#inkyabyss123

[doberart]

My family and i have gotten sick, and we are moving at the same time, so it's been very hard travels... But your art is something that inspires me every day and makes me very happy through these tough times ^^ Keep up the amazing work!

Sorry to hear your family has been sick! Wishing you all a quick recovery. And thank you! Glad to know I can help inspire you. :)

[realm-sweet-realm]

I wonder why Joey has become so insane in the first place? Like what was the cause of that? Was it from trauma? Wanting to be an success? Wanting Bendy to be realized?

That's a difficult question and it kind of turned into an English essay. Just skip to the last paragraph if you want the short version.

I'll try to break down Joey's character the best I can. If you want to take everything in TIOL into account, there isn't a single reason why Joey got into a mental state where he was willing to kill people. I also don't think that any kind of mental illness or "insanity" had a part in it. There are three main contributing factors, I think.

-Joey learned at a young age to lie to himself and to see the world as though it's almost fictional. This is a coping mechanism from trauma that he came to use in unhealthy ways.

Joey has a distinct change in behaviour after he sees a man fall off a roof at the age of ten. Beforehand, he expressed worry over his father. Afterward, he dehumanized his own father as a mere "character." It's fairly normal and common to have a dissociative response to a traumatic event, but Joey didn't see it as just a response to trauma. He saw people being characters as a reality that he'd discovered.

The idea of people as characters is something that followed Joey for the rest of his life. It's an essential part of his "Illusion of Living" ideology, which he cared enough about to write a book about.

This allowed him to feel less guilt about hurting people, and essentially no guilt about using people, the same way I don't feel guilty about using the characters I write as tools in a narrative, whether that involves hurting them or not.

This isn't something I can back up, but I believe that spinning things and going into denial is how Joey copes with difficult circumstances. This leads us into...

-Joey sucks at letting things go.

He carried around bitterness against Henry for decades, never moved on after the studio closed, and still remembers people who slighted him from many years ago. This makes him miserable and more likely to lean on his coping mechanism.

What does Joey do when the studio shuts down? He creates a fantasy world and goes to the ridiculous length of kidnapping Henry to be the hero in his narrative. This is arguably Joey's most extreme act of using others to benefit his own narrative. It shows how far he's willing to go for its sake. But it also shows how Joey's sheer perserverence can be a bad thing. Other people, like Wally and Allison, moved on after the studio and had happy lives while all Joey did was stew in misery and hurt people. It's a trait that leads Joey to be destructive to himself and others.

Now, let's talk about what Joey's narrative is.

-Joey feels an intense need to prove himself.

Joey sees himself as an underdog hero. He doesn't come from money but has tried since his twenties to fit in with people who do. He's a gay man in the 1940s and had only loose, secret romantic relationships while he saw others (noteably Henry) start families and be celebrated for it. As I said earlier, he sucks at letting things go, so he really remembers stuff like that and wants to prove himself against it.

It took Joey a while to figure out what he wanted to do with his life, but by the time the ink machine came into it, he knew. Fame. Fortune. The popularization of an artwork that meant everything to him. His studio family.

His narrative was one where he would get all of that and keep it, and he would do anything to make it happen- including harming people, who he views only as characters.

-Joey thinks he's the main character.

And so he doesn't really stop to think that he might not succeed, or that it might not be worth it in the end.

...

Sorry for the essay. Basically, I think Joey was willing to kill people because he doesn't believe in people's agency or inherent worth, has main character syndrome, and was, for various reasons, willing to do anything to achieve his dreams.

[thatoneconfusedcitrus]

Can you adopt me?? *Felt nervous to ask*

believe it or not i have already taken you under my wing way before you asked that so yes

[lunaticpebble]

Tomorrow is my Birthday!!^^ I am turning 16, its my sweet 16!! I am so excited!!^^

@inkyabyss123 !!!

Happy birthday!!!

[doberart]

Hey there, its been a while ^^

I love your security breech art! Its so awesome ^^

Thanks! Just wanted to draw a few things while I play through the game. Haha.

[doberart]

Wait, is it your birthday today!? Happy Birthday if it is!! (Sorry If I hade known I would've made a drawing for you or something!! My Birthday is on November 8th!!)

It is my birthday! Thank you, and a happy early birthday to you!

[doberart]

What got Henry to be your favorite character in the first place? Was his character? Was it how mysterious he was? Something about his story? (Also Hello, I hope you're having an Amazing day^^)

His character, mostly. I also really liked his voice. He just seems like such an interesting character and we still don’t know much about him, despite him playing a huge role in the creation of the toons and the studio itself. He just seems like a kind, brave man and I really like that about him.