this place S The Prophet called ‘the Goldfish room’ and it was filled with dead bodies. HUMAN dead bodies. And mine was in the pile! I couldn’t tell if it was haunted or if it was just the prophet’s thoughts going]

“Little wolf, I do not wish to think about that room again...”

[Sorry.]

The wolf sheepishly put the typewriter to the side and poured the soup into bowls. As the toon and lost one ate, the prophet mostly just stared into his bowl as if he was watching something in it.

“...Before my enlightenment, I was not a good person.” The masked musician stated unprompted.

“Huh?”

“I wasn’t an evil person per say, and I wouldn’t go as far as to call the man I used to be a monster.” He sighed and adjusted his mask. “But I was certainly a bad person, an asshole, a coward who hid behind physical strength, and I had more vices than virtues.”

[Prophet, what are you talking about?]

“I’m trying to answer the questions I know you have before either of you two pester them out of me. Maybe when you’re sated my Lord will allow me to forget again.”

[Are you sure? you seemed really upset back ...there.]

“Well look at it this way, maybe getting it off your chest will help you feel better about it?”

“I suppose...” The prophet sighed again.

“So what does you being a crackhead before finding the Ink Demon Religion have to do with a room full of dead bodies?”

“Dorthy!”

“...I’ll just listen before asking anything else.”

“Thank you.” It readjusted its mask. “Now where was I...” it hummed to itself for a bit before speaking again, with venom slowly but surly pooling into its words. “I had more vices than virtues, and Joey could see all of both, using my virtues to his advantage, and using my vices against myself, he did everything he could to keep me from leaving him too, and it worked.”

The prophet took in a deep breath to stabilize itself.

“Every time I tried to leave, he did something else to make me stay; ‘I love you’s turned to gifts, gifts to false promises, false promises to threats, threats to blackmail, blackmail to going through with it, and when he felt me slipping through his fingers he turned to taking advantage of my addictions... That... monster was a parasite in all aspects except physically... And I didn’t even notice until I might as well have been a walking corpse as I was seeing others march to my fate, but I couldn’t even so much as squeak out a warning without Joey swooping in on his behalf. Some Henries, heads of the art department, didn’t need to be warned by me as they found out what would await them and fled. But Joey didn’t like that... When I tried to warn the ones who needed to be warned, it was easy for him to dismiss me as a loon, a drunk, and an addict, until eventually I just gave up. I couldn’t even save myself, let alone anyone else... let alone the other art departments...”

“...I just stopped trying to keep Joey from leading the sheep to the slaughter, maybe they’re right to be angry at me for being such a coward...”

It then turned to face the wolf and put its hand on his shoulder.

“You’ve asked yourself if you’ve ever met me before the Ink had claimed me, as for that, I don’t know, nor do I think it matters, Buddy. I was nothing but a shallow and beaten husk of myself long before I even had tasted the ink. Even if you met me before then, you only met a ghost, not a person.”

The three then stayed in silence for a while before the clicks of Buddy’s typewriter caught the other two’s attention.

[Well, if it helps you any I think you’re not as bad of a person as you tell yourself you used to be.]

“And I don’t need to hear everyone’s thoughts to know that you’ve really stepped up to the plate when it counted. I don’t think a coward would try to do have the stuff you’re doing now.”

“Thanks you two” The Prophet’s voice cracked with emotion. “That... that really means a lot to me.”

#Bendy and the Ink Machine #buddy boris #buddy lewek #sammy lawrence #dot batim #fanfic #drug abuse tw #abuse tw #dead bodies #psychological trauma #ink demonth

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tiny-smallest · 3 years ago

Text

day twenty-eight - picture

Rating: G Characters: Joey, Sammy Warnings: Joey’s unhinged, abusive behavior Description: When Sammy’s world is rocked to its core, he hopes to find answers and comfort with the person he trusts most.

He doesn’t find it.

Also on AO3!

---

It was a big, gaping hole in the center of his universe.

The day after Henry was gone, Sammy woke up and could almost believe it was a dream until reality crashed down over him again. The make-believe lasted almost until breakfast, but Joey kicked it in with the sound of something in his home office crashing to the floor, angry ranting muffled by the door flooding from his mouth and polluting the house.

The sound of it sent Sammy running. He didn’t even realize where he was for several minutes, the world coming back to him in pants of air and screaming from his hand. It was gripping the countertop too hard, trying to keep him upright on trembling legs.

His hands shook too much to make anything, so he just had cereal.

Joey usually left for work first. That day, Sammy left before him.

Henry is gone. Henry is gone.

It was a death knell. A mantra whispered in in his mind, echoing into oblivion.

If Henry being drafted was a gut punch, then Henry cutting ties with all of them was a bullet to the chest.

Why? Did I do something wrong? This can’t be real.

The desperate hope that Joey misunderstood something rang hollow. Almost contemptuous. The pitiful, ridiculous hope of a silly child.

