I saw inkylegacy call this version of joeyxhenry "creationship" in the tags of another post aND OH NO THATS SO CLEVER, IM USING IT

anyway im still thinking about these two... maybe they can figure out how to do things a little differently.

What do you think about that new Bendy game coming out on the 14th?

hard to tell from how little there is

the trailer didnt really captivate me, but i guess its fair how much of a nothing there is considering the game will be free, so i'd expect something like batds - i did enjoy batds for what it was (maybe except for the final "reveal" about the collage which was uh. a giant nothing burger)

seems like this is leaning to the scp / found footage / analog horror territory, which ive gotta say im very sceptical about, at least personally to me they are often executed in an unsatisfying way but who knows maybe the devs who kept delivering a disappointment after a disappointment will surprise me

i do like the design of that thing that you can see clearer in the screenshots, im intriguied by the possibility of meeting a less messed up butcher gang character, and im especially excited about The House

seems like im not the only person reminded of the little barn allison painted on the wall we can see at the beginning of batim's chapter 5, i would love a tie in back to that (cuz it never really was tied back to and thats quite interesting why she'd paint something specific like that)

but i am begging them, i am getting on my knees - stop STOP copy pasting the bendy face png on everything, i promise the house doesnt need to have a giant bendy face, it looks sooooo out of place

speaking of overdoing things, mentions of 414 are starting to get a bit tasteless, especially that the number isn't really meaningful in-universe - yes i know that's henry's assigned subject number - but 414 really started as a joke from one of the developers which was picked up by theorists. that meaning was given by fans and it doesn't seem to have any satisfying origin in-universe. yes henry has the 414 subject number *now*. what does it refer to? there's a few theories (like we used to theorise about it waaay before batdr) but there's nothing that's really clearly stated. if it's just gonna be a number that appears cuz ooooo oooh look its a number you guys like isn't this fun like jiggling car keys in front of a baby that's gonna get old Pretty Fast. but maybe they are planning to give it a meaning, i'd be looking forward to it

i will give them that the game being officially developed by Gent Corporation is kind of funny

it seems like they're trying to alleviate responsibility for Whatever Horrors That Happened Really off of JDS shoulders (and joey's by extension) and put the blame on gent for being The freak evil corporation and im not sure how to feel about that (weeeeeell i do not like this direction the way it is looking now. i would have liked it more if it was executed differently)

my thoughts are that this is going to be a game that will not really answer any questions or will answer questions we didn't/wouldn't have but it will be more or less entertaining while we wait for the main course (the cage)

Okay, so lately I've been seeing a lot of mixed feelings (namely on Twitter) about the announcement of Bendy: Dreams Come to Life getting a graphic novel iteration. There is a LOT to talk about when it comes to this thing, and maybe I'll discuss it more another time, but today I wanna talk about the thing I've been hearing the most: strong feelings about having canonical designs for the human versions of some of our favorite characters.

In Dreams Come to Life, we have physical appearances from the following BATIM characters (that I can remember off the top of my head, I may be missing some):

Joey Drew

Sammy Lawrence

Norman Polk

Thomas Connor

Allison Pendle

Bertrum Piedmont

Wally Franks (this one I'm unsure on, it's been a hot minute)

This means that for the first time, we're gonna know what all of them look like as humans in the minds of the game developers, since, let's be real, if they're doing this thoughtfully, there is likely a lot of communication with the artist they got for this book. Making sure these characters fit their vision is a very probable priority.

In this fandom, we have had the freedom to design whatever the heck we want for the human versions of these characters. And that has been so much fun. You've had all sorts of takes, from characters mirroring their voice actors to completely original things that you never would have expected. Some things would pop up consistently in fan designs, and others would be an occasional pleasant surprise. We've seen a lot of things tweaked over the years, sometimes because we latch onto designs we like from artists we've met in the fandom and incorporate them into our own. Sometimes it's because we get new information in the canon, like Sammy confirmed to be blonde in The Illusion of Living (EDIT: I was extremely wrong on this, he is not confirmed blonde in this book, but he does have long and floppy hair that Joey thought should be slicked back more, and also Jack had some wild fashion), Allison is platinum blonde in DCTL, Wally having a hat as of his YouTube audiolog, Shawn and Tom wearing belts as of Boris and the Dark Survival, Tom being a wall of a man, Bertrum being a bear of a guy, etc. But even before Wally was confirmed to have a hat, a lot of us gave him a hat anyway, because the idea of him with a hat is fun! Bertrum being large, Tom being really tough! Heck, I saw a number of blonde Susies and Allisons before we got that bit on Allison, because it's fun to contrast their looks with that of Alice. That's the spirit of all of this, we make these designs because it's fun! You have characters all across the board in terms of race, sexuality, gender identity, age, body types, etc, because it's fun to imagine the possibilities for all of them with this cast that we love (and sometimes connect with them on a personal level), regardless of what's "canon" or not.

