#projectionist

[bendyredrawn]

projectionist design revamped a bit

again, creds to @ /inkrubberhose for the original one

I like to think he relies on the light to detect things, and when he detects henry his head just turns to reveal his face like this

[nurtleteckye]

YAP YAP YAPPPP SHUT UPPPP SAMMY

[inkynightmaresau]

//day 7: projection//

[howling-nightmare]

・' ' The cartoon, The projector ' ' ・

[madcat-world]

Inktober 8: Projectionist - Unita-N

[rainbowspinch]

?

[skxllbxnny-arts]

fanart for @x-0h-m3-0h-my 's au that it tells me abt because jfc its so good. the way it tells me the lore?? the concepts and the dynamics and augh. its so so good and . augfhrjrg. so anyways i drew this thing (with its permission! ask before drawing fanart, at least in this case)

click for better quality!

[miyahopscotch]

Toonified au doodles

[random-friendly-1ntrovert]

Home boi looking hella sharp.

[angelofthepage]

Renegade Rose: Return to the Cycle

I got hit with a brilliant idea for a potential Bendy fan game that focuses on characters from the books. Most notably, I'm focusing on the cast of Fade to Black, so if you're still spoiler dodging for that entry, here's your content warning. Disclaimer, I am not a game developer and have no idea how one would feasibly create this, this is all just for fun as a hypothetical. (That said, if any fan devs are interested in this concept, my DMs are open, would love to chat with you.) Now, let's get on with the show!

Let's set the stage:

It's been a few years (maybe 1956 since that's when the VCR was invented?) since Rose and Ollie Sorenson’s daring escape from Joey Drew's twisted cartoon world, the Cycle. Ollie is well on his way to becoming a teenager, and Rose has been trying to move forward with her life. But no matter where she goes, the hallucination of Bendy follows her, and the guilt of losing Evan and Archie still eats at her soul. 

By some miraculous chance, Rose ends up with a VHS tape with a recording of the Joey Drew Show on it (maybe she recorded a rerun, or maybe she found it in someone else's junk/the library discards). The special TV has been unplugged for years, and her 3D glasses are snapped in half. But she wonders if maybe, just maybe, there's a way to go back and save them. So she tapes the glasses together and pops in the tape to see if her access point is still there. And sure enough, she's got a way in! 

With the help of Ollie and Dot, Rose makes it her mission to rescue Evan and Archie from their inky fates. Will she be successful, or will she find the ink pulling her under?

Gameplay:

I imagine this would work well as a first person action adventure experience that's mission based. (That said, upon consulting friends, I've had the suggestion for a Nancy Drew visual novel styled game, and that feels like it would be fun and maybe more achievable if I tried to make it real.) It has elements in common with BATDR, but the world isn't quite as open. Taking some inspiration from FNAF Security Breach Ruin and FNAF Help Wanted 2, Rose puts on her 3D glasses to dive into the cycle, which is our primary environment for exploration. In the cycle, she travels through a variety of areas to look for Evan and Archie, encountering a cast of quirky characters, some known fan favorites, and some new. On her quest to find them, Rose finds several items to help her solve puzzles and leave notes for her friends/mark her path. 

Rose’s central hub is in the living room of her real world house. Here, she can consult Ollie and Dot, look through notes of things she's seen on her adventure, and equip items to take with her into the cycle. That said, some of the horror would come from having something in the real world that shouldn't be there. The farther Rose goes, the more her hallucinated Bendy shows up. Sometimes he's there to tease her, and sometimes he has helpful hints about how to traverse the cycle. (Keep this in mind for later, this will be story relevant.)