Joey wouldn’t be like this if he wasn’t a hundred percent sure that Henry was done with us. It could still be a misunderstanding! It has to be! Doubtful. Have more faith in Henry. When did he ever earn such disloyalty from you?

It was ultimately that thought that gave him pause.

Henry was the most dependable, reliable, loving person he knew. Patient, gentle, compassionate, careful. Considerate.

He wasn’t perfect. But never once had Henry ever done anything for Sammy to doubt him so completely and utterly. Shame flooded in. Henry deserves better.

He needed to talk to Joey. He needed to find out what exactly happened.

Sammy’s hands shook all day.

For the first (and only) time, Joey did not come into work that day.

He stayed late with the toons, making sure they ate and making sure they went to bed with someone nearby. But eventually, with everything important tackled at the studio, there was nothing left to do but leave.

Sammy rehearsed what he was going to say to start this conversation the whole ride home. His hands were really going to hurt in the morning, their knuckles white on the steering wheel.

He parked the car. Headed up the front walk to the door. Nearly dropped his keys in his fumbling to get it open.

Opened it.

Immediately felt dizzy.

When conscious thought returned to him it was Joey why?

The big, gaping hole where Henry’s face had been in their family portrait had no answer for him.

He staggered his way to Joey’s study, feeling like he was floating away from the world, unsure how long he sat there crumpled on his knees in the doorway, and not even aware that he was on the floor until he was trying to get back up.

The lights were off despite the fact that the sun went down long ago. A thin line of light shone through the ajar study door.

There was humming.

This is a nightmare, he thought as he slowly pushed the door open. It acquiesced with a creak.

Dizziness overwhelmed him again. He only just barely stood standing, though his knees weakened.

Joey looked up from the floor, scissors in hand, scattered photo pieces around him like the world’s most unsettling snowfall. He didn’t acknowledge the photo in his other hand or the new hole in it as he blinked.

Then he smiled. A strange, dazed smile.

“Oh hi, Sammy!”

His grip on the doorknob tightened to keep him upright.

The hole was just getting bigger. And in that moment, staring at Joey sitting on the floor, surrounded by the most important piece of their lives in shreds, Sammy suspected nothing would ever stitch it closed.

#bendy and the ink machine #the ink demonth #batim sammy #batim sammy lawrence #sammy lawrence #batim joey #joey drew #batim joey drew #my writing #strike up the band au

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halfusek · 4 years ago

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I have a random theory. The end of Abomination, Joey trying to.... y’know and Bendy makes him the ink demon, is that canon? Cause in chapter 5 he reveals he couldn’t d!3 but by only the end reel. Also in a hidden line from Henry as Ink Bendy is turning into Beast Bendy, Henry says “Joey?” At the ink demon. Could it be the reason why he has one human hand and the other is cartoon like? that Joey is actually the ink demon? That Joey tried to... y’know and couldn’t d!e so Bendy “helped” him and turned him into the Ink Demon? I dont know this just popped in my head and my brain thinks it’s canon-

Okay, so, to answer this ask to the best of my ability I’m gonna divide it to a few sections.

I would like to call the whole thing “Bendy canon is confusing and nothing is certain, and to have a coherent interpretation of the canon you need to either have some reaching conclusions or ignore things that are vague or suspicious”.

tldr: What you’ve said in this ask was more or less also my theory and why i made Abomination in the first place.

[Everything’s under the cut because I went off.]

1. Joey is the Ink Demon theory before Chapter 5 came out.

I’m not gonna waste time here trying to explain why we thought Joey could have been the Ink Demon when you can just read @adobe-outdesign ‘s post about it.

Whether you liked this theory or not you gotta admit it was very reasonable, connected Joey’s speech about cheating death with the wheelchair and Ink Demon’s bad foot. And it wasn’t like a person becoming a cartoon wasn’t a thing already: the game made it very clear that Susie became (Twisted) Alice.

However, this theory relied on Joey straight up being the Ink Demon.

Because you have character’s motivation, design and story all coming together:

Joey dying and being in a wheelchair -> Joey wants a perfect Bendy and not to die -> Joey becomes an ink creature but it goes wrong because he’s not a perfect fit -> The Ink Demon is born and has Joey’s bad foot and in general very human anatomy

But up until Chapter 5 we didn’t know if Joey was still “alive”, and an assumption we had to make for this theory to make most sense is that he’s dead but died as the last person or one of the last (because someone had to have made all those murders and other people were less likely except for Sammy perhaps).

If you didn’t want to accept this reasoning for Joey to be the Ink Demon you had to ignore the Ink Demon’s bad leg, a literal arrow with “Demon” written on it pointed at Joey’s audiolog and things like that. Of course all theories are valid, I’m just talking about how evidence is collected here, how some evidence supports theories and how some get in their ways.

