#batd tag

[transskywardsword]

part two of the prologue chapter for 'bovzek and the devil' a dark fairytale retelling! reminded that is this a rough draft, and i love constructive critique!

Where we left off: Claudius the VII, the King of Milan-Rosae, a fictional country in eastern Europe, ~1000AD, has become horribly lost in the great forest following a freak accident. found by a sanojuda, a type of fae, he agrees to take care of her ill child in exchange for passage home-- only to learn the boy is destined to marry into royalty. terrified that this might mean his own son, who is days away from being born, claudius plots on how to rid the world of the foul creature... (read the whole first half here!)

TWs: Claudius is a raging misogynist, including fantasizing about having sex with a woman who is not interested and objectifying her. he also really really wants to kill a baby. he graphically discusses killing a baby. it's really cruel. also attempts to drown one. the baby lives!

Claudius supposed the answer was easy enough. Babies were, as a matter of principle, not hard to kill. They were fragile, breakable, with bones that snapped as easily as spent matches and muscles that tore like wet parchment. Their skulls were thin and malleable, and a little shake or drop could end them for good. Hypothetically, it should be easy to wring the little spawn’s neck. The question was the consequence. Claudius had made a promise, and promises weren’t things easily broken, particularly when made with a fae, even if it was one as slippery as a samojuda. If the fae were to learn he planned to break their promise before it even had time to settle, well, then Claudius wouldn’t be long for this world. No, he would have to dote on the thing until the samojuda was sure it was in good hands, and could only dispose of it once the forest and its mother were far behind them. Then it was simply a matter of the right jerk of his grip and the baby’s neck would snap like eggshells underfoot.

Dawn came quickly as Claudius sorted lists of the easiest way to end an infant’s life and how he might dispose of a body without any knowledge of the crime reaching the forest. The baby cried on and off all night, an obnoxious sound that he couldn’t seem to muffle, even when he buried his head in the woman’s furs, and when the sun finally crept through the windows, Claudius was grateful. Dawn meant leaving for his home, meeting his wife, his son-- dawn meant saving a king from the thing wailing in the loft above.

“It’s a long walk,” the samojuda said, and Claudius jumped. The fae had slipped down from the loft in complete silence, despite the wailing thing in her arms, and she stood before Claudius with a look of haunting determination. “We should go.”

“Without breakfast?”

The samojuda raised a pale eyebrow, mocking in her silence.

“Fine,” Claudius grumbled, “no breakfast.”

The samojuda pulled a shawl form the box by the fire that had served as a cradle—if the spirals of wood shavings were anything to go by, it had belonged to her late beloved. She gently swaddled her baby before tucking him against her breast.

“Aren’t you going to change?” Claudius asked, and the samojuda wrinkled her brow.

“Why?”

“You—” Claudius cleared his voice. “Your breasts.”  

The samojuda glanced down at her bare chest

“Is there a problem with how I dress?” The samojuda said, her voice wry. The fabric of her skirts started just at her belly button, exposing milky skin. Her skin was unmarred, her breasts perfect, looking far softer and less pox marked than Wenzel’s own. His wife, while a true Byzantine beauty with her olive skin and dark curls, had been ill as a child and the sickness left its mark across her flesh, small divots of darker skin across her body, tainting her beauty. This woman had no such marks, not even an offensive mole or freckle. Claudius was struck suddenly by the samojuda’s  beauty. He hadn’t considered her pale starlight hair before, her wide, dark eyes, her plump figure. The lumberer must have been far darker than her lover, if the skin of their baby was anything to go by.

He could take her to bed here. Kiss her, toss the baby into the fire to burn as she writhed under him with pleasure. Surely one look at his cock would wipe away any thoughts of her stiffening lover, wherever the samojuda stashed the body. The samojuda would marvel at the size as he kissed her, moan into his mouth as he fucked her on her fire warmed furs, forget the baby as she rode him, her perfect breasts bouncing above him—

Claudius swallowed. He was a Godly man. His hand was tied with another in marriage, a wedding band on his finger. He couldn’t take another woman to bed; it would be a sin. A glorious, beautiful sin, but a sin nonetheless.

The samojuda let out a single cruel laugh and turned, caring little for her half-nakedness, and put out the fire. The coals hissed as she poured water on them, sending out puffs of steam, and the samojuda pulled a fur from the pile by the fire and wrapped it around her shoulders, covering the beautiful skin there. Claudius found himself disappointed.

It was for the best, he supposed. This way, if he was seen, it wouldn’t appear like he’d been fooling around with some whore in the woods. The samojuda slipped out the front door of the hut, waving Claudius on, and left it ajar as they walked from the clearing, deep into the woods. Claudius looked over his shoulder once, and then the trees were too dense to make out hide or hare of the little shack.

“Worried I’ll lead you astray?” The samojuda said, a hint of humor in her voice as they continued deeper and deeper into the Šumava.

“Now I am,” Claudius said in reply, and the samojuda laughed. It sounded like bells and clinking pearls, and struck Claudius with a strange fear. This woman could lead him astray, deeper and deeper into his beloved Šumava, feast on him and feed him to her dying babe.