While having the VHS tape means Rose can enter the cycle whenever she wants, there is a limitation. She can only stay in the cycle for as long as the tape runs for. This means she has to get in, complete her objective, and get out. Given this game would have some puzzle elements, I would feel bad putting someone in a time constraint to solve them. So rather than taking a Hades or Splatoon 3 Side Order approach, I'd rather let the levels themselves take however long they need to. The time limit wouldn't be imposed until Rose has completed her objective, where it's a mad dash to get back to a designated safety area (like Joey's office) so she can take off the glasses and get out. Think of it kind of like Pizza Tower. It could also lend itself well to some close encounters running away from monsters at the end of a mission. It would be interesting to use the Little Miracle Stations as a potential safe area to pause and exit the cycle mid-mission, given the ad for them that exists in BATIM Chapter 5. (This is the thing I wouldn't know how to translate if this was tackled as a visual novel instead.)

I’m tempted to throw something in here with closing your eyes as a mechanic, given the scene in FTB where Ollie walks back up to the entrance by imagining he’s walking on clouds. Letting Rose have one moment to do something impossible by focusing and using her imagination would be great. It would take a lot out of her, having it as a once-a-mission kind of deal might make sense. 

Another mechanic is the tape player. Per the Fade to Black moment of Joey talking to Rose ala the tape player, Rose being able to communicate with Dot or Ollie would be useful. It could work as a hint system, but it also works for plot elements. Using the tapes as a walkie talkie of sorts would also be interesting for having some interference from our antagonist, or for keeping in touch with allies we meet along the way. 

Characters: 

Rose Sorenson: Our ever optimistic protagonist. Rose looks on the bright side, but more importantly, she’s driven. While other Bendy protagonists have endurance and magical powers to help them along, Rose has her wits and a strong imagination.

Ollie Sorenson: Rose’s little brother who has been through a lot. Ollie is a good kid, he means well, but he’s getting to an age where his whole world is changing. As his sister embarks on this heroic quest, he’s feeling like he’s brave and strong enough to take on the cycle and lend a hand too. This may get him into more trouble than he bargained for. 

Dot Lastname: Former writer at Joey Drew Studios, Dot is a curious soul who lost everything. Having never been able to find her friend, Buddy Lewek, she’s harbored so much guilt. Making sure Joey can never hurt anyone again would leave her satisfied, and being able to locate her lost friend would be even better. She agrees to help Rose one more time, in the hope that maybe, just maybe, Buddy is still alive. 

Buddy Boris: Since getting dragged down by the hands of the ink demon, Buddy has found himself trapped in the body of Boris the Wolf, struggling to maintain control. Upon encountering studio newcomer Rose, his memories are hazy. But the more she tells him stories of the past, the more he starts to remember. Buddy can’t speak verbally, but he can communicate through drawings and writing on the wall. (Need to have a moment where he hears Dot through the tape recorder and recognizes her, gotta have it be a little heartbreaking).

Evan: A former employee of Joey Drew’s and Gent, Evan is a big grump with big dreams of innovating the world. He’s a foil to Rose’s endless positivity with an air of irritation, but he means well. Except for trying to dismantle and steal the ink machine, that was a bit foolish and morally gray. Evan met his fateful death at the hands of the ink demon in Fade to Black, but as other characters have shown us, those who die in reality can end up reborn in the cycle. Where is Evan, and what has he become? Is there a way to bring him back home? 

Archie Carter: A mysterious Englishman who ended up as a lab rat for Gent, Archie is desperate to put an end to their reign of terror. Having gone from being suspiciously not human to a faceless ink creature, Archie sacrificed himself for Rose not once, but twice. He’s already encountered so many horrors in the studio. What kind of state will he be in if Rose finds him again?

The Projectionist: The monster that was once Norman Polk has caused a fair share of problems within the cycle, but perhaps he’s not as monstrous as he seems. After all, he’s only defending what’s rightfully his: a pile of ink hearts. (It could be fun to have him as a monster, then have Evan help repair his speaker so he can communicate with the group, showing he’s more confused than he is hostile.)

