#if it wasn't written by bendis

[thevelominati]

[dimonds456]

can someone just take Mike's twitter account away from him already. i'm so fucking tired.

like dude just shut the fuck up.

Anyway. I vote we just ignore him forever actually and we do whatever we want with canon now. These two don't deserve it. And no I'm not just talking about this incident.

There's more. [x]

LOTS MORE. [x]

[thatonecrookedsmile]

More progress being made. I finished re-reading The Illusion of Living this past Friday. It's a nice book. 👍 This was the last of the Bendy books in this "marathon" that I'm doing which I had already read previously and now I'm rereading, meaning that I'm kind of up to date when it comes to rereading all the books that were released until December 2021. But the race is not over yet. Soon I'll start Fade To Black, and (technically) I'll finally be up to date.

Just to continue my chain of posting about the books I finished (at least, the main ones that I really wanted to read) here it is…something I did at the beginning of March, on the night when shit went down. (I hope you know what I'm talking about). I saw the tweets first hand, I was there! Right at the damn moment. And it was..something reading those tweets alright. If the image above doesn't show it, my mood that night and the next 1-2 days wasn't so… great. You might read this and think I'm exaggerating, but that night especially I, uuhhh, I didn't feel good! And this image (and maybe 2 more posts I made that night) are the results of that. (And to think that a week before this happened, I had finished rereading DCTL after a long time. Talk about better/worse timing than this)

At least, if you want the bright side of this, it's that even after that day, I decided to continue with my book marathon, and I don't regret it. I was down that day, but I wasn't out yet damn it!! and I'm still not. (I don't know if this sentence makes a lot of sense, but you get my point)

As a bonus, here's something I did the night I got to the part where Henry is first mentioned in the book (you can consider this as a representation of my reaction when he's first mentioned, both for when I read TIOL for the first time in 2021, as now in this rereading)

Feat. canon Henry design and my fanon design for him (I wanted to include him here + I still read this book with my fan-designs in mind)

[twilightkitkat]

Everyone knows that Deadpool can break the 4th wall. It's a large part of his charm: being able to directly address the audience and make popculture references that don't exist in the MCU.

It's a common gag in fanfiction for Logan to be slightly weirded out by this but to just let it go.

But can we talk about the implications of knowing about 4th wall? The potential?

Imagine Wade, knowing that he's trapped inside a story that nobody else is aware of. Knowing that his fate is in the hands of the storywriters and that if he doesn't perform well for the audience, his universe could cease to exist. Knowing that he's just a character and being completely alone in that knowledge.

Knowing that he's played by an actor. Knowing that nothing is really in your control. Knowing how your fate rests in the hand of corporations and money. (Knowing nobody is safe as long as they can be used to further your character development.)

He knows that there's a plot and the general rules of it. He knows that The Conflict can't be resolved that easily and when the end of the movie is coming. He knows how to tell narrative death flags.

He partially makes references to keep the audience engaged (to keep his existence renewed) and partially because it's funny to see everyone confused over a joke only he gets.

But every reference is trying to see if anyone else knows, too. He's throwing out the bait. (Trying to see if anyone knows that the world they're living in is fake.)

And everyone sees him as crazy for it. Schizophrenic, manic, insane. (And maybe he is. It's not like he can prove it to anyone.)

Wade assumes things about the world and they're generally correct. He knows the rules of the game, knows the writers, and has a razor-sharp intuition that has his allies questioning him sometimes (he knows popular tropes).

And so, when he realized that he was in a movie with Logan, he made a lot of assumptions. That they would have to work together. That they'd overcome their differences and grow closer.

But most importantly, he assumed the limits. Disney wouldn't make an openly gay character, would they? Deadpool is fine because he's a joke but Wolverine would never be seriously gay, even if he was queer in the comics.

So he sees it as safe to flirt and joke because it wasn't going anywhere. Being gay was funny to the target audience, but that was it. It'd never be taken seriously in a superhero movie. (Especially with characters as popular as Deadpool and Wolverine.)

Wade was either getting Vanessa or nothing. That was how the story was written.

So he never takes Logan's feelings seriously. He cared about him in a very family-friendly bro kind of way and that was it. He doesn't even consider the idea of romance. He jokingly flirts and spews innuendos, but they never went anywhere. Wouldn't go anywhere. Ever.

And Logan is confused because he thought Wade was attracted to him, yet he keeps brushing him off as friendly when he tries to be sincere. He one time legitimately shared a bendy heart straw with him by Wade's request and Wade just played it off as a bit.

And also, Wade keeps making references he doesn't understand. That nobody understands. And he'd chalk it up to saying random shit except Logan starting paying attention and it's all oddly cohesive and creates a singular story. It ties together in ways that complete nonsense doesn't.

And that's leaving out Wade's "intuition." How he makes comments about "tropes" and "cliches" like they're in a movie except that he ends up being right. Almost every time. It's like he can predict the future, but in a vague yet oddly specific way. Like he can see how things are going to go.

And sometimes, when Wade thinks Logan isn't paying attention, he notices how he mutters to himself in dread. And how something bad almost always happens after.

It makes him disturbed and painfully, achingly curious. What was Wade seeing that he wasn't? It could be that Wade was a secret prodigy, but that didn't seem to be the case? Some of this was too specific and far-fetched.

(All while Wade laments over the lack of agency in his own life, subject to the currents of the story while being painfully aware of it. He couldn't live a life of blissful ignorance like everyone else. It's like he saw a tsunami hurdling toward him—even if he ran away at full speed, the plot always caught up to him somehow.

Trust him. He'd tried to outrun it.)

[artbyblastweave]

Herofy Norman Osborn (in a way that’s not just “Iron Man in a different costume”)

So this speech, from the wrap-up of one of the Dark Avengers Seige tie-ins, is one that's stuck with me:

The man-at least as written by Bendis- wants to be Amanda Waller very, very badly. He's not.

So, to the extent that Dark Avengers wasn't already doing this, you take this dynamic and you play it for tragic tension rather than framing it as a foregone conclusion that Osborn is going to explode. You take a man who's witnessing every stanford-style superhuman mass casualty event that otherwise gets lost in the churn of continuity and from this you produce a guy who's actually, sincerely trying to get this under control, for whom that has always been the long-term project of his entire corporation, all the way back to before Spider-Man was a glimmer in anyone's eye. Lex Luthor if his abstract antagonism towards Superman's "potential threat" wasn't just transparent cope.

In an inversion of the company's role in the Ultimate Universe, where they were one of the front-runners attempting to reproduce the Super Soldier Serum, Oscorp is the anticape company. Oscorp is the company that builds power inhibitors, a major bankroller of Damage Control, the company that sinks resources into bespoke "cures" for cut-and-dry examples of deleterious x-gene mutations, like that guy who makes everyone within a hundred yards melt. Of course, the problem is that you can't put the genie back in the bottle; you can't sit at a distance from the scrum and just quietly attempt to contain it without becoming part of it. Every Oscorp facility becomes a battlefield between X-men and extremists like Stryker and Trask; research on how to contain or mitigate superhuman abilities gets swiped by disgruntled scientists and used in the opposite direction to create even more superhumans. There's nothing you can do that won't get assimilated into of the game. The goblin persona is a late development- generated from a combination of ambient exposure to research materials in the lab, and the raw stress of sliding over the event horizon into the cape game despite his best efforts- a little voice telling you that the only way you're going to get this under control is to fight fire with fire, just start cutting deals, getting the worst monsters on leashes, blowing them up if they don't cooperate...