Would she?

“You know what I am,” the samojuda said, “I am no will of the wisp. I’d much rather take the baby from your wife’s belly than lead you into the darkness.”

Claudius froze. “My wife—”

“I can smell her on you. She loves you dearly, you know. You don’t deserve her.”

“Excuse me?”

“I steal babies, replace them, and drown them in my well. I am a simple creature, I act as is my nature. Do you not as well?”

Claudius felt a sudden fear creep into his gut. This woman, this creature, wasn’t bound to human morals. Samojuda were crafty fae, nymph-like with a love for standing water, who lay in wait to steal infants one day and thrust changelings upon wonton women the next. Would she follow him to his home, take his heir from him?

She knew of his wife; could she smell his desire as well?

A new thought chilled him. Could she smell his plan to murder her baby now, before he’d even finished it?

Instead of devouring him, instead of flashing sharp teeth and leading him to a pond to drown him, the samojuda simply turned her back with a scoff and continued onwards, clutching her baby to her breast.

The baby. It all came back to the baby.

Claudius followed the samojuda as the sun rose, the sky going from black to rosy pink to blue. The sunrise was beautiful, even when filtering through the forest’s thick canopy. The samojuda hummed a melancholy mourning song to the baby in her arms, and the forest buzzed around her, the birds and insects seeming to have gathered to say ‘farewell’ to their half-blooded child.

Claudius’ feet ached by the time they reached the far end of the forest. Claudius’ heart pounded from the uphill hike, his feel pulsing in his boots, and he signed with relief as the farmlands of Milan-Rosae came into view. Fed by the Vydra, the agricultural circles around the walls of the capital city flourished; Milan-Rosae might be a small kingdom, but its capital, Abisa, was a grand, gilded thing of beauty. Surrounded by small villages and farmland that provided it with food, the three walls of Abisa served as mighty protectors—one along the outskirts of the city, one along the edge of the merchantry district, and a final that circled the moat of the castle. Perched on the peek of the many sprawling hills that surrounded the city, Claudius’ home was the crown upon the jewels over his capital. While he had manors and palaces throughout Milan-Rosae, the Abisali Court was a castle, unlike anything those east of the Rhine had ever seen. It towered, its many spires resembled the spikes of a dragon, its stained glass windows and bejeweled stone like rainbows dragged down from the sky and inlaid in the earth. Statues of the saints stood in attention beside carvings of folklore and fae, a sight that would petrify the Pope but reminded the people of Milan-Rosae of the glory of their beloved forest and river.

It was, in short, beautiful.

“Do we part here?” Claudius asked, turning to the samojuda. The woman sank back into the shadows of the trees.

“I…”

“Well? We had a deal, didn’t we?”

The samojuda’s face fell. She glanced to him, then down to the baby in her arms and adjusted it softly. She pressed her forehead to its bare chest.

“Give me just a moment more,” she said softly. Tears bubbled up in her dark eyes. The baby, as foul as it was, shared the same otherworldly eyes, wide and black and glittering, and for the first time all morning it began to cry again, a pathetic hiccupping sound.  

“You had all morning,” Claudius snapped, wrenching the baby from her arms with careless aggression. The samojuda cried out, lunging for her baby, and Claudius stepped to the side.

“His neck,” The creature sobbed, “oh, don’t forget his neck—”

“I’ll hold him as I well please.”

The samojuda’s eyes went wide. “Oh by the Earth, what have I done?” she whispered, and Claudius huffed.

“Given him a new chance in life,” he said, and he couldn’t help the smile that slipped onto his face, picturing the broken child, lifeless and unbaptized, left to rot mere hours from now.

“You… you’ll bring him to visit, yes?” She said, voice wavering. She had to know the answer already, stupid woman. “Every few months, at this spot? Or on his birthday, or, or even less often—just bring him. Let me know he lives and is happy.”

 “That is not up to me,” Claudius lied. Tears dripped down the creature’s face in time with her child.

“But, you—”

“I promised a breast to feed him, nothing more.”

The samojuda sank to her knees. She wiped the mud from Claudius’ boots with her shining hair, and the man kicked her aside. Objectively, it was unwise to anger a fae, but in that moment, the samojuda wasn’t a strong, terrifying creature of nature; she was a woman, sniveling and pathetic as any other woman.

Claudius adjusted the babe in his arms and turned on his heels to the sprawling farmland of his city, the beautiful stone walls just a few miles away.

“Please—” The woman behind him hiccupped, but Claudius paid her no mind. Behind him, he heard the samojuda rise to her feet, trembling, and call out to him.

“I shall see him again! I swear it! And should a hair on his head be harmed, I swear on this forest that you shall never no peace!”

Claudius could have laughed. Instead, he turned back to the thing's mother, moved the little baby’s too-thin wrist into a final wave, and then moved farther away from the trees, content to leave them behind.

The trees were but a green garden snake on the skyline soon enough. The Great Otter splintered into channels that provided his lovely lands with fresh water and irrigation, and the sound of the rushing water was pleasant in the mid-morning, far more so than the screeches of the soon-to-be-dead baby. The question was simply, how. How to dispose of the baby?