2. Chapter 5 comes out.

Chapter 5′s release shed a lot of new light on the Ink Demon’s creation:

- he’s soulless,

- he was the first attempt of making an ink figure,

- he was the last and only Bendy attempt.

And on Joey:

- he was still there fine and dandy when the Ink Demon got created, acting all disgusted and disappointed about him, locking him up somewhere the investors wouldn’t see,

- he is alive when Henry enters the studio.

So, an easy conclusion drawn from it is that the Ink Demon can’t be Joey in a literal sense: Joey couldn’t have turned into the Ink Demon.

However, it doesn’t put an end to the connections between those characters, some things revealed in Chapter 5 even enhanced them:

- Joey is confirmed to be the one that needs to use the wheelchair.

- Ink Demon turns into Beast Bendy and Beast Bendy is straight up missing the foot that was bad - he additionally moves on his hands alone, kind of like a wheelchair bound person does.

So here’s some options (not the only ones but most popular and coherent takes):

- Joey is not the Ink Demon at all, the bad foot is just a meaningless design choice, or one that’s supposed to connect him to Joey for no reason (or as a “red herring” but this is not how red herrings are supposed to be executed).

Problem: ignoring a lot of evidence - because it’s meaningless due to the assumption of the conclusion.

- Joey isn’t exactly the Ink Demon but BATIM’s world is strongly implied to be some sort of a story, so the Ink Demon represents Joey and what kind of boss and person he used to be.

Problem: reaching, relies on Joey having control over the BATIM world and/or that world being a story + the “Joey?” question Henry asks is an unused file, meaning it’s not to be treated as canon information but perhaps one that used to be canon (or a meaningless easter egg/red herring, again, not how they should be working).

- There is not meant to be an answer, the viewer is supposed to pick one.

Problem: the devs are teasing for there to be a definite answer and not an open interpretation kind of ending, especially with another game being around the corner.

3. My post Chapter 5 conclusion and Abomination.

I’ve decided to run with the take that I enjoyed the most and build from here.

I’ve always been a Huge Fan of Joey being the Ink Demon.

But also, I didn’t want my take/comic to be an AU, I’ve wanted it to feel like a genuine interpretation of the BATIM canon, because that is simply what interests me most.

Therefore, I couldn’t ignore how strongly it is implied that the story of BATIM is... some kind of story in-universe.

You don’t just drop a “Tell me another one, uncle Joey.” for no reason.

But also also, BATIM being “just a story” in universe didn’t sit right with me (not to mention how disappointing that thought was).

So, I’ve started looking for proof supporting both the Story Theory and Not Just a Story theory and trying to piece them together. I’ve made a post about it long ago, and other people also made similiar posts, and hell even MatPat made a theory video basing off of these theories, I think no one wanted to just accept BATIM being simply a story with nothing real to it, hahah.

In my edition of it, the people who actually died in the real world were represented by the coffins with their names in the game - we can only find a few of these in the game and the rest are nameless.

And then I thought: ok but what about those people that don’t have coffins but do have some sort of ink creature that is most likely them like Allison Angel and Tom Boris? And on top of that there is Allison’s letter on Joey’s board which technically proves she outlived the studio, right?

So, then I’ve noticed that the number of named coffins, unnamed coffins and sacrificed items on pedestals in Chapter 1, roughly adds up to the number of characters we know (that are most important).

Based on all that I’ve decided to go with the idea that the characters dead in the real world are represented by the coffins and the characters dead in the story are represented by unnamed coffins and/or sacrificed items. That is because sacrificed items would explain why there is an ink creature connected to them without them themselves being sacrificed - as another kind of sacrifice has been made. Also - that was my partial explanation for the ritual taking place, because the game never bothered to give it more reason than “pleasing the gods” and then never mentioned the gods as an important part of the process ever again.

Then we get to another crucial part: what is the “story” world?

And here you can have plenty of takes but let’s boil it down to the most substancial undeniable thing: it’s connected to Joey’s regrets about his life. So here it can be either a direct results of his actions that he regrets, or a manifestation of his regrets.

Which is in a way... similiar to the Ink Demon/Joey dilemma.

Direct result or some sort of symbolism, manifestation.

Then the thought came to me: if there is a “story” version of Allison, Thomas and Sammy despite them not having coffins with their names, then is it possible for there to be a “story” version of Joey?

And the answer is: why not?

And then I look for proof. And, to my surprise, I find it.

This flashback is honestly one of the unexplained mysteries of Bendy.

Is it just a stylistic choice? If so then why are we clearly seeing Joey’s wheelchair being in the cartoony story studio?

It could be just that whatever makes Henry see those flashbacks made them like the rest of the world or Joey, a wheelchair bound Joey, has been in this story studio at some point.

There is also more complex evidence for this which I covered in this post, not gonna go over it here.