[happylandvn]

Hello again!!

Dude, Doe's hair won't stop giving me Bendy And The Ink Machine vibes lolololol, I love this miserable clown so much wth

I was wondering, what if I (kindly) pour a bucket full of water on Doe's head? Will his hair lose its shape and become damp? And what will his reaction be? Same to Exe, what will their reaction be if that also happened to them? (Idk but I think I'm gonna faint if I actually see Doe with hair down) Do the clowns even shower, or love water in any ways? And where do they sleep? Do they just find any random good spot to sleep in the circus, or do they have their own bedrooms there?

Also, I'm kind of curious about you, the creator. There wasn't anything written about you in the bio or the pinned post, so can you tell us a bit about yourself then? (If that's okay with you)

Why do I keep imagining that Doe's looks with damp hair will look like that one wet cat meme-

That's it! Have a nice day/night! ♡

(and thank you so much for gladly answering my previous question with kindness, it really means a lot to me ^^)

"...Was this really necessary?" - Doe

They don't need to shower, but they don't mind water (so long as it isn't holy). And they don't need sleep either. If they have nowhere to do it, they simply won't.

I go by Nightmare! I am the creator of another already existing VN, called Duality. I'm just an imaginative person who got into game development during the past few years.

[the-solar-system52]

INK DEMON AND BENDY THEORY

So Bendy's official Instagram account just posted something very interesting, and I want to theorise about it!

For awhile the social media account for Bendy have been doing these posts where Bendy takes a photo of a location from BATDR and steals an item from that location, and people have to guess what he took. I thought it was just an unimportant game to give the social media managers something to do, like Steelwool's 'Guess The Sketch', but now it's actually important.

The picture shows that Bendy built all his stolen items in the shape of his Ink Demon form, with an interesting caption. Some fans have took this post to mean that Ink Demon ordered small Bendy to make a statue of him, but I don't think that's true.

I'm a big fan of the "Bendy is the Ink Demon with the mind of a child, and they are NOT seperate people" theory, and I don't think this post disproves that.

So if you know my past TPOH and FNAF theories, then you know its time for another round of:

SOLAR NEEDLESSLY OVERANALYZING THE GRAMATICAL STRUCTURE OF SENTENCES TO MAKE A THEORY EVEN THOUGH MOST PEOPLE DON'T PAY THAT MUCH ATTENTION TO HOW THEY PHRASE THINGS

Lets dissect this single sentence like a frog!!

"His inner Ink Demon is always on his mind-"

If Joey Drew Studios had phrased this as "IN his mind", then I see how this would be more literal. Meaning that the Ink Demon is a separate entity to Bendy and is literally living IN his mind.

But they didn't, they said "ON his mind". This phrase is usually used more metaphorically. If I'm hungry, I can say that dinner is 'on my mind', but that doesn't mean my dinner is actuallly INSIDE my brain. All this means is that Bendy has been thinking about his memories of his Ink Demon form, and therefore made a statue of him when he looked like that. Possibly to try and communicate his complicated feelings through art, or maybe he collected those specific items almost subconsciously.

Second of all, if the Ink Demon really was ordering Bendy around from inside his mind to make that statue for him, then I don't think it looks right. In BATIM, there are multiple shrines made by followers of the Ink Demon like Sammy, that look more demonic. As you can see, Bendy's statue doesn't look anything like that. Not a candle or pentagram in site! I feel like if this was made by the request of the Ink Demon, it would look way more like the ones from BATIM. But it doesn't! Instead, I think it looks more like it was made by Bendy on his own accord, like a children's drawing.

"His inner Ink Demon-"

Again, Joey Drew Studios decided to take the less-literal more-metaphorical route of this phrasing. If they just said "THE ink demon" then it would imply the Ink Demon as his own separate entity. But saying "inner" when referring to a buried memory of someone's past is not uncommon to do for regular use as well. For example, if I draw cats a certain way then I can say it's my "inner warrior cats fan" coming out. That doesn't mean there's actually a warrior cats fan inside my brain ordering me around, it's symbolic.

"on his mind, searching for an exit."

This also doesn't disprove my theory. The Keepers technology is preventing him from turning into his Ink Demom form. This means he can't use his powers and is weaker and smaller. It's clear he at least vaguely remembers what the Keepers did to him because of how scared he is of the GENT building.

Since he is in an incredibly hostile environment, it's no surprise he'd be thinking of a time where he wasn't as vulnerable. And he would also be trying to find a way to be strong again, in his own child-like way. Which explains the statue.

Personally, I find this all way more interesting then "rrr ink demon scary rrr", but to each their own.

I have more evidence for my "Bendy is the Ink Demon with the mind of a child, and they are NOT seperate people" theory outside of this instagram description, but I've already written enough for this post. I may make another post about it but we'll see. Please comment if you have anything else to add ^^

[archer-kacey]

Shawn Flynn (Analysis)

Let's talk about my favorite JDS weirdo!

We first hear Shawn's voice in Bendy and the Ink Machine, but Joey also mentions him in Illusion of Living in passing.

Joey mentions two things here, firstly that Shawn does "an excellent job." I know Joey lies more than a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar, but considering the fact that JDS is held together with duct tape and rubber bands, I'm inclined to believe him here. After all, how the hell could they keep up with demands (so much so that the Alice dolls were overstocked) if the foreman fucked off constantly.

Joey also says that Shawn's "creativity knows no bounds." Makes sense for his position, but also helps confirm that Joey does think highly of him in terms of his work. On a personal level, though, maybe not so much.

Based on Joey's insistence for perfection, we can infer that Shawn, like many, was just trying to do his damn job, and Joey blew his lid when things weren't exactly to his liking.

Shawn also mentions that the Alice merchandise wasn't selling well, and offhandedly proposes that they may have to melt the remaining stock down in order to get rid of it. Pretty self-explanatory tape, all things considered.

(The Bendy Wiki also mentions that he has a Dublin accent. I am not at all an expert on ANYTHING Irish but I did find out that Jacksepticeye is from Offaly, Ireland (Midland/East Ireland) and Dublin is also part of East Ireland, so...I'm assuming this is correct.)

There is also an easter egg with the Seeing Tool in BATIM written over Shawn's audio log, though this is mostly a nod to his voice actor.

Anyway, onto Boris and the Dark Survival.

In BATDS, Shawn mentions that he bought a new belt, (a one-of-a-kind toolbelt apparently,) and it was stolen immediately the next day. The perpetrator was a Gent employee, and they very brazenly wore it around right after stealing it. We aren't sure who this employee is, that's mostly speculation. But I don't think that's the point- this odd anecdote represents some of the first seeds of distrust being sown between JDS and Gent employees.

This brings us to Dark Revival.

Funnily enough, I find Shawn's departure from the studio much more interesting than his actual time employed there.

Firstly, Shawn mentions that Joey took it well when he decided to leave. Between the shift towards Gent's experiments and new technology, the funding from Gent, and the sudden irrelevance of having Bendy merch going out in droves, it's possible that Joey just didn't care.