Claudius pondered this as he followed the river to the first signs of life in the villages surrounding the capital. He had to get rid of it quickly before anyone saw him, and then he could pay someone to take him to his castle and greet his wife with the stories of the most horrid day he’d had.

Though he wouldn’t mention the baby to her. No one needed to know of the infant and its death. That knowledge would die with it.

He came across a sawmill with a grand waterwheel at the edge of a small town, close enough to the walls to be time to rid himself of the thing. Claudius scanned the scenery around him. It would be easy to wring the neck, but he had no desire to dig a grave. Did the peasants here even bury their dead? Could he just leave it in the streets?

Suddenly, his eyes fell upon a pretty little well, well built with mud and stone, with a pretty little bucket and crank. It seemed to Claudius the prettiest little peasant thing he’d ever seen. What had that fae creature said to him?

“I steal babies, replace them, and drown them in my well. I am a simple creature, I act as is my nature. Do you not as well?”

Well, here was a well. Was it in Claudius’ nature to kill a baby?

It was in his nature to protect his son.

Claudius rolled his shoulders, walked to the well, and peered over the edge. The water seemed bottomless. Good.

Without giving himself the time to second guess his decision, Claudius took hold of the creature’s foot and dropped it over the edge. It landed in the water with a ‘plop!’ and its cries were silenced.

Claudius turned, and walked east to another farm home in search of a horse. The deed was done.

His son was safe.

*

The cathedral bells were ringing when King Claudius the VII of Milan-Rosae arrived at Abisali Court at the top of the hill in the center of Abisa. While Claudius had been gone, finally found by his closest knights and vassals who’d torn apart the countryside and forest alike in search of him, his wife had gone into an easy, short labor, and given birth to a beautiful heir, with skin as pale as his fathers, hair as dark and curled as his mother, and the dark eyes of them both. His cries were quiet, mournful, almost lonely, and as she took him to her breast, Wenzel found a strange sadness in her heart. She’d hoped the overflowing of love she’d feel upon seeing little Alois’ face would make up for the apathy of her husband, but as she looked upon his nose, which would one day be handsome and large, and squeezed his little hands, she saw a future of cruelty before him and couldn’t bring herself to care.

“You will know great hardship,” She whispered to the baby, “what a pity.”

“As all kings do,” said a lady in waiting. “Chin up, my lady! He is healthy and beautiful, and we should all be glad.”

Claudius marveled at the baby his wife presented to him, at his little toes and wide eyes, and instantly the samojuda and her creature was forgotten. After all, who needed to think of such things when the most perfect child in the world was before him? A child who would fight wars for him, beat down the opposition, rule in a way that would make his father proud.

Claudius declared the day a day of celebration, but it wasn’t just the royals celebrating. For outside the capital gates, at a certain mill house, a little girl was fetching water.

Rosalin the Miller’s daughter was seven and a half, and bitterly hated her chores. She’d much rather be in town, watching the world go by, than do the mundane jobs her mother gave her.

Rosalin reached for the crank, only to hear horrid gasping and thrashing.

“Just some dumb bird,” she muttered to herself, “who fell in and forgot how to fly. Poor thing.”

She stood on her tiptoes and looked over the edge, then screamed.

It was a baby.

Tangled in the rope for the bucket, the infant had light brown skin discolored from freezing water and the tension of the rope. Rosalin leaned over the edge and scooped him up, screaming for her father. Jon came running, thinking some wolf might have left the forest for a snack, a shovel in hand, and nearly dropped it at the sight of the infant in his daughter’s hands, not even a week old.

“Fetch the healer,” Jon said, voice firm, and began to pump the water from the baby’s chest. Keeping his arm straight, he placed two fingers in the center of their chest, pushed and breathed and breathed and pushed until the baby began to cry.

Now Jon had seen many starving babies in his time; a harvest was never a guarantee. And looking upon this child, he knew he hadn’t eaten once before his mother had so cruelly disposed of it. Jon scooped up the baby, grabbing the shawl he had been wrapped in without a thought, and ran to the main house.

Joshaline had been months along when God took their baby from them, far enough along to produce milk, and her breasts still carried the lingering soreness of milk left to sour inside her, Josha too heartbroken to milk herself. Which meant, God have mercy, she could feed the poor thing.

And feed him she did. While the royals honored the prince's birth, Jon, Josha, and Rosalin, the Miller family, with their forest facing well, celebrated as the baby lasted through the night, then the week, fed by Josha and beloved by them all.

“What will you name him, Mama?” Rosalin asked each night, and each night Josha shushed her, unsure if she had the right to love a baby that was not hers.

“God takes and gives, beloved,” Jon said to his wife. “He may have taken our own little one, but He has gifted us with the chance to save the life of another. Name him. Make him ours.”

“Bovzek,” Josha said softly, and the two other members of the Miller household held their breath as the woman of the house spoke. “I shall name him Bovzek. God’s Gift.”