But that’s how I got the idea of there being two Joeys: real world one and story world one. And you can simply distinguish them in Abomination: one of them has more of “pencil” black and another more of “pen” black. Because I’m funny.

Having two Joeys solved a lot of issues: there can now be an alive Joey we see at the end of BATIM and an Ink Demon!Joey that we encounter in the game and who we have all of that evidence tied to.

And here’s where I come back to your ask.

This is more or less always how I’ve imagined Joey turning into the Ink Demon and I’ve wanted to give homage to that:

- The Ink Demon being made out of both Bendy and Joey and having them be represented by his different hands: a gloved, 4-fingered one and without a glove, human, 5-fingered one.

- Joey being the last one to die and filled with regret -> that’s why it’s a suicide. There is no one else to sacrifice him (anyone else would have just wanted to murder him in revenge) and suicide is a conclusion to the character development I gave him.

- Joey’s leg in the comic gets progressively worse, finally landing him in a wheelchair, his posture is not good -> Ink Demon’s bad leg and his sticking out vertabraes.

- There is also a reason why I made Joey’s death so gorey -> the Ink Demon is extremely thin, almost just a human skeleton wrapped in inky goo -> my Joey design is a tall, thin, lanky fellow who also died emptying his stomach.

- Holes in hands relate to cartoon Bendy’s gloves and Beast Bendy’s holes in hands.

- Joey stabbing his eyes out -> The Ink Demon not having eyes, the ink covering where his eyes should be -> Sillyvision = silly grin + eyes -> Vision is one of key words in the Bendy universe, very important to Joey, something he claimed he had as the main quality of his character, getting rid of his vision is the main part of his sacrifice.

- But Joey isn’t just turning himself into the Ink Demon. There already is a Bendy figure - which I have with premeditation made the Beta Bendy design. And here’s why: I’ve wanted to connect previous versions of BATIM but also Thomas’ and Joey’s Chapter 5 tapes gave me an impression that the first Bendy figure doesn’t exactly look as threatening as the Ink Demon does. So, I made him be just unnerving and off-model - the Beta Bendy design. The Ink Demon gets born when Joey and Bendy “fuse”, not making him another figure attempt, since there has been implied to be only one Bendy.

So, that has been my take of interpretating Bendy.

It isn’t canon, we don’t know what exactly is canon.

Does it make sense? Probably more or less, yeah! Is it reaching? Yeah, absolutely! But it’s a conclusion I’ve had and have been happy with! :)

That is until new info started getting revealed which changed me from calling Abomination my interpretation of the Bendy canon to an AU.

4. The Handbook, DCTL, TIOL and BATDR.

Mainly DCTL, honestly. Because DCTL straight up drops some facts on us:

- A character can be turned into an inky creature even without a coffin: it’s what happened to Sammy, he wasn’t straight up murdered, just due to ink consumption he became his ink version. Now a coffin means that whoever died has left their body behind. And here’s the kicker: there is clearly no differentiating between the story and real version of the character. He’s just one. So it kind of goes against the story theory but not in a way that I’ve expected it to (and I’m sure a lot of people didn’t see it coming either).

- Buddy explores the real world studio which seems to be shifting: Joey’s office seems to be both down in the Administration and on top of the building. Adrienne has made a comment that how she described the studio is portraying it changing from a normal studio to this cartoony one from the game.

However, DCTL and TIOL both question reliability of what characters say and if characters even were ever real in the first place. Especially TIOL since it has Joey making up characters and lying left and right. If BATIM is his story, then who knows who is real and who’s not.

But if BATIM is Joey’s story that is at the same real so to tell it how he pleases he needs to be in control then how come Buddy makes sure to tell us he is not and then Joey in DCTL says that the director is not in control but the vision is but then in TIOL he says that he is control and ooohhhhhhhmygoooood.

And then they Keep On Giving Us Ink Demon/Joey parallels while making it less possible to explain why there is a connection between them.

And there comes BATDR, kicking the doors, that it has two Bendy’s even though BATIM established there was just one. Also Joey is Dead. Can he be this other toon Bendy now after establishing how he fits an off-brand Bendy in the Handbook???

- Problem: I built a house of cards and the devs slammed some books on the table and it fell apart.

#[shakes fist angrily] drat! foiled again #bendy and the ink machine #bendy and the dark revival #batim #batdr #halfpost #abomination #joey drew #the ink demon #long post #halfask

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blametheeditor · 3 years ago

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Inktober Day 18: Moon

Warnings: Cursing.

Moon: the earth's natural satellite

Yes, I make ink magical, and no one can stop me.

______________

Henry knew he messed up when his vote decided the latest project for Joey Drew’s Studio will be about Bendy trying to go to the moon.

Sammy gave him a look saying he better pray the music director already has an unused tune that’ll be easy to convert into something that sounds ‘spacey’. Susie made a familiar face that says Alice Angel better in this one or else it’ll be the third time in a row her character been cast to the side. Grant immediately stormed off once it was clear there wouldn’t be a week-long war over a tie, meaning he needs to try and get Joey to realize just how much this was going to cost.