Shawn also seems to give zero fucks about Joey's opinion, based on his Dark Revival and Bendy audio logs, which I find fucking hilarious. Not the first disgruntled employee, but certainly the most confident when faced with Joey himself.

He mentions wanting to find a cabin upstate, see some open sky, and start anew with his family. Overall it seems like leaving JDS gave him a more hopeful lens on life.

But the MOST headscratching thing about his parting audio log is the last few lines;

"But before I go, I've made one last toy. A little parting present for the factory lads. Let's see how long it takes them to find it."

We never hear from Shawn again, so we have NO IDEA WHAT THIS MEANS LMAO. Leave it to Shawn to be mysterious for no apparent reason.

However, there is a possible connection to be made. In the Heavenly Toys area, there's a factory output sheet slapped on one of the walls.

The last column mentions a "Bendy Starface Stuffed Toy", which we've never seen presently. There was only one ever made, and after that it was immediately discontinued.

I don't know why it would be listed at all if Shawn did leave the Starface Bendy as a gift, so this may all be a dead end. (I'm also aware that this might be a "Scarface" reference, although I really don't know what that has to do with anything.) Regardless, I find it a weird coincidence that Shawn left a single toy behind, and Starface also seems to be a completely unique Bendy toy.

TL;DR Shawn Flynn is cool and might have left an Among Us plushie at the studio for his co-workers

[ladytauria]

Hi tauria bb 💜 can you choose a 500 word snippet from one of your published fics or wips and give us some director's commentary / insight into what you were thinking when you wrote it?

hello darling <3

instead of doing a 500 word snippet i decided to give um... entire fic commentary. basically? more or less picking out lines/sections and giving my thought process, bc it's fun to do that sometimes <3 thank you for giving me the space to---even if i did have to pick a fic by making a list and rolling a die dfghjk

i ended up picking "trust & feathers," my jaytim wing fic <3

Jason feels the blood feather break.

i had this line written down for ages before starting the prompt. before jaytim week was even announced, actually, lmao. i hadn't known when i wrote it if i was going to keep the entire fic from jason's POV or not, but i liked the line... liked it so much i used it as the summary too lmao.

Tonight, though, he’d rather be on Tim’s good side. Jason uses his codes at one of the side entrances. Tim is already waiting in the main area of the Nest when he comes in. He’s standing in front of the monitors; arms braces against his desk chair. The way his cape drapes over his shoulders, the ends sweeping over the floor, past the ends of dark primaries… It reminds Jason so strongly of Bruce that he has to stop and blink to clear the image away. He waits for the anger to rise. Prepares to swallow it down, stopping himself from lashing out at someone who—currently—doesn’t deserve it. It doesn’t come. Grief hits him instead; swelling in his chest and climbing up into his throat, threatening to choke him. He swallows hard and shakes himself before forcing his feet forward.

this is one of my favorite parts of the fic.

i don't think i've explored it a lot in fic, but. i feel like when he first starts spending time with tim---in my mind, usually post-red robin, when things are still Weird and Unsettled between all of the bats---that tim reminds him a lot of bruce despite tim's best efforts to not be bruce.

and for as much as jason respects tim's abilities, i feel like that makes it hard for them, early on.

the differences start to shine through, even at the start, until it's not so bad, but i feel like jason comparing tim to bruce is something that takes time for him to stop doing? but it was really interesting to do here because like... tim doesn't always remind jason of now bruce. he reminds tim of old bruce. bruce-before-he-died. softer-bruce. kinder-bruce. more-open-bruce. and for jason this particular moment is the first time that really hits as actual grief, rather than grief-masked-by-anger.

i couldn't explore it in the fic bc that wasn't the thesis, per se, but i like adding in little details like that. they're a treat for me. and readers. but mostly for me in the moment xD

It’s almost imperceptible, but Jason has spent longer than he would like to admit studying Tim. He knows, intimately, the lines and curves of Tim’s face; the way his mouth usually sits, the sharp slope of his nose, the droop of his eyes. If he had any talent for art at all, he thinks he could sketch Tim from memory.

if my memory serves, i believe i have a cut version of this paragraph that included a tangent about jason's stalker days. i should save it in my scribbles doc, so i remember to one day write a fic that's like. stalker!tim tropes but reversed.

i think it would be fun ;)

Tim’s surprise leaves Jason uncomfortably aware of what he’s asking. Offering. It’s not the first time he’s come to Tim for help with an injury… but he’s never offered up anything so vulnerable as an injured wing before. For a moment, he’s tempted to take it back. Go to Leslie instead—or take his chances with a bathroom mirror. He’s no Grayson, but he thinks he’s bendy enough to manage… “Let me look at it,” Tim says, surprise gone as quickly as it had come. Determination replaces it— and Jason knows there’s no turning back now.

i did my best to demonstrate tim's thought process from jason's pov haha. but tim goes through like. a few stages here. first it's shock that jason would ask him for this. tim gave jason keycodes to his nest, so clearly there's some level of trust and relationship there, but i feel like tim was never quite sure just how reciprocated it was. this is a Big Thing that jason is offering and tim knows it. it's a little humbling for him, lmfao, and there's definitely a split second of panic where he wonders if he's going to screw it up, before firmly deciding: no. no he's not. he's going to be calm and professional and prove that jason's trust in him is well placed.

Jason settles in it awkwardly; his wings fluttering. It takes more effort than it should to still them.

i tried really hard to incorporate their wings into the body language descriptions, as well as to try and imagine what a world would be like if everyone had wings, lol. the latter didn't come up so much for this fic, but i think i might try to do more with it in the next?

Abruptly, Jason decides he doesn’t care. It’s been too damn long since anyone touched his wings without the intent to break. He’ll decide later if the consequences, whatever they may be, were worth it. Tim opens his mouth, but Jason speaks first, “Sure,” he says, shrugging carelessly. “Why not?”

this part was so important to me.

in a lot of touch-starved fics, the hunger is satisfied sort of... accidentally? someone touches them, the person breaks, and melts into their arms. and look. i love that. i eat that shit up.

BUT.

i've said before but. there is is something just so... *clenches fist* to me about willing vulnerability. the choice to allow someone in. it comes up in my fics a lot and will KEEP coming up in my fics, lmfao

it's just so fucking yummy to me, to have a character ask for what they need and then be given it, no strings attached

Jason stills. He realizes, abruptly, what Tim must see—the disheveled mess of feathers, solid, flat black where they should shine like an oil slick. Grooming has always been a social activity. A way to bond with the flock, smoothing oil over hard to reach places; waterproofing feathers to make them shine. The last person to groom Jason’s feathers was Talia—and that had been long before he returned to Gotham. Since then, he’s been on his own. He’s done the best he can with a shower and some twisting but— It’s not enough.

more fun wing body language!

but also this part was semi-inspired by my absolute fave preening fic of all time: Wingipedia by startingatmidnight. it's a fanfic for the Lucifer (Netflix) show, and it's just--- god i love it so much.

but one of my fave things about it was like. the contrast between lucifer's wings groomed vs ungroomed, and so that influenced me to do that here, too haha

