#also i am a pretty Average fnaf enjoyer like i don’t know ALL the lore i know like. such a small amount and also i haven’t played the games

[hellfireeddiemunson]

did i just spend $6 i probably should not have on peacock just so i can see fnaf again ?? yea maybe

[adobe-outdesign]

DCTL Liveblog: Chapters 1-3

Man, I miss the days when I could be excited for stuff like tie-in novels instead of just being terrified that they’re going to suck.

I can’t help but compare this to the FNAF novels, as they’re both tie-in books to indie horror games. I guess the big difference is that the FNAF novels aren’t canon, but AUs - it doesn’t matter how bad they are, it doesn’t affect the lore. Heck, even when we thought TSE was canon before it was confirmed it wasn’t, it was just sort of focusing on a side event rather than the bulk of the story. For perspective, that would be like if DCTL was just describing some events that happened in the studio with the ink creatures during the loops or whatever. This is literally the entire backstory to the games, so it’s hard not to feel nervous.

Aside from concerns about what it’s going to do to the plot, I’m also concerned about mood/tone - Bendy has it’s own unique flavor compared to other horror games. I don’t want this to turn into like, Venom or a slasher fic or something, I want it to feel like a BATIM novel. The mood and tone might also end up too dark for its own good considering it’s literally covering everyone going to Hell - the game at least has some moments of levity to ease the depressing parts a bit.

With that said, I did throughly enjoy the preview pages I read online and I’ve heard over and over again from other fans, so hopefully my fears are unfounded.

Side note: This liveblog might be shorter than the others, as I’ve already read most of the first 3 chapters from the preview and therefore won’t have much to say about them. I also am not reading as many chapters as I will over the weekend because I have sleepy bitch disease.

Spoilers under the cut:

One thing I’ll note before I even start reading is that the cover has a really interesting texture to it, and it even has a spot varnish that creates drips of ink coming down from the top. It would’ve cost more to do all of that than to just do a regular cover on standard stock, so I appreciate the production value.

Heck, even the inside is really well designed - there’s ink dripping from the top again and the into page is totally black. It’s a minor thing, but as a designer I really appreciate that they actually made this book fit the BATIM aesthetic instead of just slapping Whatever on it (looking at you FNAF novels).

Going off the FNAF novel comparisons, this book seems better written in the sense that it’s incredibly detailed and vivid - the writing is very rich. The FNAF novels weren’t bad in this regard, but they do pale in comparison.

I love how Joey uses the word “swell”. everything was swell in the 1930s

Buddy gives him the option of Bud or Buddy and Joey immediately goes fo Buddy. at JDS your name will have a -y sound to it and you will enjoy it

I also love how Joey’s like “well I just met you, but you observed some stuff about Bendy immediately so I’m hiring you on the spot even though I don’t know your skills and we’re in debt”. classic Joey

Side note: one of the reasons I think Dot might be our BATDR protag is that Buddy doesn’t know if she’s alive or not. We’ll see if this is addressed in the book or not, but it’s way too weird of a thing to bring up if it’s not followed up in some way.

(I know Meatly said we didn’t know her name, but the book wasn’t out at the time and he might’ve completely forgotten that we already knew if from the description.)

 Guessing Tom’s carrying the blueprints for the Ink Machine?

I really like how Buddy has an actual defined personality. In the FNAF books it’s like... characters had personality, but they were very average for the most part (save for William). Buddy is still relatable and isn’t overly coverful, but he’s interesting and enjoyable to read about.

I’m hoping his and Dot’s relationship will be wholesome enough to lighten the mood and keep the book from being too grimdark.

Before we get into the stuff with Sammy, there’s a good moment at the beginning here that handles the subject much better, wherein Buddy just notes that a woman being the boss of something is unusual. Aside from being interesting from a character perspective regarding Joey, it sort of acknowledges that the 1930s sucks for everyone who isn’t a straight white guy - but it still allows the studio to be disconnected from that, which works pretty well compared to what happens later.

love this violinist lady who’s just like “oh yeah here comes fucking sammy” while he just barges in covered in ink and blood. this is just tuesday for her

Thoughts so far: so far so good, don’t fuck it up