[hanahaki-is-sleep]

Я вернулся и я жив пока что👁👁

[r0zzk1ll]

Hello bendy fandom Really fucking long rant/analysis abt me defending wally franks batim in a nutshell (and kind of basically making an au??.?. idk probably). enjoy if u want or don't idc 🎷🐇

i know this is a really stupid thing to be mad about, but the fact that wally isnt buddy boris has stuck with me ever since dctl was released. i found out through a fucking superhorrorbro video of all things all the way back in like 2018 i'm pretty sure 😭😭 i was so disappointed when i found out bc like WHAT DO U MEAN THE JANITOR/HANDYMAN OF JOEY DREW STUDIOS, EHO WAS GENERALLY A TRICKSTER AND A CLUTZ AND LIKED TO PISS PEOPLE OFF, ISN'T THE PERFECT BORIS CLONE. BUDDY BORIS FITS/HAD POTENTIAL TO FIT MOST TO ALL OF THAT CRITERIA.

and don't grt me wrong, i (kind of) like buddy as a character, BUT i really just don't think he fits the role (from what i've seen/read). like he could've been a different boris clone as a little easter egg/nod to what happened to him and how he died but as like. an important role in the game?? even though the books aren't even fucking canon apparently now so his subplot doesn't even make sense anymore?????.????... ooh bitchh

ALSO the "he (wally) got outta there that's why/he has a wife and kids" IS A WEAK ASS FUCKING ARGUMENT. THIS IS NOT A SHITS AND GIGGLES PLOTLINE U CAN JUST THROW AWAY. how come thomas grts to be tom (which makes somewhat sense with him also being a handyman type of guy), but wally can't also partake in the Main Character-ified Borisification to help henry traverse the studio. why can't that just be so easy to do. there could've been so many cool extra plotpoints and nods to what could've happened to him but Noooo Noooooooooo they just HAD to make a whole new character JUST for wally to NOT BE BORIS. ESPECIALLY WHEN THE BOOKS ARE NON CANON NOW BECAUSE THAT MAKES TOTAL SENSE. (/sarc)

and don't FUCKING quote me on batds bc i know SOMEBODU will be like "b-b-b-bbut b-b-buddy's whole s-s-side plot with collecting the scraps in batds makes him c-c-c-canon!!! 🥺🥺🥺💖😭😭💔💔💔🎀🎀✨✨ ur just mad bc it's not what was assumed by the fandom!! ;-; úwù heh..." FIRST OF ALL, BUDDY ISNT EVEN MENTIONED IN ANY OF THE CANON GAMES (besides the secret message in the safehouse but i don't think that rlly counts imo), NOR DOES HE HAVE ANY RELEVANCE IN THE STORY WHATSOEVER, WHICH MEANS HE IS STRICTLY BOOK-CANON. SECOND OF ALL, BATDS WAS KNOWN AS A SIDE/EXTRA GAME AT THE TIME OF IT'S RELEASE AND WASN'T EVEN CONFIRMED TO BE APART OF BATIM OR ANY OTHER PART OF THE FRANCHISE (ASIDE FROM A SIDE GAME TO PLAY WHILE BATDR WAS IN PRODUCTION) UNTIL BATDR WAS RELEASED AND CONFIRMED BATDS IS HAPPENING DURING IT (WHICH DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE EITHER)!!!

I DON'T CARE WHAT KIND OF OPINION COULD CHANGE MY MIND. WE GOT A PERFECTLY GOOD AND WELL-DEVELOPED CHARACTER (AND A [PERSONAL] FAN FAVORITE) AT THAT POINT FOR WHO BORIS COULD'VE BEEN, AND IT GOT TAKEN FOR SOME STUPID SEEMINGLY HALF-ASSED SUBPLOT THAT'S ONLY HALF-CANON NOW BECAUSE MIKE FUCKING D IS A GOD DAMN MORON IDIOT BASTARD ASS BITCH OHHH MY GOD IT MAKES ME SO ANGRY I'M GONNA PULL OUT ALL MY HAUR

sorry. almost lost my cool there guys.. ☝️😎 (/J)

soo with all that said, PERSONALLY this is what i think they should've done with buddy instead (under the cut so this post isn't 600 pages long)

first of all; scrap buddy's origin story completely and just make dtcl about the fact that he was simply another victim of the machine instead of making him such a major character (ex. a boris clone that was almost perfect but didn't quite make it like i said earlier)

on top of that, dctl could've just been insight on a single worker's process through working at the studio to being one of many victims of the machine, instead of turning him into such a titular important gary stu ass character with an in-depth backstory and Joey Drew Favoritism™ apparently that CLEARLY didn't need it + shouldn't be an mc if he's only in the books + the books aren't canon and the games are. so then it doesn't make it make any sense if he has such an important role and he isn't even fucking canon anyway and etc.