The thing is, he wasn’t really worried about those particular coworkers. Give Grant someone to rant to, offer to help Susie with vocal performances, and bribe Wally not to bother Sammy for at least five minutes.

No, he’s currently worried about the literal demon grinning at him.

Before the animator can get to safety, a glove catches his arm. “Where ya think you’re goin’, Hen?”

The teenager slumps into the chair threatening to fall apart any second now, admitting defeat he’s been captured. He shouldn’t have even tried to run either. Not when Joey brought a cartoon to life with ink. If the darling devil hadn’t snagged him before he clocked out tonight, Henry can guarantee he would’ve been swallowed by the toxic liquid and transported against his will.

An involuntary shiver races down his spine at that thought. “Bendy, I’m beat, bud. I’ve got five minutes on the clock!”

“Five minutes ya’ll use ta draw me a God*BANG* moon.”

Henry sighs dramatically before obediently standing up, letting a cartoon only three feet tall to drag him to his desk. Plopping into his chair. Letting his hands flop onto the blank sheet being provided.

“Hen!” The animator snickers. ”Hen!”

“Shh. This is how I prepare myself for animating.”

“Like hell you do! Draw ya *ZING*.”

“I’m drawing, I’m drawing,” Henry relents. He curls over his desk in the familiar position every doctor would chastise him for if he had any hope to not have severe back problems when he’s older. They might even yell if they found out he was used as a preferred sleeping spot for someone the weight of a small child.

They wouldn’t accept the excuse of Bendy’s cartoonish snores making him relaxed and inspired. Not when he’d admit that allowed him to stay in the odd position even longer than he usually would.

At least his spine won’t be strained tonight. Not with pie-cut eyes watching the animator draw from beside the desk, a long and pointed tail they never pictured him having swishly back and forth lazily.

Henry would love to give his demon an entire scene. The only problem is Drew would have his head if he goes overtime. And not because he’s worried about his employees getting a good night’s sleep before work.

He finishes up a pretty decent moon considering the usual sketches consist of trees or buildings. The half-moon that Alice Angel sat on was drawn as a prop. This consisted of actual craters. The shadow from the earth to make it a true half-moon.

The teenager sits up with a smile, stretching in relief when he sees it only just turned eight o’clock. “There ya are, Bendy. Happy?”

“Took ya long enough,” the cartoon smirks as his eyes stay locked onto the picture. “I can’t wait ta try it out!”

“Mmhmm.”

There’s silence for just a second too long, and when he looks down to meet a maniacal grin. “Why don’t ya try it with me?”

Henry doesn’t have enough time to even curse before the entire world goes pitch black and cold. Just like it always does when his best friend envelopes him in ink. Because their little darling devil loves transporting everyone in order to disorient them. Bonus points if they’re wearing nice clothing so it gets stained and forever ruined.

The animator’s the one it’s done to the most because he lets the demon do it. But this time, he’s going to throttle that nonexistent neck because Joey’s going to kill him for not clocking out on time!

That is, if Henry can fine his damn creation, stumbling as if he’s drunk as soon as the endless void suddenly releases him, never ready for gravity when it gets turned back on. He lands on his back at Bendy’s feet, so at least he knows where his soon-to-be victim is.

“Nice goin’, Hen. Can’t even get ya *BOING* on the *BANG* page.”

“Ya’ll hate me more when I tell drew me being paid extra next week is your fault.”

The horned head only tilts in thought, a glove sitting as if holding his chin. “I wonder if I could do it Bor an’ Alli’s help.”

Henry finally manages to stand up. “Bendy, I love ya, but can we fuck with me a different day? Like when I’m not supposed to be-?”

His words are suddenly caught in his throat once he realizes something’s wrong. Very wrong.

Brown eyes flicker toward the ground. The pure white ground. Not the wooden boards of the studio he’s drawn over a thousand times whenever he gets board and needs to keep the pen moving or else he’ll run out of motivation. Somewhere the texture beneath his shoes feel too rough. Like how his desk feels when he wipes his hand across it.

One look toward Bendy, at what’s behind Bendy, and his chest tightens.

“Darling,” he breathes. “Where are we?”

The cartoon grins like nothing’s wrong. “On ya desk!”

“Why am I three inches tall?”

His bottle of ink sits on the corner of the page so it wasn’t in his way. The same bottle that sat comfortably in his hand. The same bottle that now casts a shadow over him.

Henry stumbles back, unable to keep his breathing slow and calm. He’s not freaking out, that’s not what’s happening. He’s just surprised, that’s all it is! He’s not thinking about how anyone can walk over and-

“G-Grow me!”

Bendy’s mouth opens, and then shuts. “Riiiiight.”

“Bendy!”