There are others I'd like to include of course. There's people like Jacob from DCTL that would make a fun ally, might be indulgent and put my “Abby Lambert is a perfect Alice” theory to good use. Depending on how far along Joey is, maybe there's an early attempt at Audrey somewhere in here. Maybe there's Wilson! There is a very small chance of Wilson, it's not likely, but I'm considering it. Twisted Alice showing up? Definitely considering it given the timeline would be fun to play with.

That's all I've got in my notes so far. Whether this ends up as a real fan game or stays as a concept for a fic/au, it's been really fun to brainstorm, and I want to keep playing with it. I feel like we're onto something here.

[nayialovecat]

The Ink Demonth 2024 - Day 20. Gossip

Gossip. A lot of gossip. Barman, although he literally never leaves his bar, has the best insight into what is happening in the whole Workshop - he receives all the news, important information and, above all, gossip. And since he is an intelligent guy (especially compared to other Ink People), he is able to combine appropriate facts and draw conclusions.

I love this particular OC. And here's an interesting fact about him: he appears exactly in every other Ink Demontht, in every even year. It wasn't intentional, but if it's the fact, it was obvious that he would appear this year.

I wonder if you will decode all the gossip. I made them mainly as the pictures, but that's not the Butcher Gang language. At this stage of the plot (defined by gossip), they probably don't wander to the bar.

After the fact (i.e. published it), I realized that I could have made his eyes yellow. I have a yellow fineliner. Damn.

[insane-control-room]

projection

Everyone had a crush on the projectionist. That was a normal and average thing.

Bertrum was not projecting.

ink demonth - projection

Rated: G Warnings: None AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58156771 Length: 2000

Everyone had a crush on the projectionist. 

He fit everyone’s type- he was tall, dark, and handsome. Of course anyone would find themselves eyeing the man whenever he was around. Following his gait, and appreciating the cloudy gaze of his when he would turn it towards a person. It was a look that exuded confidence and a tranquil, relaxed perception. A look that made someone’s skin go hot and cold. 

Everything about him was extremely pleasant to look at, to observe, to internalize and mechanize.

That, at least, was what Bertrum told himself, when he found himself staring at the projectionist for a moment too long. It was totally fine and normal to be attracted to Norman. There was nothing weird about it. Or uncomfortable. Because everyone liked Norman. 

Probably.

The way that Lacie looked at Bertrum when she confronted him on the way he would look at the projectionist said otherwise. Maybe it was because he lied and said that he was not staring at Norman, how dare she accuse him of such things. Et cetera. 

Perhaps he had a problem. But if he had a problem, that meant that everyone else had a problem as well, because obviously everyone had a smidgen of a crush on Norman. Most likely. As far as Bertrum was aware (which meant, asking no one and trying not to think of anyone else) everyone did. It was. Perfectly fine. To like a man. That no one knew the remotest, slightest thing about. Aside from his name and job. 

The mystery of the man was a bit maddening- Bertrum would be the first to admit that. Though! Though- Bertrum’s excuse for this slice of insanity was the fact that he was an engineer, an architect- it was in his very nature to determine the roots and structures of a substance - be it a person or a ride. So, of course Bertrum would find himself fascinated with the dark man- unknown, silent, but so very aware of the gestalt of the studio and its inner workings. Bertrum wanted to understand him, wanted to comprehend why Norman was so quiet and observant. There had to be a source, a reason, or at least a psyche behind that stoic façade. Unless the man was a blank slate, and simply took in information for no reason; robotic and route. Even so, that too entranced Bertrum, his adoration of automatons and electronics something he keenly shared with Lacie. And, apparently, Norman. 

Bertrum had to learn more about him. He had to. It was becoming an obsession - and any obsession around Norman was a problem, the damn gossip. One could only imagine how much worse an obsession about Norman would be. Bertrum constantly had the passing thought that Norman was well aware of the park maker’s crush, but he dismissed it with the knowledge that everyone had an attraction to the secretive projectionist. Therefore it was totally fine if he had one, too, and Norman hardly was aware of Bertrum’s little crush specifically. 