if he would've just stayed a minor inconvenient mc in a non-canon book it wouldn't have been detrimental to the lore as Mr. D Likes To Exaggerate (to me) + the books just seem like a fun one-off exclusive to the game series anyway, so it starts to kind of make sense why they aren't canon and leaves a lot of mysteries up to interpretation which is something i DO appreciate (to a CERTAIN extent)

here's what i think could've been done if wally was actually buddy boris and faced The Horrors™ like a normal main character should. an au, if you will (AND bc im VERY bias abt wally since He was my first ever og blorbo the first time i heard his audio log i literally owe him my Life💜💜💜💜)

wally could've started dropping hints in his audio logs that something funny was happening in the studio (specifically to him)/he could've been the last major victim to be sacrificed to the machine and therefore being one of the reasons of having the role of "the perfect boris" as malice said

-he also seems like the type of person to give into manipulation fairly easily, not knowing how truly bad something is before he gets involved yk

-a bit of a stretch BUT could also be a nod to susie's initial likeness towards wally pre-canon and vice versa (sourced from the special audio log wally has on the jds yt channel)

-him being the perfect boris also could allude to his personality/attributes and the way he talked abt the studio

and you can't forget the audio log of him and thomas bickering like COME ONNNN THERE COULD'VE BEEN A WHOOOLE SUB-SUBPLOT WHERE TOM AND BUDDY BORIS RECOGNIZE EACH OTHER SOMEHOW AT SOME POINT BUT THEY DON'T KNOW HOW

-TOM COULD'VE RECOGNIZED HIM EVEN AS BRUTE BORIS AFTER HENRY KILLS HIM and allison too but TOMMMMMMM😭😭😭😭😭CAN ANYONE HEAR MEEEEE

extra hints in the game like certain phrases and mannerisms of his (ink/glowing ink writings like his "i'm outta here!" written in certain locations or like. boris being clumsier as he walks/carrying around keys/scavenging for food [kind of like in the start of chapter 3], etc.)

-i also think that the connection that buddy boris (and just boris in general) has with food can connect with wally as well bc of the audio log where he's like "Omg 💖 Cake 💖just for me! Don't Tell Anyone Though. Our little secret. 😝" or the bit in the handbook where he finds some "churros" i Guess

there's also a LOT of potential for there to be a whole OTHER subplot where sammy could have found him one day and hadn't recognized him bc All The Boris Clones Look The Same, but buddy boris recognized sammy and there could be a whole conversation with henry and sammy abt him and dropping hints at it and blahblahblah etc etc.

-sammy probably could've mentioned him* at some point too even if he hadn't seen buddy boris as like a "hey.. i knew that fuckass guy.. wtf" (*and i know he mentions wally in the hot topic takeover thing on twitter from a while ago but i mean like in the actual game)

i think that the fact of boris being a Non-Verbal King™ would also be a funny contrast to how many god damn audio logs wally has. like Shut yuor mouth fucker /REF

the bit in chapter 3 where boris knows every nook and cranny of the studio and how to navigate the vent system could also lead to wally's nature of having a lot of knowledge of the layout to the building (due to being a janitor/running errands for people, similar to buddy) + he mentions staying in late to freshen up some offices so he might've explored more using that time as well because his personality shows he's a bit of a nosy guy

ALSO a stretch, but wally's first audio log in chapter one being fairly close to the first boris corpse displayed could've been a good foreshadow to his revival as buddy boris (and where the theory originated i'm pretty sure once ch2 came out)

the saferoom at the start of chapter 3 could've also been a great place to reference him (they could've put his hat from bendy royale in the shelf next to/on the hammock Can anyone hear me)

i also think that wally is supposed to be painted as an older guy?? so he probably already would've moved on from the studio due to leaving and starting his own business and having a family I Guess?????? idk but to me i think he'd be more of the college drop-out that thinks he's hot shit type of guy when in reality he doesn't know what a 2 + 2 is (ex. the audio log in batds where he's like "i was the best Student! Brickmore High! [tiktok bold emoji] These college bozos don't be knowin' shit!!"

-younger people are easier to manipulate like i talked abt earlier (especially someone like him that doesn't think before he Does Anything . boy has no thoughts)

wally also most likely would've known who henry was/was friendly with him while working there too at some point while henry was still at the studio pre-canon, so he probably recognized him throughout the cycle

i could ramble forever abt this bc it's such a strangely frustrating topic for me BUT in conclusion; i personally tbink that it would've been perfectly logical for wally to have been buddy boris (probably called somethig else), and buddy should've been a completely seperate character that would've done just as well on his own in the book instead of having a whole ass overarching plot for no reason?? and the "canonicity" of it is weirdly up for debate??? idk Watever thank you for coming to my tedtalk 😇😇Bye

⭐ !! bonus wally doodle dump since u made it this far !! seriously why r u Here ⭐

[pearlyscribbles]

Survival 101: not that

[ghostly-idiot]

i forgor to post this

i apologize in advance.

[reanimationstation]

sammy birthday art coming later, for now enjoy the ouppy

[b3ndy]

I think people need to start tagging the two ink demon designs as separate things . Please . I'm begging you not even from just kin bias I put more reasons in tags

[1c3d-choco]

(An argument is going on)

Both Ink Bendy and BF: ...

BF: Should we do something?