It’s the only sign of his nerves from before. Even the blush has faded, mostly, leaving behind only a faint rosy hue to his cheeks. Makes him look less like he’s seconds away from dying of a vitamin-D deficiency.

this line just makes me giggle

When his eyes have adjusted, he shrugs out of his jacket, folding it before draping it over the low table. Then he skims his fingers over the clasps of his armor. He hesitates. He can hear Tim moving around in the kitchen—a cabinet door shuts before water hisses from the faucet. He’s come this far. He’s not going to back out now. Jason ignores his nerves, forcing himself to undo the clasps one by one, bypassing the securities as he goes. Then he lets the chest piece fall on the table with a thud. It’s joined by his undershirt a few moments later. Finally, he unholsters his weapons, laying them carefully on the table as well. Jason stands, bare chested, in the middle of the room, several pounds lighter than he was before. Maybe he should have left the undershirt on. It would get a little messy, but who cares? The faucet turns off. Jason resists the urge to redress, sitting back down instead.

a few things to comment on here!

when his eyes have adjusted: i like to imagine that their domino lenses filter out the glare of headlights/streetlights? like yeah, fics usually have it where they can flip them up too so maybe he should have done that when walking in but. anyway. but that's what that line is for if anyone was curious fghj

tim cleaning up the first aid kit and washing his hands is, of course, just good hygiene and safety practice. BUT it was also an attempt on his part to give jason the chance to change his mind. if jason had left here, he would have been disappointed, but i think he wouldn't have brought it up again unless jason avoided him for too long after, lol

and then finally: more of that 'choosing to be vulnerable' stuff. jason has a chance to leave, to take it back, and he doesn't. instead he deliberately and literally strips out of his armor <3

Jason’s hands clench tighter, blunt nails digging into the meat of his palms. The pain is grounding. Gives him something else to focus on. Something other than the way nerves light up under his skin; prickling in a way that borders on painful. Tim keeps stroking Jason’s wing, tugging gently on his feathers to make them lay straight. With each pass, his fingers brush against Jason’s preening gland. Each touch winds him up a little tighter; the muscles in his back and shoulders bunching into knots under his skin. He has to bite his tongue not to tell Tim to just get the fuck on with it already. Maybe Tim can tell that Jason is close to bolting. He buries his hand in Jason’s feathers as his thumb presses down on Jason’s oil gland. The noise he makes is low and strangled—he presses his mouth into his arms, breath hot and humid against his skin. He can feel himself shaking. Despite himself, he finds his wing pushing back into Tim’s hand—and Tim accommodates him, pressing firmer still as he massages around and over the gland. Jason can just feel the oil dribbling from it, slightly warmer than body temperature. He thinks he might be crying; silent tears beading on his lashes before rolling down his cheeks. If Tim can tell, he doesn’t say.

the entire preening section gave me so much trouble. i really wanted to sit down and nail the tone just right; to really delve deep into the intimacy. 'cause like... the premise is that jason hasn't let anyone near his wings, right? and sure. i said why, but i wanted to show too. to give it proper emotional weight, and make his choice to be vulnerable, and the anxiety and apprehension around it, feel like it meant something.

emotional payoff, i guess.

Tim chuckles. He has to rise to his feet as he moves further down Jason’s wing. He stops to gather more oil first, smearing it further down the ridge of his wing, where it starts to coat his primaries.

i researched wing anatomy for this fic. i wasn't going to. i was just gonna sit down and write based off of my experience reading wingfic. but i couldn't not do it. and then once i looked up what different feather types were called-- well. i quickly realized that while a couple names are recognizable not all of them are lmfao

i have forgotten what i learned but im pretty sure i remembered take worldbuilding notes

Tim starts over again; combing through the soft, downy feathers near his spine. The first glancing brush of his fingers against Jason’s second preening gland isn’t quite as overwhelming as the first. It’s still a lot. He may have grown used to it on the other wing, but this one is still unused to touch. The nerves under his skin prickle again. Tim takes it slow, just like before. By the time he starts to massage Jason’s gland, the prickling has become a pleasurable tingling. He sinks into it with a sigh. Jason drifts, allowing himself to lose track of time entirely. Drowsiness weighs heavy on his limbs; his thoughts turning syrupy. Tim continues stroking his wing long past when he’s finished grooming it. Jason doesn’t notice at first; not until he realizes Tim has moved back to the middle of his wing. Maybe Jason should say something, but he’s not ready for this moment to be over, either. All things must end, though, and this is no exception. Tim’s hand slips from his wing.

i don't remember which line it was exactly but i remember having trouble with this section and reaching out to one of the servers im in for help. ty again abyss and marz <3

“Do… If you want, I could… return the favor,” Jason offers, wincing internally at how hesitant he sounds. He doesn’t realize how much he wants to until Tim shakes his head, and disappointment blooms in his chest. Makes sense, though. In Tim’s place, he’s not sure he’d want himself grooming his wings either. “Not tonight.” Tim glances at the window. The first light of dawn is starting to creep over the horizon. Jason’s brow furrows. He hadn’t realized they’d been here that long—that he had taken so many hours of Tim’s time. He turns back to Tim, opening his mouth to apologize, but this time, Tim is the one to speak first. “But…” There’s something almost nervous creeping around the edges of his expression. “Maybe another day?”

tim's refusal here isn't just about the dawn coming up lmao. it's also definitely because both of them are overwhelmed, emotionally, from this experience haha

but it's also an excuse to see jason again--to see if they can keep this quiet intimacy / new closeness they've developed.

and also ofc i had to throw in a little self-deprecating jason bc i'm me

Jason gives him a two-fingered salute. “‘Til next time,” he says, and then slips out the window, and into the morning light.

i actually really wanted to write part two with this and have them all be one fic, but i was running out of time for jaytim week at this point and while i could have posted late i really wanted to post on time, bc i never had before.

and also this was written and posted in the middle of a really bad couple of months for me, lol, and i wasn't sure i had it in me to write more at the time

but for now! this is where the fic ends <3 i do have the sequel started; i finished the first section and am about to move to tim showing up at jason's place ;) but who knows how long it'll take to write

thank you again for sending this ask and giving me the opportunity to ramble <3

and ALSO thank you to anyone who read all of this, lmao. i hope you enjoyed!!!

[kolbisneat]

MONTHLY MEDIA: March 2024

……….FILM……….

Dune: Part Two (2024) Every piece of technology felt and looked so tangible. The baby worm too! Love the tactile nature of this whole production and I hope studios take note that CG can't be the only tool in your belt. So much bigger than I imagined and just enjoyed the whole thing.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) Ages surprisingly well and a script that lets the main quartet be both funny and layered.

……….TELEVISION……….

Columbo (1.01 to 1.03) Hey I'm starting Columbo! Love that each episode is feature-length and Columbo appears fully formed right out of the gate. The sets and costumes are all so glamorous and L.A. Very excited to keep going.

Succession (2.05 to 3.04) The Kendall play at the end of season 2 felt very much like the Kendall play at the end of season 1 and while I'm still a huge fan of this series, I just hope it's not the same going into season 3 and 4.

Delicious in Dungeon (Episode 1.09 to 1.13) Great adaptation that isn't just a straight recreation of the artwork in the manga. The more kinetic/frantic moments in the animation are a nice departure and while they don't pop up in each episode, now that I'm 13 eps deep I can appreciate how they're sprinkled throughout.