Maybe.

Or maybe Bertrum was projecting, really, really hard. But that would be ridiculous to assume that. After all, Bertrum was a rational minded, level headed Brit. Therefore, projecting his emotions onto other people was a stupid, nonsensical notion. 

Lacie was getting sick of Bertrum’s excuses and stammered brush offs. Eventually, she whipped around to face him (while he was rambling about these exact things, to be precise) and pointed a wrench in his face. 

“Ya need to stop ignoring the fact that you got it down bad,” she remarked, in a vaguely threatening manner, haphazardly waving the metal tool around. Bertrum gawked, and she went on, apparently quite annoyed at the man’s skirting around the issue. “It’s been over a year of this silly crush, Bertie. Just man up and talk to the guy, damn it.”

After a long moment of silence, Bertrum managed to squeak; “But what on Earth am I going to talk to him about? He hardly talks to anyone! And, I do not have a- a crush! That’s utterly preposterous to even suggest that I have one! I’m not some, some teenager, I’m an accomplished middle to upper aged amusement park creator! I am the great Bertrum Piedmont! I’m not scared of a projectionist! Even one as mysterious, and handsome, and fetching as Polk. Even if it is Norman.”

Lacie’s half lidded gaze was entirely unamused. 

“You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what?” Bertrum scoffed. “I’m doing nothing!”

“You’re doing that ‘showman’ thing,” Lacie replied, making air quotes with hir fingers. “The one that you use when you try to pitch to investors. I’m not an investor. I’m your friend. Your best friend, in fact. Is that too childish for you, too?”

Bertrum, his mouth in a straight line, shook his head. 

“Good.” Lacie gave a slight smile, almost a smirk. “And, you should know, that as your friend, you ain’t foolin’ me. Go talk to him. Ask him about his work, what he does. You know that’s the best way to start.”

“You’re right,” Bertrum sighed, shoulders dropping slightly. “Yes, you’re right.”

“When have ya ever known me to be wrong?” Lacie did smirk then. Bertrum rolled his eyes. “Of course I’m right. Now shoo. Get out of my workshop before I turn you into a projector.” 

“Okay, alright, I’m leaving,” Bertrum brushed off his suit jacket as he stood. “What do you think, though? You and Norman are close. You’re both the biggest gossips in the studio. Has he mentioned anything?”

“No,” Lacie shrugged, already back to tinkering away. “He can be pretty dense when it comes to observing people who are observing him. I think that this will come out of left field for him.” 

Bertrum hesitated, but nodded. 

“Alright,” he resigned himself to his fate. “I’ll talk to him.”

Well, there was a slight caveat to that. Bertrum never said when he would talk to Norman. 

So he was off the hook. 

That was, at least, what he was telling himself. He was, once again, attempting to persuade himself that it was not a big deal, that everyone had feelings now and then for the tall, relaxed man. That it really was not just a Bertrum thing. 

But it was getting… almost painful. 

Dancing on eggshells whenever he was around Norman. It was not frequent, no, but usually when he was around Norman, it was when there were investors for Joey to attempt to persuade to sink their money into his foundations and charities. The studio was doing rather well, that was a fact, but the events for publicity never stoppered. And so, there would be Norman, showing new clips of toons and the studio’s strides in development; and Bertrum, with new rides and innovations in the BendyLand division. The two of them never really overlapped, though. 

Bertrum was determined to bypass that issue, though. 

Or maybe he was not, and was actually more than content continuing to pretend that having a crush on Norman was standard procedure. 

Though since Lacie essentially banned him from conversing about it with hir, he was out of options for talking about the matter, unless he wanted to talk to a plushie or the wall or the whispering pipes. 

That left bringing it up to Norman.