Ink Bendy: No, I want to see who is powerful enough to overheat the other.

BF: Well... Looks like you got a point, honey.

Ink bendy: ...Stop callling me that, blueballs boy.

BF: I know, I just love annoying people by calling them that.

[angelofthepage]

What can we expect from Boris: Lone Wolf?

I have some questions about Boris: Lone Wolf.

For those unaware, in Bendy: Secrets of the Machine, one of the secrets is a poster that seems to indicate that Boris and the Dark Survival is getting a rebrand to Boris: Lone Wolf. We had some inkling that this might be the case. A couple months ago, a trademark for Lone Wolf was found, the trademark for BATDS was left to expire, and to top it all off, the devs were cryptically referring to BATDS as "the Boris game" in a number of tweets, but there wasn't anything 100% factual we could garner from that. Just speculation. But now that we have a poster with Dark Survival crossed out and Lone Wolf written on it, it feels like this is the direction things are going in. And I'm not opposed to a rebrand, that's certainly not a bad thing. There's a lot of fun to be had here! But I have some questions about how it's going to be implemented and what to expect from it.

One of those questions is pretty expected coming from me: what do we tag this new thing as? I'd rather no one be spoiled unless they consent to being spoiled, and given we have no idea when this thing is releasing, it'd be nice to have that ironed out sooner rather than later. Like do we tag it as Lone Wolf, do we still tag it as BATDS, is it LW, like, what will the fandom agree upon for its tag? I think I'm gonna go with just Lone Wolf, but I'd love to hear some thoughts on this.

The rest is a bit more complex. How significant of a change is Lone Wolf going to be from what we've come to expect of BATDS? Like, when you go as far as to change the name of your product, I'm expecting something pretty substantial. I'm hearing through the grapevine that the naming convention of the games is changing so that titles with "and the" are easily distinguishable as mainline entries while the rest are side content? And maybe that's all that this is, maybe it's just to make this game fit with that naming scheme. But I get the sense it's more than that.

With this week's SOTM update including a new image with Boris holding a frying pan while wearing a hard hat, and a recent tweet from theMeatly showing that the box is planned to open, those are two things we can reasonably assume will be in Lone Wolf. But what will the frying pan do? Is there some sort of combat element where we smack enemies with it? I mean if Sammy could knock out Henry with a dustpan, why couldn't Boris have a turn? Maybe it's some sort of cooking element, like a minigame, or health restoration on-the-go as like an emergency reserve?

As I was writing this, we got another tweet from theMeatly that talked about this game having "rogue like" elements and a story conclusion? I'm a little surprised, I thought BATDS had a story that came to a conclusion already. It set us up to foreshadow BATDR, that's all it really needed to do. What else could they possibly tell us here? Not sure what to make of "rogue like" gameplay, but that potential combat thing seems a little more likely? Also, once again, as I was writing this we got something new about permadeath on higher difficulties? What is the deal with that? Are we going to be able to select the difficulty we want to play on? That would be a nice quality of life update, not gonna lie, I'm down for more choices in gameplay.

Here's what I wanna know in the present: how are they going to implement this change? When Lone Wolf comes out, are they going to change the Steam page for BATDS to be updated into Lone Wolf, or is it going to be an entirely new Steam page for Lone Wolf that requires us to purchase it as a new product? I have a feeling it's going to be the first one, and if it is, I have a follow-up question: is Steam going to require that I update to the new game? With SOTM, it did not let me open the game unless I had the most updated version. If I own BATDS already, am I going to have a choice about whether or not I update to Lone Wolf? I paid for BATDS, that is the product I knowingly gave my money to, not Lone Wolf, so I want to have a choice to keep the product I chose to spend money on. If I make the choice to update and try it, on the chance don't like it, will I be able to downgrade to a previous version, or is that off the table? I would like to have some management of expectations on this matter, it would give me some peace of mind. I don't need to know anything else about this game until it comes out, I would gladly forgo any other news or information if that was confirmed for me. And that's saying a lot, you know I love keeping up with this series. Those are the things I want to know: what can we expect to happen when this update rolls out?

Given this tweet about how we likely won't get to keep our save files, I'm guessing this is a complete overhaul, or pretty close to it, on the back end. And admittedly...I'm kind of sad about that. Not about the not keeping of save files, no, I expected that given what happened with all of BATIM's updates. What I'm sad about is that it feels like Lone Wolf is going to feel significantly different from the game that came before it, despite being a rebrand of it. And I think, hearing that from me is likely going to surprise a number of you. If you've ever talked to me about Bendy, you'll know that I'm fascinated by how these games have changed over time. I delight in telling people who weren't there from the beginning how parts of BATIM moved around, the Sammy Lawrence getting shoes story is amongst my favorites just because it's so funny. And the thing is, most of the changes made to these games have been for the better, not just from a quality standpoint, but from the perspective of getting closer to the devs' vision for this story. And as someone who wants all creatives to achieve their visions and make things that make them happy, of course I'd want to celebrate that. So shouldn't I be happy that this game is supposed to be getting a number of improvements?