Love is Blind (Episode 6.02 to 6.13) It still amazes me that anyone goes on reality tv.

……….YOUTUBE……….

Twilight | ContraPoints by ContraPoints Yes I did watch a nearly 3-hour essay on Twilight, sexual expression, and all that comes with that. And you should too. VIDEO

Instagram fatigue and the rise of 'Resentment Reels' by Taylor Lorenz While I haven't noticed this specific phenomenon, I have noticed Instagram declining as an app (both as a user trying to see anything other than ads, and a creator trying to get my work seen in between those ads). It's a bummer. VIDEO

Saltburn: The Tumblr-ification of Cinema by Broey Deschanel Every since I saw Saltburn, I've been thinking about what wasn't quite sitting right with me. This unlocked a lot of what I couldn't describe and most of it stems from the writer/director's upper class upbringing. Saltburn isn't a "take down the rich" movie, it's a horror story from the perspective of a wealthy family. VIDEO

Why Is It So Hard To Cross The Street? (& What You Can Do To Help) by Strong Towns Accidents where drivers hit a pedestrian are going up in my area so this really hit home. And for those feeling like there's nothing you can do at ground level, consider taking their course (not a paid sponsorship I'm just in real support of community-lead initiatives). VIDEO

……….READING……….

Elric of Melniboné by Michael Moorcock (Complete) After picking up the last book in this series (which I've yet to read) I figured I'd start at the beginning. Love the fast pace pulpy action and I can see how this influenced the creation of D&D.

The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie (Complete) This one would lose me for stretches but the final quarter of the book is stronger. A lot less cozy and a lot more action than I was expecting but skimming other reviews it sounds like this was written during her more...adventure-focused era. Three books deep and I have to give Christie credit that each has been a completely different experience.

Adventures of a Japanese Business Man by Jose Domingo (Complete) Always love going back to this nearly wordless epic that follows the titular Japanese business man. I love the complexity of the earliest panels and wish that could carry throughout more of the book, but it's always such a treat to discover just where each new panel will go.

Delicious in Dungeon Volume 5 by Ryoko Kui (Complete) Enjoying rereading this with shorter breaks between volumes as I certainly missed/forgot details on my first read. It's here that the story and tone shifts from light romp to a more dramatic and dangerous affair but it never loses its spot-on humour. Love those dryad pumpkins.

Ultimate Spider-Man HC Volume 11 by Brian Michael Bendis, Stuart Immonen, David Lafuente, and more (Complete) Going from some of my other comics back to this, I'm struck by just how wordy it can get. Now knowing where the story goes, it was a great idea to prime readers to the idea of Peter Parker dying even if it's not from this event.

……….AUDIO……….

Blank Check with Griffin & David (Podcast) Late to the game on this but really enjoying burning through their back catalog. Obviously started with their episode on Speed Racer as it's a near perfect film that you should watch right now.

……….GAMING……….

Oz: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) The Tuesday group just killed a mayor! So the aftermath of that is going to play out over the next couple of sessions. And the Mof1 crew is investigating the aftermath of their own district-wide catastrophe and it's all looking rather suspicious!

Spot It (Blue Orange Games) I can't recommend this game enough. It's so easy to learn, rounds last maybe 5 minutes, it plays well with small or large groups of any age, and all it requires is pattern recognition and quick reflexes. Every time I've played this someone says they're going to buy a copy for themselves.

And that's it. See you in April!

[sketchiefoxie]

Explore the lab for clues.

(Optional Soundtrack/Ambience)

April made a small sound, clutching tightly at the hem of her shirt, twisting it around her fingers. "Donnie, please, I don't know what to do!" She whispered, throat tight. It felt like if she were any louder, something bad would happen.

She watched as Donnie's eyes grew hazy, and he lost focus. His whole body slumped down, face pressing against his keyboard, cheeks pressing down upon the keys, still making that simple yet repetitive clicking sound.

April quickly looked around, trying to see if she could find anything to help. There wasn't anything within immediate eyeshot, as the lab itself was dark. The corners were so dark, it was almost as if the room itself was permeated by a pitch black mist.

The only place with some semblance of lighting was the area near Donnie's computers. The remaining screens fizzled pathetically, static buzzing loudly. Only the one computer was on, still playing the same video. Though the volume was incredibly quiet, and April presumed Donnie had either turned it way down, or had connected his headphones to the computers.

Donnie hadn't moved. He hadn't given April any indicator as to what was wrong, how she could fix it, or anything. He just laid there, eyes trained on the screen, clearly unfocused. As if he were forced to watch it, and didn't want to. It unsettled April to no end.

Slowly, she pulled out her phone, turning on the flashlight, adjusting the setting to a dimmer light. Her phone battery was a lot lower than she'd prefer. The battery was really draining fast, much faster than it should have been.

"I'll be right back, ok?" She promised, backing away from her brother. His vacant stare, and slack jawed expression did nothing to assure her. That weird rainbow stuff was still leaking out of his mouth.

Turning around, April shone her light across the lab.

It was a horrendous mess. Tables overturned, projects destroyed, and memories trashed. The only time April had seen Donnie's lab in such a mess, was when the Shredder destroyed their first lair, and Donnie had been heartbroken over that.

Carefully, she stepped over the numerous piles of broken things. Unlike the rest of the lair, none of these piles were sorted, which was almost more unnerving. April had started getting used to seeing neatly stacked piles of violently destroyed wall rubble.

This whole thing was really freaking her out. What had happened here? Why was Donnie just laying in front of a dying computer screen? How come she had forgotten him? Where were the rest of her brothers? Was he dying?

This entire thing just screamed 'horror mystery' and April wasn't particularly pleased by it. She didn't really feel like living in Bendy and The Ink Machine or Five Nights at Freddy's, thank you very much.

With swooping motions, April scanned the lab, waving her flashlight back and forth to illuminate her search. There wasn't much so far. Mostly just broken junk.

On the back wall of the lab, there were numerous papers written in hasty scribbles, and strings strung to every corner. It reminded her of a spiders web, but only if the web was made of blood red string.

April briefly wondered if the writing on the wall had any important significance. Though, as this was Donnie, there was a good chance that it was all just equations for abandoned projects.

Except...

Not all of those looked to be Donnie's notes. Carefully, she approached the walls, and began to read over some of the papers.

They weren't as exciting as she hoped, with the bulk of them being exactly what she expected. Maps of the lair, equations, and blueprints. The largest blueprint seemed to be of some strange machine called the "Anti-Mutation Radiation Chamber." Yeah, as if that wasn't hella creepy. Was this what Donnie meant when he had been talking about helping the mutants who didn't want to be mutants anymore? Seemed a little late though, as most of the mutants had found themselves lives to live.

Though, off to the side, and tacked over some other papers, were numerous lists of rations. Most of the rations were lists for food, water, laundry, the works. But they were mostly scribbled out. To be honest, when she thought about it, it was a concerning amount of rations...

At the bottom of one of the notes, in hasty writing, was the words "Angelo got it covered." April glanced backwards, thinking of the spilled soup bowls. She couldn't really see them in this lighting. Somehow, the knowledge that Mikey had it covered, was sorta unsettling. 'Got it covered' how?