Bertrum held in a sigh as he looked over the newest edition to the BendyLand ‘hip’ train. Or whatever the kids were calling it these days. He had an assistant take over the presentation once he finished his ‘showman spiel’ (as Grant and Lacie coined it), and made his way over to the darkened room where Norman did the showings for the shorts. 

The bright light of the projector stunned him for a moment as he entered the miniature theater. It was impossible to tell if Norman was in his booth or not, enshrouded by darkness. Bertrum quietly took in a breath and made his way up the stairs, slipping past murmuring potential donors and giggling kids who were eager to get an extra peek at the shows to come. He knocked quietly on the projection booth door, knowing that Norman’s keen hearing would catch the soft gesture. 

There was the quietest sound of sanded, clean wood on smooth, polished wood, and Bertrum saw Norman’s outline, an abyss in front of the yellowish glow of the projector’s light. 

“Evening, Piedmont,” Norman’s low, graveled tones greeted him. The slight southern drawl that Bertrum found himself so enchanted by was a gentle tinge in his generally light words. “Here to watch some toons?”

“No,” Bertrum replied honestly. It earned a snicker from the man, who Bertrum could now see now that he was past the blazing bulb of the projector. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“Oh?” Norman raised an eyebrow. “Well, have a seat. I’ll be with you when I change out these reels.” 

Bertrum nodded, sitting in the seat that Norman indicated. He watched quietly as the one-eyed man carefully switched out the reels, putting in a new set of the trailers and playable teasers. That was something Joey was working on - interactivity. It boggled Bertrum’s mind, to say the least, and so, he tried not to think about it too hard. Lacie had spent far too long attempting to explain the vocal tech to the ride maker- though he was slowly figuring it out. 

Norman heavily sat beside him. Bertrum felt a drink pressed into his hands, though he hesitated to drink it, unsure what it was. Everything about Norman was a mystery - even whatever the cup in his hands contained. 

“It’s champagne,” Norman snorted, able to see in the dark much better than Bertrum, having spent several thousands of hours working in the confines of the studio dark and development rooms. Bertrum nodded a bit hastily, trying to cover up his minor embarrassment at not realizing what the simple drink was. Norman gently tipped a glass of his own against Bertrum’s. “Successful night, from what I’ve overheard.”

“Yes, it’s gone rather well,” Bertrum replied, attempting miserably to figure out how to… talk to Norman. “I take it that the crowd has been perceptive to the new technology that Drew is working on?”

“Yeah,” Norman confirmed, smiling down at the crowd. He had moved to lean over the lip of the window, his eyes reflecting the toons in front of them. His gaze, though, was drawn to the people. “Sure is nice to see folks appreciating art.”

“It is,” Bertrum murmured, looking down at his glass. The bubbles in the drink were like spheres of gold, gentle and brilliant. His chest felt a little tight, and he resisted the urge to rub at it. Then, once again, Norman sat beside him. The projectionist drained his glass with a slow tilt of his head, exhaling softly as he relaxed in the seat. He nudged Bertrum- prompting him to speak. “Ah, mm.” His mind went blank. “I… well, I suppose I wanted to talk to you. We’ve worked together for… a long time, now, and we’ve hardly exchanged words.”

“That’s… true,” Norman slowly responded. Bertrum took a sip of his champagne to avoid having to continue speaking. He was glad for the dark - it hid his nervous tremoring, and the slight flush that was sure to be on his face. If it was not a more intense one. “Truth be told, Piedmont, I had gotten the impression that you weren’t the biggest fan of me.”

Bertrum choked on his drink. Of all things, that was the last thing he expected to hear. Flabbergasted, he stared at Norman for a good long moment. 

“I’m the biggest fan of you, damnit,” Bertrum sputtered. “What in Heaven’s name gave you the notion that I didn’t like you?” 

“Well, the way that you’d watch me,” Norman replied, surprised. “Pretty intense.”

Bertrum stared. 

Then started laughing, desperately trying to keep from guffawing. 

“Norman.”

“Yeah? What’s so funny?” 