That being said...I'm also sentimental. Boris and the Dark Survival was released four years ago at the start of the pandemic. This game was one of the few things I had to look forward to at that point in time. It was how I ended up meeting a number of people that are still extremely good friends, people I cherish having in my life. I still think back to the note that used to be in it when the Butcher Gang was added in.

That's one of the most human things in this series. It's not in the game anymore, it went away when Sammy and the bathrooms were added in. But I've held onto it.

I'm...not ready for BATDS to change. I expect a game to change when it's getting a remaster decades after the fact, or if it's an online/multiplayer experience that's in need of patches to balance it better. I expect games to stop being playable when their hardware or software can't be run anymore, or the tech they're on physically breaks. But this game? I didn't expect this, and that makes the change feel big and scary. It feels like this came out of nowhere, like it's too young. I think...I'm not ready to let go of BATDS or BATIM, I don't want to see changes to either one, even if they're the best changes in the world, because they're so near and dear to my heart. I spent so much time with them, they got me through some of the most difficult moments in my life. I mean I just got done with a whole video essay on it. I don't want to come back and see that they've become something drastically different from the old friend I knew. I want them to stay the way they are and then have whatever comes next be the new stuff that's different.

I want to see Bendy grow and change, I want to see this series try new things. I want the team behind it to create something that they're proud of. But I also don't want the old to be adjusted for the new anymore. I'd rather we just move on, make the new things to be the best they can be, let the old exist as it is, and let everyone keep the parts that they loved all throughout. BATIM and BATDS are not perfect by any means, but they don't need to be perfect. They did what they needed to do, they did what they could with what they had at the time, and sometimes, that has to be enough. Sometimes you have to let the old be there so you can look back at it and see how far you've come. If I went back to every old art project I'd made to remake it, I would never have time to be innovative and play with new ideas in the present. Bendy should be allowed to change without getting stuck on the past. I may not love every single change that comes along, but let's be real, who does when it comes to stuff like this? I don't have to love all of it in order for it to be valid and enjoyed by the fandom as a whole. There's a lot to be excited for with Bendy in the near future. There's so many cool things to play with, so much potential for these stories, and there's several parts I am looking forward to. Silent City is probably the biggest source of excitement for me personally, but there's a lot to be curious about with the other recently announced projects too. That's what I want: to be able to be excited for the new and still cherish the old as it is at the same time.

I think, give me time, and I might be able to warm up to Lone Wolf. I might be ready for that change if I know I have the option to go back to the old. Or if I don't have that option, tell me in advance so I can mentally prepare for it and make peace with it first. I'd really appreciate some time to process on my own before the update comes out (especially since we have no idea when it's coming out), that way maybe I can work my way up to celebrating the good of the new with my fellow fans. Our fandom gets really loud and caught up in the rush, and I know myself. I need a heads up to be able to self curate and step away, that way when the fun begins, I can be there cheering everyone on. That's all I ask, my good puppet sir. Meatly, I don't get the sense you browse Tumblr, but on the chance you are, please, we really need more management of expectations when it comes to the future of Bendy. I get it, your whole thing is doing the unexpected, and I respect that. I love so many of the twists and turns you've put in here. I just feel the unexpected works best when it's mostly in the games/media and not in the stuff surrounding it. I want to be pleasantly surprised by what comes next. Please, I could really use some hope right now that things are gonna be okay.

[thatonecrookedsmile]

The Ink Demonth 2024:

-Tea-

-----

I got distracted by watching a stream in the middle of painting this, so this thing is coming out a... little later than I wanted. Also no quote at the beginning because I'm out of ideas.

'Tea' is a pretty simple prompt so there wasn't much I could do other than something just… simple. I didn't really have a clue who to use for this prompt though, but I ended up going with Emma Lamont from Boris and the Dark Survival. Long time since I last drew her.

Looking at other people's entries, I realized that using Betty would have made more sense and I'm surprised I didn't consider her sooner, but at the end of the day I'm okay with the choice I went with because in the end I'm giving the spotlight to a character I haven't seen people talk about in a long time.

Remember Emma? I wouldn't be surprised if one didn't. Heck, I can't even lie, she's not a character I think about often. I went to look at her tag, and that tag in the last 3 years only had 3 "recent" posts between 2021 and 2023 (except, of course, mine). Plus,her small appearance in BATDS doesn't help much. The last time I touched on her design was 2 years ago, on a sketch of her that I never finished (funnily enough, a sketch I was using for the purpose of redesigning her). I took what I had done (head/face/hair), dusted it off, and just expanded the idea a bit. It's not much, and probably not very accurate for a "1940s English Dance Teacher", but I doubt I'll go back to this design any time soon,and I don't know what else I could add in her design. (maybe earrings, I don't know)

With all that in mind, I don't have a problem with Emma. Kind of indifferent to her at the end of the day, but she has her place in the franchise, one that at the end of the day,it doesn't hurt to pay attention to again. And I find her story kind of funny. Another one being a victim of not being given a proper workspace/office of her own, and forced to create new dance steps in a bathroom. I like to think that she and Jack "I Write Better Lyrics In The Sewers" Fain had some kind of friendship. I've had an animatic idea since 2020 that adapts Jack's audio from BATDS and she was included. I never made it,though.