At least it was confirmed that Mikey was here. He was the one who most likely took her gun, which was even more concerning! Mikey should have no need for a gun.

April frowned deeply, and pushed those thoughts to the back burner, and moved her flashlight along the wall to better scan the rest of the tacked up blueprints. Then something caught her attention. Over in the corner, was a pile of junk, and a lump under a tarp.

The tarp was a suspicious shape, and all around it was leaking puddles of fluids, and deep red stains. Without even needing to look, April could guess what was under the tarp. Her blood immediately grew cold, and she had to swallow numerous times to keep from gagging.

She didn't even want to think about what was under that tarp, but at the same time, she couldn't deny the impending sense of dread she felt. April was no stranger to the smell of death. After the Krang attacked, the streets had been filled with it. It was a very distinct smell, not one to ever be forgotten. The smell was becoming more and more horrendous, pungent and thick.

How had Donnie been living like this?!

She quickly turned her attention away from the tarp to look back in Donnie's direction, and she almost flinched. His head was off his keyboard, and he was watching her from over the back of his fancy chair. From this angle, it looked like his head was backwards, though April knew he had just shifted in his seat.

April offered him a hesitant smile, heart hammering. Donnie didn't reciprocate the smile.

Oh gosh, she was really really beginning to hate this.

April hesitantly turned her attention back to the pile and the tarp, and her eyes grew wide. That was her portable charger in the pile!! How had it gotten there?

She glanced over her shoulder again, making eye contact with Donnie, shivering at the dull eyed stare he gave her. April slowly stooped down, scooping up a twisted piece of metal. Donnie still didn't move. April wasn't even sure if he was really watching her. He wasn't even moving.

Slowly, April began to creep forwards, gripping her makeshift weapon lightly. She didn't even know what she was so scared of! Ok, that was a lie. There was everything to be scared of.

Upon closer inspection, the pile of junk was made up of... Her things... Her first aid kit, her gun, her headlamp, and even an extra phone. There were two or three of each item. April took a double take, and quickly shrugged off her backpack, shining the light into it. She had everything she had checked for when she had pulled out her first aid kit to clean her chin.

How... What... Just, how?

Slowly, April's gaze drifted over to the tarp, and she swallowed thickly, never in her life more grateful to have her perfume scented face kerchief. It certainly didn't block the smell, but it made it a little less horrible.

April reached out to grip the tarp, reluctant to touch the clearly soiled surface. She needed to know who was under there, and why Donnie clearly had a dead body in the corner of his lab.

"April..."

April froze, breath catching in her throat, and her hand twitched, shifting the tarp. Someone whispered her name behind her, raggedy, and hoarse. Donnie's voice.

She remained frozen, jaw tightly clenched, eyes downcast. She could practically sense his presence behind her. But she hadn't heard him get up, or move, or anything. Her phone flashlight was still on, illuminating where she had shifted the tarp.

There was a hand beneath the tarp. It was a little hard to tell, as the skin was beginning to change colors from the obvious decay, but the skin was brown. Like hers.

"April..."

Her breath hitched again, and her whole body got goose bumps, chills running up and down her spine. Glancing at her phone, she realized she could faintly make out a reflection upon the dark screen.

Barely, just barely, she could see the outline of Donnie's face, and just his face, the darkness swallowing him up from the neck down.

Next ->

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[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.

[howdy-folks-its-showtime]

It's Showtime! - July 2024 Devlog

Howdy! Cobalt here, and wow, July really went by quick for me. Luckily, I also got a good amount of things done! In fact, I did a lot of things I've been holding off on for a while. Sorry the dev log is late,despite knowing I should, I didn't make notes on what I did this month nor did I start it earlier… Then I had a really bad time with my body (just cramps, dw!) the last few days of the month which made it hard to write. I swear I'll develop better habits for this as it goes on.

when it comes to programming, I've gotten a few minor things going on. I have a cut scene manager script now that keeps track of various things, including which cut scenes have already played but also which cut scenes you've seen between save files and stuff. This way it can make any cut scene you've already seen in any of your playthroughs skippable. I haven't actually gotten the skipping script to work yet nor stuff like triggering the cut scenes, but I'll need more placeholder sort of things to work on that stuff. The inventory also reorganizes itself after you use an item to make sure empty slots are at the bottom and filled ones are on the top. A lot, I mean a lot, of writing has been done this month. On Focuswriter [the program I use for all my writing] I hit the longest writing streak I ever had, 63 days in a row of meeting my daily goal [which is 500 words]! My in-depth/in-game writing doc has 16,783 words right now and my game design document [which contains the story summary] 20,764 words. [It actually shrank a bit because I made the story summary of chapter 1 like an actual summary, instead of being far too in-depth on a lot of parts. But that's still an improvement even if it seems weird on the word counts.] I've done a lot of writing out the story beats I've had in my head for a while but haven’t inserted it into my documents yet. I wanna focus on doing stuff like writing out the ending and more general story beats since I don't really want to go too far into development without way more of the story taken out of my mind and actually written down somewhere. Despite how excited I am to show more to the public. Since we will not be releasing It's Showtime through the chapters, I'm gonna try to make development less chapter focused, I don’t know how we’ll be releasing it, complete or in some other parts… But we’re not really far enough into development to be thinking of that yet. Luckily, I can say confidently I'm delighted with the speed of development so far. It's not much by most standards but for two queers making their first game of this scale while also balancing learning adult stuff, we've done way more than I thought we would so far! In terms of art, there's been both a lot done and not a lot. We've been doing a bit of concept art, getting references done, and speculating on things. But the place where the most progress has been made technically wasn't actually for the project itself… See, this month I think I finally started to really get the hang of blender. I finished a model for a friend of mine of their version of Evan from the Bendy Novels. It's fully rigged and I'm really happy with it. I'm also almost done with two other big models I'm making of someone's Bendy au designs and I'm sure when you guys see them, it'll make you excited for what the models in Showtime will look like. In general, I think I've finally found a workflow I'm happy with, and that allows me to make models both quickly but also to a quality I'm very happy with. I imagine very soon I'll be doing the first true collections of models for Showtime, whether they'll be the ones seen in the final release I don't know. But the practice alone will surely teach me a lot more about Blender.

As for other things… Ink Demonth is happening again and this time, I would love to create something for each prompt. They probably won't be posted daily, or in order, but still, I'd love for me and my partner to make something for each prompt within the month. Specifically related to Encore! and such. It'd be a good way to keep the blog alive and to stir up more attention on It's Showtime! This isn't a promise we will, but I thought I'd mention our hopes for Ink Demonth. Overall, I'd just advise all of you to be on the lookout for things going on with this game. I've got a lot of little plans for it that are almost ready to be put into motion and I'm super excited to show you guys more as things go on. Once again sorry it was late, but I hope this update was exciting! See you guys next month!

[thatonecrookedsmile]

"Brought to you by GENT."

-----

Was it really necessary to do a drawing like this for something that at the end of the day will just be a little spinoff to occupy us while we wait for the Next Big Thing that's being made in the back room? No, I would say it wasn't. But was it something that I ended up really wanting to do after having The Idea™, on the day this game was "announced"? Absolutely.