One of the things I'm hearing a lot is that some people don't want canon designs, and it sounds like it stems from a fear that they can't make their own designs anymore. And for those people, I'd like to ask, when has that ever stopped us? I mean that as a genuine question, I'm not here to mock anyone. Like, my first big fandom experience was over with Sonic as a teenager, and I never dreamed of deviating from the canon because I just, did not have any experience with that at the time. Bendy was really good for showing me that there's a LOT of ways the fandom experience can go, especially on this front. When Bendy and the Dark Revival came out, and we got two really major reveals for character designs: Memory Joey and Henry Stein. Henry, a character fans have been designing for YEARS, a character shrouded in mystery, finally got a confirmed design, and you know what happened? We started drawing this new design, but we didn't stop drawing our fan designs just because we got this new one. BATDR Henry has kind of been adopted into the fandom the same way we do designs for AUs, he's just another AU guy that happens to be canon to the sequel game. Heck, I love seeing art where fandom takes on Henry are interacting with BATDR Henry, it's really sweet honestly.

And that's exactly the attitude I have towards this graphic novel. It does not matter how these characters are designed, we are still valid and allowed to make whatever the heck we want. And if people really try to gatekeep it and scream that you're only allowed to draw the canon, I think that says more about them than it does anything else. Go draw what makes you happy (so long as it's not hurting anyone, obviously there is some nuance here but that is a whole other can of worms)! The only thing that this actually changes (or at least, what I'm guessing will change) is what's gonna fly when it comes to stuff like the fan art contests and challenges/what the devs might choose to retweet in terms of fan art. But that's only one part of the fan art scene. Otherwise, go fandom your way! No one is stopping you, draw what makes YOU happy. I am still going to draw a pointy blonde disaster of a music director however I please, even after we see Sammy in canon. Because darn it I like my Sammy, he is my strawberry blonde (depending on the world, sometimes it's more ashy) buffoon, and one new version of a book doesn't change my love for that.

That said, I am really curious how the teams behind this series imagine these characters. I feel the same way about it that I do my fellow fan artists. To me this really is just another AU, the DCTL AU. I think I'm less curious about the game characters and more about the characters native to this book, and that's got more to do with, well, I don't see a lot of people designing them! There's some, but they're not flooding my timeline like the game characters do. Like, I've designed the DCTL art department before for a Sims game, but I haven't gone much farther than that. I wanna know what Abby looks like, give me her fashion! I wanna see Buddy, Dot, and Jacob! I'm still keeping my Jacob design regardless, I love playing with him, but gosh do I wanna know what Jacob looks like in canon. Same with Dot. I have a lot of hopes for both of them, and I'm trying to lower my expectations so as not to be disappointed if it doesn't turn out that way. Like Dot has potential to be our first plus sized Bendy character given how she's described (also the first to wear glasses), of COURSE I want to see that! She's my writer girl that's super sus and incredibly interesting to me personally, I love her! And then I have more information to consider when I go to design my dolls (because believe you me, dolls based on the books have been on my list for a LONG time). I'm curious how much input Adrienne Kress will have here as the author, like I would love to know what's going on in her mind with these characters!

Whatever happens next, the most important thing to remember is that you're free to create whatever you like. Go make things that make you happy. That's all the devs are doing in the end, and if it's good enough for them, it's more than good enough for us. Bendy is made the way it is (hopefully) because that's what they wanted to make. Like why make an indie project that makes you miserable, you know? I don't know what to think of this new graphic novel, but whatever happens, I'm gonna take it with a grain of salt and keep doing what I always do: make my own fun out of what we're given. That's what fandom is, a place to enjoy a piece of media. And everyone enjoys this sort of thing differently. Find what works for you.

Okay so here's my little rant on The Archives whilst tryna recover from art block

-Boy, if Bendy actually made a little more noise or even talked a little that would've been adorable! I get how it could've taken away from the experience but you're only around him for a little while! Why not make it even more memorable? He's still cute tho

-The Projectionist and Boris don't even have an appearance here (and yes ik there's a part about batds in Tom's archive but cmon)

-Sorry?? We were robbed of more Sammy content than just him getting shot, in place of killing Amok and finding a fish like excuse me??