I kind of doubt we'll hear more of her in the Lone Wolf update. Her existence in the game seems like it was just a way to justify why we're suddenly collecting dance steps inside toilets, and I kind of doubt they'll expand on her beyond that. A shame. But then again, LW hasn't released it yet, and it's promised to add lots of new stuff, so who knows what could happen,I guess.

Somewhat related to the topic(s), what's your opinion on tea? As far as I remember, I've never tried it. And to be honest, I don't think I've ever been curious to try it. Is it good? Is it worth trying? This prompt got me thinking about it. I doubt I'll try it eventually, but I guess it doesn't hurt to ask, right?

[platearmourpiglet]

It's garlic (and review) time!!!

🧄🧄🧄

But first, a tragedy in three acts on why tumblr is better than FB.

Me: "Hey facebook, I wanna post this video and also these pictures!"

Facebook: "Sure thing, here you have it all in a chaotic cluster that you cannot edit.😘"

Me: "Eh...but I want the video to be the main thing, like, in full size, and the pictures can follow in a smaller cluster."

Facebook:

🧄🧄🧄

Aaaaaanyway... Last time people seemed to find it pretty helpful, and I happen to have ordered the garlic shirt in two different sizes, so I thought I'd leave another review!

It's from the same company as the new BATD shirt (Comfort Colors), so it's basically the same shirt. Thick, heavy fabric, kind of tight neckline, has a (soft) tag, beautifully crisp print. And I expect it to survive the washing machine just as well with minimal bleeding out. I have a 90cm bust and I'd say the S fits pretty well, though there’s enough room that I am confident an XS would also work comfortably. I love it!

[transskywardsword]

its very funny seeing what i will and wont make historically accurate with my oc's story. like i made sure bovzek has an antimony stylus wrapped in twine instead of a pencil and am meticulously researching what made up the canon of the bible in the kingdom of Bohemia pre the Prague translation for a throwaway line, but a small pocket bible that a random middle class* 12-year-old can steal with little genuine consequence (excluding the punishment of the sexton on guard)? sounds legit

*which didn't exist under feudalism

[nightmaretherabbitsideblog2]

I posted 50 times in 2022

That's 50 more posts than 2021!

43 posts created (86%)

7 posts reblogged (14%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@nightmaretherabbitsideblog2

@nightmaretherabbit

@hey-imma-fangirl

I tagged 50 of my posts in 2022

#batdr - 46 posts

#bendy and the dark revival - 46 posts

#bendy and the ink machine - 46 posts

#batim au - 45 posts

#boris and the dark survival - 45 posts

#batim - 45 posts

#batds - 45 posts

#remnant ink au - 45 posts

#my au - 45 posts

#my art - 31 posts

Longest Tag: 28 characters

#batim the illusion of living

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas!

Holiday (Christmas) picture I worked on for a bit.

Speed paint/Time lapse below 👇

Wanted to post this before I forget/I can't post it.

33 notes - Posted December 1, 2022

#4

The Ink Demon/Bendy

Both of his forms for ya

49 notes - Posted November 28, 2022

#3

Batdr came out today! So here's a celebration drawing !

"Everyone Here Either Can't Speak,Or Are Completely Mad!"

52 notes - Posted November 15, 2022

#2

Joey: I printed up a bunch of fake safety inspection certificates. Go slap one on anything that looks like a lawsuit.

Buddy: Mr.Drew, is that legal?

Joey: When the cops aren’t around, anything’s legal!

100 notes - Posted November 19, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Porter!

May have messed him up a bit. But I can always redesign him later.

180 notes - Posted November 18, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[rhythm-tengoku-gold]

Ok. So.

As most people probably don’t know I’m a big fan of the Bendy novel Dreams Come To Life. The titular protagonist Buddy himself being a decent part of this love. It’s a real bummer to me to see him lose pretty much all of himself after being Boris-ified & I’ve thought about creating a fanfiction about an au where Buddy doesn’t get taken over by Boris since I first finished the book.

While not that concept but in a similar lane, after playing BATDR the idea of Buddy Boris meeting & ending up tagging along with Audrey in some fashion has been swimming around my thoughts. Along the way, he’d recover his memories/sense of self somehow. That’s, er, all I’ve got so far.

Before I start planning I need to play BATDS, read The Lost Ones, finish reading the very last bit of Illusion of Living, & finish re-reading DCTL & noting down whatever I deem even the tiniest bit important. I also haven’t read the Crack Up Comics & the employee handbook (which I’ve heard has some tidbits), but I’m pretty confident I can go without them. I’ve got a lot on my plate at the moment.

Before even planning out a fanfic my ass will be like I Have To Know Everything Ever when it comes to whatever media I want to write about.

[pearlyscribbles]

I play favourites for sure

alts below the cut

he booby 👀

[doodlingant]

Had to make it traditional cuz I'm grounded !

Ink Demonth DAY 1: Prize