“I c’n do it, I c’n do it!” the demon exclaims. “I just...c’n’t right now.”

Henry stares at the cartoon. “Bendy. Get Alice. Now.”

His creation winces, taking a glance at their surroundings himself as if just realizing a fragile human who can die just by breathing in too many chemicals won’t do so well shrunk than someone who’s made of ink and immortal.

The animator latches onto the demon as he’s hugged. “Don’t worry Hen, I’ll get ya fixed. Just need more ink!”

Henry nods numbly, hands running through his hair in the attempt to stop his nerves as the only other person who knows he’s currently hand-held leaps off his desk in search of Alice, or ink. Hopefully both. Because honestly, what the hell could the angel possibly do?

This is okay. He’s okay. Perfectly fine. He’s just casually walking around the moon he drew that was only the size of his palm and holy-

“Stein.”

Henry goes rigid save for his hands slapping themselves over his ears. And his legs trembling so much they threaten to send him to his knees.

It’s Sammy. The music director is coming to tell him Drew knows he hasn’t clocked out.

He’ll admit, anyone is better than Franks being the one who found him, but why Lawrence?

“Stein, get your ass home. We don’t need anymore animations with your drool all over the goddamn thing.”

Henry’s inability to move disappears when he sees a shadow fall over the opening into the tiny nook he’d been given. The earthquakes from footsteps actually got him moving, and he dove behind the ink bottle he originally thought has horrifying to have only a few feet away. Now he’s glad he didn’t attempt to shove it off the desk.

He clasps his hands over his mouth when he feels Sammy stop at the ‘doorway’, afraid his panicked breaths could be heard. He doesn’t know if they actually can, but he doesn’t want to take any chances.

He should’ve went with Bendy. At least the darling devil would’ve been able to warn him how terrifying it is encountering his first-

Henry gasps when the ink bottle suddenly disappears, tumbling backwards now that his anchor is gone. That means he ends up on his back, staring straight up at Sammy’s unimpressed expression.

“Really, Stein?”

He’s unable to say a word. He’s frozen. The living building he knows to be his coworker seems like a monster. Maybe that’s because a hand with fingers longer than he is tall is reaching for him.

“NO!”

That gets him moving, leaping to his feet, only to trip and land directly into the music director’s palm oh God oh God-

“Calm down,” Sammy’s voice rumbles as fingers wrap around him before lifting up, leaving his stomach far behind. Henry yelps at the movement, at the warmth almost make him feel like he’s being burned from how cold he originally was, managing to realize he’s been picked up and starts kicking.

“LET ME GO!”

Brown eyes bigger than his head roll. “You really want Franks to find you like this? Or better yet, Drew.”

“D-D-Don't just p-pick me up!”

Henry yells when the hand opens, sprawling. The action makes him forget Sammy’s a giant, glaring up at the African American already giving the smirk he always does when he’s messing with the teenager.

His face pales at the realization any kind of retaliation can be used now. “Don’t think you can stop me, Stein.”

“Just wait, Lawrence. When Bendy shrinks you-!”

“You let him shrink you,” Sammy says. Henry definitely doesn’t feel his heart skip a beat at the music director’s patented ‘bitch face’ as Wally named it being aimed toward him while his life is literally in the palm of the man’s hand.

“I-I didn’t let him!”

“Sure you didn’t.” A thumb nudges the teenager. “That explains how you can drown in a damn ink bottle.”

He can already imagine Wally trying to test that theory. ”Don’t tell Franks.”

“I’m not telling anyone,” Sammy agrees. The relief that brings is immediately replaced with Henry getting dropped unceremoniously into the essential giant’s chest pocket. Followed by footsteps that make his teeth chatter taking him away from his desk.

He knows they won’t be staying in the studio.

“LAWRENCE!”

“I know you asked Bendy to get Alice. She’s been in the ink machine since eight, and as soon as Drew saw Bendy going in to get her, he would’ve turned it off for the night. Which means you won’t be getting their help until morning.” He can hear the amused smirk. “And you wouldn’t survive five minutes by yourself.”

“This is kidnapping! Where the hell are you taking me!”

Sammy glances down at him from the top of the pocket. “Home. Now shut up before everyone figures out what happened.”

Henry slowly sinks into his knees, not liking how this was going. How any of his night has been. He’s never voting in favor of Bendy’s reel again.

“...thanks Lawrence.”

“You won’t be saying that when I stick you in the first jar I find.”

At least he won’t be patiently waiting for something to come and eat him.

#Inktober 2021 #Day 18: Moon #g/t #giant #tiny #BATIM Bois #11:59 #man it feels good to write BATIM again!#SHRINK THE HENRY #writing #BTE writing

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realm-sweet-realm · 4 years ago

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Angel of the Ink Machine, Chapter 1: An Unlikely Encounter.