-I found both Alice's cool, even if one doesn't show up for that long and the other dies too soon.

-My boy. Big Steve. He's perfect.

-I love that Betty was English and wasn't a villain, sure she wasn't in much but at least she gets a side quest.

-The king widow fight was pretty cool imo even if it didn't have much plot relevance.

-Love the keepers for being terrifying, hate them for being heartless. 10/10

-Sorry but why did they try to give Joey a redemption arc in batdr???

Ik any point I make has already been said before but the guy freaking killed people! It makes a point to say that he did terrible things! And when Joey dies it's framed as a heartbreaking thing like???

-It's a shame that they kinda missed the mark on Wilson as a character, he could've been a better villain. Yeah he's creepy but by the end he just seems like a brat who didn't like his dad.

-Okay but I loved the reveal of Henry. He's just this little tired man and he's so- oh wait they say he isn't even real. Great. Then what's with the newspaper article in Batim saying he's dead? He's still cool tho

-one last note: the updates to the visuals are insane. The character designs were incredible, I can't put into words how beautiful not only they are but the environments and music too. It's stellar.

This isn't me saying I hate the game by any means. The franchise is one of my favourite video game series and I've been a fan since chapter one. Yes, I found batdr amazing and I loved the experience, but this won't stop me from finding a few of the reveals in the game a bit annoying.

And this also won't stop be from depicting Joey as a huge bitch, which I'm totally going to do soon.

Anyways if you got this far, thank you for reading my little tangent!

(also if you have any suggestions for what I should draw next just ask me, I've rammed face first into the art block so it'd be much appreciated)

BATDR Thoughts: (not in any particular order)

SPOILERS!!!!

you can pet Tom!!! you can hold his little face!!!

sammy :(

cant tell if i like the Ink Demon's voice or not. The sound gets kinda weird at certain lines. also he snarls/growls too much

we barely got to travel with Toon Bendy!!! i feel like the big reveal of him transforming from the Ink Demon wouldve been more effective if he had been with us longer. We met him, he ran off a bunch, we befriended him, traveled together for like ten minutes, abd then he was gone again. kind of disappointing. which seems to be a trend.

Bendy <3

ending felt empty. which seems to be a trend.

very much liked the cutscene after the boss battle with the rainbow guy, though i was scared someone would intercept and idk stab Bendy or something

I despise the keepers more than i despised Joey back in the day, and thats saying something.

I dont hate Joey AS MUCH as before, but i still dont like him. you screwed so many people over.

kinda miss the BATIM Ink Demon design and the overall vibe he had, and that he could just show up and you had to hide. Now i feel like its mostly scripted, and he usually isnt physically there. it just doesn't feel the same.

Several saws are not enough, Wilson should've had worse.

Wilson really had a whole dimension after us just to show us his OC and try to kill us

No Norman?? :(

BENDY 🖤

SAMMY :((((

the Wandering Sin easter egg is awesome and i love it

Porter is insane and i love him a lot

Heidis alright. i like her but i dont think about her much

excited to watch Pastra's playthrough, wish i was there for the stream though.

he.... he has HOOVES.

BENDY HAS HOOVES

thats so cool....

Anyhow since I finished batdr I wanna talk about it <4

Of course spoilers below!

I think its fair to say, this is what fnaf sb should've been

The team took its time, no matter the fans getting impatient, and made an amazing game :]

I wasnt too much in the fandom when bendy and the ink machine released , watched a playthrough, liked the game, watched some content on youtube and never thought deeper about it, just looked fondly back at it sometimes

Although recently a video on batim made me see many fun things in the game! Then I decided to FINALLY watch batdr playthough since I've been meaning to do that when it first released

ODUDHFJJ /pos

The game didnt immiediately got me fully invested tho tbh dhdhd

It had a lot of mysteries, and watching a playthrough everything seemed just fun. BUT BOY this game kept getting better and better

I adore Audrey ! Wilson is an interesting character! The game gives us more about Joey ! Gives us a new perspective on Henry since reveal he's not The REAL henry changes things! Porter and big steve are silly

I saw some people call batdr joeys redemption arc, but imo opinion it only showcased that he tried at all.

When joey tried to change and became happier, he was already old and didnt have much time left so I dont think he could fully succed in that. Still he tried atleast. Doesn't change the fact how many people he hurt of course

Now the time loops. Oh boy

In my opinion they are fine and interesting! Batdr definetely made them better since in batim they were SO confusing and out of nowhere. Still it was interesting, but batdr definetely handled it better.