It's funny,the original concept for this drawing (basically, everything in this image that didn't come from SOTM) first came to my head in the form of a drawing idea related to Bendy 3 (the next mainline game after DR), it would be a little more colorful - more blue in this case - and would have Audrey, Dapper Bendy and maybe even the Ink Demon. Yeah, I know, this game doesn't exist yet. But I thought it would be a cool thing to draw eventually.

But then, recently, Bendy fans unearthed this new game on April 2nd on Steam and my brain went crazy that day. The unexpected surprise in the new game eventually led to inspiration, and the idea of Bendy 3's drawing ended up coming back during the process and part of its concept ended up emerging with some ideas I was thinking about for SOTM and then, boom. The result was the picture above. I started working on this immediately later that day.

Regarding the drawing itself: The house is not and will not be 100% faithful to what will appear in the game. It's shot in the trailer doesn't really have very good quality,so there are certain details in it that will practically be wrong compared to in-game. (I have no idea what is written below Bendy's head,so I put a random phrase in its place,in this case,"The Nightmare Will Never End") (Also, there is something on the balcony next to the entrance. I don't know what is it, but it look a bit like a wheelchair to me? Idk. I decided to put it in after completing the house)

The Man? It's Alan Gray! Gent's CEO. At least, my take on him. He was the part of the original Bendy 3 idea that I decided to reuse for this. To be honest, I don't have much hope that we'll hear from him in the game, but realistically, of all the characters in the Bendy universe (especially in the games) that have been introduced so far, I think he's the one with the best chance of making an appearance ( him,and probably,but with low chances,Thomas) Also, I included him too because, who else to represent the face of the corporation than the boss himself?

"Brought to you by Gent", which I took directly from BATDR, was also part of the original idea. We know that a third main Bendy game that will focus more on Gent will exist one day, but what it will be called we have no idea. So I used referred, not only to this potential game, but the idea of the og drawing itself, as "Bendy 3: Brought to you by GENT". I thought it sounded nice. And now? I turned it into "Bendy: Secrets of the Machine. Brought to you by GENT" It's a small thing, but it's cool to finally apply this to a game that actually exists.

But in short: I'm very interested! This seems like a very different Bendy game compared to the others that have come before. And while I have several thoughts about what this game might be about and what it might offer, in the end, I don't really know what this game will be. And the fact that I don't know what this is going to be is what makes me very curious and makes me really want to be able to play this. I have a lot to say about this game before it releases, so if you want to know about my thoughts,just read this. Warning, though, I wrote a lot. But that's about it. Enjoy. ✌️

[toaster-ay]

Alright folks. This is something I've wanted to talk about for a while now, but just now I decided to actually write it all down and hopefully make sense of myself.

Long ass ramble about BATIM and some lore from official books.

So far I've got my hands on two Bendy books, that is The Illusion of Living and Dreams come to life (I also have the Employee's Handbook but that one isn't lore important). I plan on getting the rest of the book in the future but let's look at these two for now.

The Illusion of Living is Joey Drew's memoir, written all by himself. In this book we get to know quite a lot about Joey, more or less his whole life.

We get to know that he comes from a family of shoe makers, that he lied about his age at 13 so he could join the war. Or that he likes to dress and look fancy long time before he actually is fancy, just because it makes him feel better and gives the illusion that he's someone important. We even get to know that he once joined a Detective when he was investigating murder. And that he can appreciate good art while also drawing slightly himself.

What I want to look deeper into though, is the way he and Henry met. Thanks to the game (and even fandom), most people assume they were best friends for a long time. That they would go to hell and back for each other. But that wasn't actually the case??

Joey and Henry met through a mutual friend, Abby Lambert, and he actually didn't like Henry at first. Joey didn't like the cartoon artstyle, which is what Henry mainly drew. So they didn't have anything in common.

That was until Joey got the idea for Joey Drew studios, and asked Abby for help to come up with the main character, since she could draw better than Joey. Well, Abby tried, but it didn't end up as they wanted. And then Abby took Henry for help and went to Joey together, and let me tell you, Joey actually wasn't really thrilled for Henry to come with her.

But, after a few tries, Henry was able to come up with the right design for Bendy. Joey and Henry decided to work together after that, but Henry left the studio not that long after. It's said that Abby started to work in the studio three years later, but it's also said that Abby and Henry never ended up working together. And Joey didn't really seem to care for Henry.

He acknowledges him, but isn't mad at him.

It's just so interesting, why is Joey so angry at Henry in game, if he didn't seem to actually care about him in the book? Could've been a mistake from the writer, or I don't know.

This is just something I've wanted to point out for a while, and I'm super open to starting a conversation with someone about this!

Now let's look at Dreams comes to life

This book is written from the point of view of Daniel Lewek, also known as 'Buddy', who is also the character that ends up being the Boris we all know and love in game.

I love how this book is written, since it's written after Buddy is corrupted by the ink, and he's slowly forgetting all of this, so he's writing it down so there's something left. So the truth is known.

Buddy is hired by Joey to be a delivery boy after a quick meeting when he's delivering him a new suit, but later gets promoted to an artist after Abby Lambert (who is now in the head of the Art Department) sees a drawing that Buddy's grampa actually did, but Buddy ends up lying, since being an animator is something he actually wants to do.

Buddy befriends Dot, who works in the Story telling Department, and she's a really noisy and sneaky character.

Now, something I think is interesting is that, Sammy Lawrence is probably the first character to get corrupted by the Ink machine. Buddy's first meeting with him actually traumatises him slightly, because Sammy jumps at him covered in ink after a pump bursts right above him. Throughout the book, Sammy is depicted to be really interested in ink, while also drinking some from the ink bottles.

Then Buddy has the luck to meet the Ink Demon himself, accidentally even letting him out from the room he was locked in.

And then, Sammy goes missing. That's when even Dot has the pleasure of meeting the Ink Demon, since she and Buddy went to the studio when it was shut down to see what other weird stuff they can find.

When we meet Sammy again, he's already The Prophet that we've seen in the game. And he even already made some sacrifices, Buddy and Dot (and Richie, Buddy's animation coworker) were meant to be part of them too but they were lucky enough to escape. But Buddy's coworker, Jacob, didn't. And when Buddy and Dot find him attached to the Ink machine cowered in ink (they are able to save him actually), they also find already dead bodies of Dave (another Buddy's coworker) and Norman Polk ("Of course no one would notice he was missing. Of everyone in the building. He watched everyone, but no one really saw him" – I'm sorry I had to add this, I absolutely love it)

Dot and Buddy end up having a small fight with the Ink Demon until they get rid of him. Or so they thought, because he ends up grabbing Buddy and pulling him into the ink with him.

When Buddy wakes up after, he's already in the body of Boris. Joey Drew standing above him, absolutely thrilled that they got a perfect cartoon after such a fail with Bendy.

Even if Dreams comes to life was mainly focused on Buddy, it feels like we've got so much lore for all the other characters. Joey shows how much of an asshole he can actually be. Norman shows up a few times, always unannounced and with some information no one else except him knows. Sammy and his grumpy ass that was slowly getting corrupted by ink. Hell, we even got Tom and Joey argument about the Ink machine (and Allison was with Tom!! Holding his hand!!).

These books are really worth reading, and I'm excited when I finally get my hands on the rest of the books.