Alright, this was a long time coming. And by a long time, I mean I have literally had it in mind since Fall. As a result, I’m going to ignore new information from TIOL so that I can do it as I originally planned.

The premise of this AU is simple: Sammy leaves the studio instead of Henry, and as a result, Joey needs a new partner in crime. He finds one in Allison. Power struggles, sacrifices, passion, ecstasy and tragedy ensues.

---

Sammy never even bothered to formally quit the studio, and it fell on Henry to explain to Joey what had probably transpired.

“He told me a few days ago that he wanted to get Mr. Arch’s attention and maybe a job from him. Sorry to say, Joey, but I think he got what he wanted.”

Joey’s face twisted with disbelief and anger and then back to serenity. “No, Sammy loved it here! I’m sure he’ll be back soon- he’s probably just sick. And even if he isn’t, well, we don’t need him anyhow, do we, Henry? So long as we have each other.”

“Hm? Yeah.” Henry didn’t tell Joey that Nathan had made him an offer as well, and that he was beginning to regret not taking it.

After a few days, Joey accepted that Sammy was gone and promoted Jack to the head of the music department. It was better that way, anyhow- Jack wasn’t so demanding, and let Joey have more run of the music room when he wanted it.

For the next decade, things went along as usual. The studio grew, Henry remained Joey’s finest and most hardworking artist, and Joey even began to look into some dark magic that could help him make his vision for the studio a reality. Joey was, however, beginning to feel increasingly alone in his vision. Henry had grown bitter and distant to him over the years, and then quit. It was disappointing, but not a surprise. It left Joey feeling rather empty in the realization of how little he’d lost. The loyal, invaluable partner he’d once had had turned into just another artist years ago.

Joey needed another person who truly understood his vision. Sadly, he didn’t know anyone that could have fit the bill.

And then he found her.

The place he’d found her had been a speakeasy during the prohibition- a hub of all sorts of illegal affairs. Joey had come here for booze and the occasional round of cocaine during the prohibition and had discovered magic that way. Now, the prohibition was over, but criminals still came to peddle their wares, and Joey, a frequent user of magic now, still came to supply himself with books and reagents that couldn’t be found anywhere else. It was a sleazy place- dirty, greasy, full of prostitutes and men who looked like they could rob you. So it didn’t surprise Joey when a woman- mid-twenties, curvaceous, and on the tall side- approached him while he was buying potions. He figured it was just a prostitute trying to find a customer.

“I need three of the generic restorative ones.. And a vial of clean animal blood, and a liter of chloroform, please.”

The woman next to him chuckled. “You know that restorative potions are horrendously marked up, right? And you could get the animal blood... from an animal.”

Looking at the woman for the first time, Joey realized two things. First, the nearly knee-length pink dress and grey leather jacket she was wearing looked far too new and expensive and a bit too modest to be a prostitute’s, and she looked awfully healthy and clean for one. Secondly, he recognized her from somewhere. Still, he wouldn’t let the woman embarrass him. “Well, yes. But I haven’t practiced making my own yet, and I don’t want to test the first few on myself! And I just so happen to have plenty of money for them.”

The woman finally made eye contact with him. Light grey eyes, Joey noted. “Really? So, you been into magic long, Mr…”

“Drew. Joey Drew. And not too long. My specialty is in the demonic, but I’m experimenting with a bit of everything. Trying to figure out what will work with my vision. Yourself? Actually, why don’t we have this conversation somewhere more pleasant.” Joey paid the man for the potions, and the two walked out of the dark alleyway and into the city lights.

“My specialty is potions. I brew my own. I also really like charms.”

Joey’s eyes went wide. “Charms? You criticize me for buying potions, and you buy charms? There’s no way of even knowing if they work!”

“Well, unlike you, I’m not working towards any grand vision. I think charms work. I think they make my life better. And that’s good enough for me. Honestly, some magic users forget that magic is meant to enhance life, not fill some kind of void in it. Heck, I could say the same of some artists.”

“Funny you should mention art. I’m an artist. And my life’s goal is to reflect life in art. It seems we have a similar view on life, don’t we? It’s just that I want to be the one to show it to other people. Say- would you like to see a bit of my vision tonight?”

“Sure!” Allison said with a smile.

Joey took her to his car and held the door open for her.

“Oh. A gentleman. And a rich one, it looks like!”

“Yes. I own one of the greatest animation studios in the world: Joey Drew Studios.”

Allison giggled. “I’m no cartoon expert, but if it’s one of the greatest in the world, then why haven’t I heard of it?”

“Well, it might not be the very best yet, but it will be! Especially once the project I’m about to show you takes off.”

“Great!” Joey could see the excitement in her eyes, and he loved it.

“And what do you do, Ms. Pendle? I feel like we’ve met.”

Allison’s face darkened a little. “Well... I used to be a Broadway performer. I quit. You see, I have an ugly history with cocaine, and some of my coworkers were getting me back into it. I knew I couldn’t stay without it ruining my health... so I didn’t. I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life, though.”