Also I love new ink demon design! Its really imposing, really leaning into the animalistoc side. Also voice is pretyy fitting. In general I love designs in this game :]

I wanna say more about the plot, but I really just have to say that it was enjoyable. I like the slowly unraveling mystery [which with small spoilers made me overthink everything/hj] , the twists. The end [ Im talking specifically about the part where audrey and ink demon are one, not last cutscene] was mostly awesome, But I have a feeling SOMETHING should also be there, like it was lacking. Unfortunately can't put my finger on what that SOMETHING should be at the moment

I thinks thats all I have to say atm. In conclusion: enjoyable game that alao ex0ands some things from batim

Of course you dont have to agree with me on everything, this is only my opinion, and I'll gladly read other perspectives on this game :]

Batdr was an absolute disappointing experience

You got same badly made game but "polished" and with another protagonist (both don't even have personalities, how familiar :))

Weak designs, weak mechanics, weak voice acting and fanfic instead of a plot.

But of course fans would be crazy over it, in fanbase that has pretty low standards for content

I mean....it did leave a few things to be desired but I still liked it?

Audrey's not super outstanding but she does have a little personality, she's got a bit more spunk than Henry did. I guess my big question was why she instantly smashed her hand into a canister and knew it would power her up. (I'm assuming that was part of her ink-stinct when she got inked?)

I'd argue the BATDR aesthetic holds up pretty well- it's more elaborate than the first game and it polishes off designs like Allison very well. It also introduces some great environments like the underground city. And the rainbow colors worked into the environment later for Shipahoy Dudley were absolutely genius.

I can see the weak mechanics- the sneaking aspect took forever and the enemy balance wasn't great. I can't speak too much on the rest of the gameplay because I didn't purchase the game myself.

I go back and forth on the plot, I liked how Joey, Henry, and Allison were handled specifically, but we weren't really given time to attach to any new characters. There were some things that were answered very directly about the first game, but I honestly could have done without the whole "multiple timelines" shtick. It's cool the way they presented it... but it reeeeeally wasn't needed in Bendy, it overcomplicates things in an uneeded way.

The VA's were excellent, they were just given some shit scripts. Again, l really think this game butchered the chance to create a new cast concerning the new tapes and notes. There were people in the first game like Wally who served mainly as gameplay hints, but he and many others from BATIM remain very memorable and well-loved. These new guys should've had more substance.

Also we...don't have low standards for content? I mean, of course I can't speak for the whole fanbase, but usually the art and ideas that I usually see come out of the BATIM fandom are pretty well thought-out. I think we were so quick to accept this game because it's a miracle it made it out of development hell at all, and I don't really fault people for having that reaction.

Saw you’re batdr au (designs? redesigns?) post, and I just wanted to say I really love the concept of Joey becoming a lost one. Something about the guy behind everything not only being taken over by his creation but becoming just an insignificant feature of the world he created? Impeccable. Outstanding. Bravo. (Assuming I’m interpreting things correctly)

YES YES THATS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS GOING FOR!!! YOUUU YOU GET IT SO MUCH

24 Reasons why I disliked Batdr

You read the title, but just a reminder: I don't hate the game and this is just my own personal rant.

It lakes interesting character. No, neither Porter nor Betty have any backstory as far as I can tell (if they do, please tell me.) And they don't even play a mayor role in the story in general. Susie, Allison and etc already existed in Batim, so they don't count. Wilson's backstory is as boring as a cardboard and he should've gotten waaaaay more dept.

The absence of psychological horror. (Seriously, the only scene I shortly got scared by was the one where Audrey climbed up a wall and got jumpscared by Piper. That's it. Susie's part doesn't count, because it was just a boring ass puzzle and one of the most bland boss fights in history- no, they all sucked now that I think about it…

The ink demon no longer appears with shadows on the walls, he gets ANNOUNCED. Seriously? Did you have to ruin the surprise?

The complete absence of Norman Polk. (If I'm wrong, please tell me.)

Twisted Alice's/Susie's part of the game. Do I have to say more? She deserved so much more, than just a stupid puzzle and a lame boss fight. This character had so much potential and all they gave her was a redemption arc last second.

The overall story. Wtf. Did they really think we didn't know Wilson was the villain?

The part with Wilson's mansion. That wasn't Batdr guys, that was Resident Evil, but boring.

The spider boss fight, what is this, Luigi's Mansion 2??? Completely random and doesn't get explained whatsoever.