“I like you,” Bertrum said, grinning. “What are your dinner plans?”

It was Norman’s turn to laugh.

[inkabelledesigns]

Made-Up fic title: Look for the light

Oooh this has some great potential! Thank you Lucky!

My first instinct for this one is a Projectionist fic, since y'know, we have the literal light for him, but I also want it to get metaphorical with an inner light. Malice is walking around in the darkness, trying to harvest some hearts and parts for herself (I mean she had to do some things before Henry showed up, right?). She ends up in the lair of the Projectionist. There is ink straight up to your ankles, it's gross to slosh through and makes too much noise, no matter how quiet you try to be. And unfortunately, our angel attracts his attention and ends up running for her life, screaming. But that's not all she's attracted. The ink demon isn't done with her, he's still vengeful, upset she came out so well and all the more eager to rip that away from her, shred her little face even more than he already has. And the Projectionist, well, he doesn't like the ink demon being in his territory, and as we know, he's not afraid to fist fight him.

He sees Alice on the ground, struggling to crawl backwards away from this creature, and for just a sliver of a moment, he sees not Alice, but Susie deep down. Someone who was once a light in the studio. They were friends once. She made him laugh, she lit up the whole room with her energy. He sees there is some light again. And with that moment of clarity, he goes and fights off the ink demon. Perhaps this is an earlier cycle, before Henry came into the picture, and the Projectionist has something he didn't before. Perhaps the reel lodged in his shoulder is The End, and he banishes the demon away. And as the world fades and starts anew, flickering like a film reel, the angel that was once Susie Campbell looks at not the Projectionist, but Norman, and he smiles. "You're safe now angel. Try tah stay outta trouble, ya hear?" Alice is left crying when she wakes up in the cycle again, not sure why she's so heartbroken. Was it all just another nightmare, or was it real?

Alternatively, I think this works well for a BATDR fic with Henry, though my take is a bit unorthodox. Henry has gone through this cycle so many times, he knows that it is hopeless. It will never get better. And now that Wilson has entered the cycle with his Keepers and struck him down, terrorized its citizens in pursuit of control and vanquishing the ink demon, he is feeling more hopeless than ever. So instead of walking through the tunnel to get back to the surface, he stays in the depths of the ink, surrounded by voices who cry out in pain. He is numb. He can't do anything to save them, he just wants to rest. He can feel himself sinking deeper, fading away into nothing, no longer having to keep it all together.

But a voice calls out to him. It asks him questions. Asks him to please answer, please come back up. It's awfully dark and cold down there, he'll catch a cold if he stays too long. That gets him to chuckle a little. He asks the voice why it cares. And it answers back childishly, why wouldn't it? Getting a cold is no fun. They can't play if he's sick, and surely he would like to play, wouldn't he? Henry says he hasn't played anything in a long time, there is no time for games when he is fighting for his life. The voice says that the wolf would beg to differ. Henry has some recognition. The voice knows Boris, his Boris, the Boris who protected him. The Boris who was kind when the entire world was awful and cruel. The Boris who played cards with him in the safehouse. His Boris. His buddy. The voice reaches out. Henry follows. He follows their light until he reaches the surface. They're right, he has to keep going, he has to keep fighting. He has to try. If not for him, then for Boris. He makes it to the surface, and reformed from the ink, he sees the bright, golden eyes of a lost one with a big bow on her top. She introduces herself as Heidi. She and Boris are playing hide and seek. Would you please help her find him Henry? He's a little too good at hiding. And so they go off to find Boris. Henry's heart is touched by Heidi's playful nature, yearning to see his own daughter again back home. He is grateful for her light, she saved him when he needed it most.

Wanna send me a title and see what fanfic I would write with it? Come on over to my askbox!

[inkynightmaresau]

// can you still feel them writhing in your hands? //

[gifs-of-puppets]

The Muppet Movie (1979)

[justbusterkeaton]

Buster 💕