Joey could remember her now- a backup dancer in one of the plays he’d seen. He committed everything she’d said to memory, knowing it could be useful later on.

Before long, they were at the studio, and Joey showed her to the pedestal room.

“Wow. You got your entire staff to participate in your rituals? That’s amazing.”

“Just a few of them, actually. But yeah, a little power goes a long way when you’re dealing with magic. And this isn’t even half of it. Come. I assume you aren’t a vegetarian witch?”

“Well, I’ve never slaughtered an animal for magic, but I’m up for it so long as it’s not too often. It’s no different than meat, really.”

“Fair enough,” Joey said. Maybe it was stupid to trust this woman that he’d met this same night, but he got a good feeling about her. He just had to share everything with her. The elevator wasn’t romantic enough, so he took her to the ink machine, suspended with chains, and watched the amazement on her face as it lowered until its top was at floor level. Joey stepped onto the machine and pulled Allison along with him. He held her waist as the machine lowered until it hit the floor of the very basement.

“Wait a moment,” he said, before climbing down the machine and running to turn on the lights.

Allison’s heart was beating a million miles a minute looking at all the pentagrams on the floor, the supplies on the shelves, and the strange machinery. A small part of her was glad she’d packed a knife in her jacket pocket, especially given the human-sized iron cages. Mostly, though, she felt like she’d died and gone to magic-user heaven. Joey had thought she wouldn’t be scared off by this, and was more than happy to be proven correct.

“This is amazing!” Allison beamed. “What do you use it for?”

“Well… nothing good, yet. I’m trying to create life, but there’s only been failed attempts. Let you show you my best one.” Joey led her to a supply closet that only he had the keys for. The door opened to reveal a metal cage and little else. When Joey clicked on the lights, a mound of black sludge, maybe a foot and a half tall, made itself visible. A cartoonish mouth floated down about where an ear should be, and two black mounds that vaguely looked like pie-cut eyes rested at its base. “I don’t know what to do to improve results,” Joey admitted. “Ultimately, I want to bring my cartoons into the real world. But can you imagine me presenting this old thing on a stage?” Joey laughed. “Wouldn’t exactly have them cheering, now would it?”

“Hmm... well, it’s a long shot, but a while ago while I was traveling, I stayed with a witch for a while and learned the recipe for a special potion. I kind of... stole the recipe from her, so I don’t know all about how it works, but it’s had all kinds of effects on the substances I’ve used it in in the past. I once burned all my hair off by mixing it with shampoo! So, you wanna to see what happens when you mix it with ink?

“Why not?” Joey said. He was sure to hear an earfull from Thomas the next day about some mechanical nonsense, but at that moment, Joey didn’t care.

“Alright,” Allison said, digging out a small vial of clear liquid from her bag. “Where do I put this?”

Joey directed her to the insertion nozzle. Allison put in the substance. Joey gathered some film of Bendy and added it in as well. And then, Joey started up the machine. What came out was an abomination- a strange, humanoid creature made of ink, its spine and joints jutting out at sharp angles from its body. It had Bendy’s horns, his smile, and one of its gloves, but the similarities ended there. It looked around at its surroundings before beginning to wander off.

Allison yelped. “What do we do? I’m sorry!”

“Don’t be,” Joey said in an extremely calm voice. “Just be calm. Find an iron cage big enough and open it for me.”

Allison did as she was told, and Joey calmly approached the beast as it took in its surroundings. “Hey, there, buddy. Come with me. It’s okay.” He offered the beast his hand and led him towards the cage. He and Allison wrestled the creature into the cage and locked it. Joey sighed in relief. “That could have been ugly.”

“Yeah. That was amazing. But I’m sorry for causing it!”

They made eye contact. “Don’t be! That’s the closest I’ve ever come to making a functional toon! I mean, it still needs something... but thank you.” Joey ran his hand over her arm. “Allison. You can sing, right? You sang on Broadway?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve been looking for a person who understood me- this side, the artistic side, the lust-for-life side- for years. Would you like to join my studio as a voice actress and help me with this grand project? Help me to do what no magician has done and create sentient life with me?”

“Yes! I’ve been looking for the next adventure since I quit Broadway!”

She hadn’t hesitated. This could only end well.

“Okay. Now, I’ll want you as a partner in crime and voice actress either way, but would you like to go out to dinner on Friday?”

Allison rolled her eyes. “Oh, well, pentagrams and demonic machines were one thing, but dinner? Now you’ve gone too far.” A pause. “I’m joking, Joey. Of course I will.” Dangerous just so happened to be Allison’s type, and she knew she could handle this little adventure if it turned sour.

#Bendy and the Ink Machine #my fanfiction #Angel of the Ink Machine AU #allison pendle #joey drew #joey x allison

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