Alas, that is the end of my ramble. If anyone read it all, here's a cookie for you 🍪

And I'm also super open to have a conversation with anyone about all of this!!

[edupunkn00b]

Progression, Chapter 6: Eyes Closed

Photo by edupunkn00b

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The Muse finds someone who needs his help. Written for @imnotgrimimjustagrumpyreaper's @dukeceit-week-2024, Day 6: Body Swap WC: 1303 - CW: a child in peril, minor character deaths (unnamed characters, not the child) A little mind-bendy (that's a bit of a given with Remus' Illusion powers, though.)

The Muse ran.

Broken bits of brick from the latest building lost to ivy battered bare feet and the tangled underbrush threatened to drag him to the ground. He stumbled, feet wetted with crushed moss and blood slipping on the forest floor.

“I see you!” A deep voice sing-songed and echoed against the trees, laughter coming from everywhere at once. "You can't hide from us!"

His lungs burned and he’d lost count of the scratches and bruises on his shins, his arms, his face. They’d first spotted him at dusk down by the creek and he’d been on the run ever since. Every time he thought he’d escaped, every time he thought he’d hidden well enough and long enough, they’d see him trying to sneak away and once again, they’d pick up their hunt through the dark woods.

He dodged to the left, crashing blindly into the thicket and hoping it might slow his much larger pursuers. Thorns grabbed at his skirt, tearing at his skin but he kept running.

His skirt?

The Muse forced his eyes open and stared up at the bright ceiling lights in his room. No, not his skirt… there was someone else. Someone close. Someone hurt. 

But they were getting further away and it was getting harder to fight through the buzzing shield around his room. The Muse rolled onto his stomach. His hands and knees were scraped raw, muscles screaming under the strain of movement. When he closed his eyes, he saw the forest, tasted the moss and dirt. And blood.

Inch by inch, he dragged himself to his door. Using first the handle, then the frame, he pulled himself to his feet and palmed the control. His own weight pushed the door open and he fell past the shield and out into the hallway.

Color and light and ice and fire consumed him and filled him to bursting. The world crackled through his nerves, through every cell. A tiny child laughing, clapping her hands when her doll sang. A couple yelling horrible things to each other, unbreakable dishes crashing against the wall and bouncing off back at them. The rush of air as a man fell. Fingers torn and bleeding and…

The Muse shook his head, searching for the girl in the woods. Her sweater had been itchy, sticky with sweat but it protected her arms so she kept it on. Feet numb, knees bleeding, she shivered now, tucked between gnarled tree roots, a crook filled with mold and petrified rat droppings. She pressed both hands to her mouth, muffling her pants as large men—Powereds, too, too large to be Traditionals—tromped over her hiding place.

-”Jannie…”- he pushed past the sharp static of Jannie’s usual shield. He wasn’t supposed to, he knew he wasn't supposed to, that it hurt them both when he did, but this was important. Cold ice slashed at his mind as the static broke. -”Jannie! Jannie, help us…”- His eyes fell shut again as the vision took him.

~

“Love?” Luc’s voice was so very far away. “Love… wake up!” Orange light bled through Janus’s eyelids and he burrowed deeper under the covers, hiding from the soft hand shaking his shoulder, the insistent voices in his head. “Jan!”

-”Jannie…”- The desperation in The Muse’s voice finally pulled him from his dream—nightmare? No, not a dream. -”Jannie, help us!”-

“The Muse is out,” Janus mumbled, shivering under the warmth of their comforter.

“I know, love,” Luc nodded, hands warm at his shoulder, his cheek. Janus finally opened his eyes and noticed the bright glow of Luc’s. “You were…” 

Janus became aware of the tears streaming down his face, his neck. The pillow was soaked. His throat was raw and his palms bleeding from tiny half-moon impressions. 

Luc’s eyes dimmed and he brushed gentle fingers over Janus’ cheekbone. “You were…inconsolable without…” His voice shook and he let his hand fall away. Janus’ heart thudded in his chest at the lost contact, a bird fighting its way out of its cage.

“It’s okay…” He swallowed back a sob, the temporary easement of Luc’s powers letting through the full force of everything The Muse shared. He nodded, chasing his hand. “It—than—thank you. He—”

Luc touched him again and Janus smiled, accepting his power. He sucked in a breath and met Luc’s bright orange eyes. “He needs me,” he whispered, already pushing away the covers.

“I know.”

~

-“Muse… Muse, can you hear me?”- Golden light flickered through the leaves and The Muse reached out from his hiding place, fingers scraping against lichen-covered bark.

“Jannie?” he called, high pitched and broken. And not nearly quiet enough.

“I found her!” Rough hands grabbed at him, pulling his hair and yanking him out from beneath the fallen tree. “Got you, you little—“

The man’s hands grazed bare skin and The Muse saw through his eyes now. A girl shivered before him, dress torn, hair matted with blood and dirt, rivers of tears marking her face. He released her and she dropped to the forest floor, curled in a ball.

Rage and pride coursed through his veins. Filthy lust. But Jannie was there, too, and strong, steady hands circled the faint strains of the man's guilt. Strangling it. Strengthening it.

The Muse pushed back against the foul thoughts in the man’s head and shared with him the girl’s fear, the sting and burn of her cuts, the fire in an ankle that surely must be broken.

The man staggered under the weight of it. “No, please,” he muttered. “Stop!” To The Muse or to Jannie. Or maybe to himself.

They didn’t stop. The Muse pressed both hands to the man’s head and pushed in everything he'd seen. The fighting couple. The child who’d touched a stove. The man who’d fallen—jumped?—from the factory ladder. Another man, hungry and cold, sifting through the bins outside the same factory.

Everything.

He pushed it all into the pursuer’s head. With a strangled cry, he dropped to the forest floor. His friends ran to his body and The Muse touched each of them in turn, adding the memories of the one who fell before him until the bodies of a half dozen Powered rogues lay in a heap around the little girl.

-”Go home,”- he said to her as gently as he could.

Crying, she stumbled away from the men's bodies. The Muse stayed with her until she reached the edge of town and the world around him faded to black.

~

The floor was cool against The Muse’s back and a soft blanket had been draped over his chest. Fresh stitches itched his hands and his legs. He opened his eyes just in time to see Papa Bear slip through the door, leaving him alone with Jannie.

Jannie’s hand—his bare hand! He’d taken off his gloves and just touched him—his hand was so warm and curved perfectly over his cheek. The Muse melted into the touch, the warmth. Jannie brushed away the tears leaking from his eyes. “I got ‘em, Jannie,” he whispered. “I got ‘em all.” It was important he say it. The words made it real, made the vision real. It was all real. He'd made it real and he’d done something good this time.

“I know,” Jannie said aloud, voice breaking. “Ro and Virge found the girl and brought her to her parents.”

The Muse smiled, wincing at the tug of stitches he hadn’t noticed along his jaw. -“We did it”-

“We did,” Jannie said, so quiet The Muse had to strain to hear. “Rest now, Muse. Rest…” His eyes were half-closed when Jannie slowly pushed up to his feet and shuffled to the door.

As the door sighed closed, the last thing The Muse saw was Jannie falling into Lucas’ arms, the hallway lit in the bright orange glow of his eyes.