Henry Stein is just a side character and I believe he deserved better as well.

Sammy Lawrence should've been an enemy or ally, not just an easter egg. The Meatly and Kindly Beast: People LOVED this character and you didn't take that opportunity to make him a big part of the plot? Why????

The Keepers. 😐 Seriously, why???

The "lore". Why did they have to change their lore to match Matpad's theories?????? Just why????? Fun fact: the book "Dreams Come True" and Batdr now have different lores. Yaaaaaaaaaay.

The ending. It didn't feel deserved. At all.

Allison popping in and out depending on if she's needed or not.

The lost ones being filler.

The absence of memorable places. Just name one, I'll wait.

Audrey's abilities existing… because???????????????????

Heidi. F*cking Heidi. Why she exists? To stretch out the game of course!

Joey Drew's appearance and him pretending to be good. (Okay, it only triggers me that people now say he's good. He's not. He's still a psychopath.)

The fact that everyone else says it's good. Maybe because of the graphics? Am I not seeing something? Have we watched different gameplays?????

The city part. It makes no f*cking sense for it to be there. It feels so out of place.

The ink demon going from hunting/killing Audrey to „helping" her out of the f*cking blue. Like, seriously, for what? He didn't get anything out of it and he even lost because of it. It doesn't make any logical sense. Also: he's not one to manipulate others, that's Twisted Alice's job. What exactly did the developers smoke??? Ink? Probably straight through the nose…

Henry's design shouldn't have been revealed in the game, it was a part of his character. (The mirror in the safe house, chapter 3)

The whole Bendy's two forms thing.

The Illusion of Living Notes and Spoilers

I feel like enough time has passed for everyone who wanted to get the audiobook to get it, so here are all the notes I made while reading the book.

Please do NOT show these spoilers to anyone who didn’t give their explicit permission to be spoiled! And do not try to sneaky-spoil while being vague and pretending you’re not spoiling either!

TIOL was written in 1941 and published in 1942

Joey’s biggest dream is to become a God

Joey is explicitly not straight (reaffirms his distaste for dating women multiple times in the book, purposely avoids intimate gestures when meeting female friends, and reacts negatively to a straight couple kissing in his presence) but can be interpreted as either gay or asexual, and there’s evidence supporting both of these interpretations

Joey doesn’t think of people as real. He thinks of them as fictional characters in a show (well, he isn’t wrong)

He witnessed a murder at 10, but isn’t bothered by it, because everyone’s fictional anyway (watsonian perspective: little sociopath, doylist perspective: smartest character in the franchise). It was on that day that he started thinking of people as characters in a play, including his own parents.

He likes to throw peanuts in the faces of vaudeville performers he doesn’t like. Very proud of his aim

Joey’s dad sends him a pair of boots every year as a gift. Joey throws them out and buys himself better ones

Though it’s implied that the stories he tells about his parents aren’t true

While in the army, he was bullied for liking girl stuff, like reading romance novels and genre fiction

Nathan and Joey are very close. Nathan often gives him business advice and knows some of his secrets. Nathan looks down on artistic-type people. Joey is the only artistic-type person he admires, mostly for being business-oriented. Nathan is all about money.

Nathan wears a suit, has perfectly slicked back hair, and an elegant mustache. Smokes Cigars. Calls himself Nate

Nathan says that Lottie (the girl from the preview) isn’t real. It’s implied that there are more made-up people in the book. The epilogue implies that Joey intends to bring the made-up people to life one day, just like the cartoons

After leaving the army, and before starting an animation studio, he worked at a bookstore together with Henry for a few years

He took late-night art classes together with Miss Lambert

Bendy was named after Joey’s friend, who murdered a man to take a photo of his dying face for an award show. Joey finds it inspiring. In his words: "Thank god for dark paths, they lead all great artists to their greatest creations". Joey also likes the name Bendy, because it means someone who bends the rules

Nathan says that Joey had a genuine change of heart in his old age, and had “too much guilt and worry”. Nathan is not pleased with that

Abby Lambert is one of Joey’s oldest friends, and the one who introduced him to Henry. She and Joey used to perform vaudeville acts together. Joey played a Devil and Abby played an Angel

It’s implied that Henry created the Butcher Gang, and they were some of his oldest characters, even older than Bendy, Boris, and Alice

Henry left a year after the studio’s creation because he wanted “something that isn’t Bendy” (it’s either that he felt like his creativity was being stifled by being forced to work on the same project all the time, or that he wanted a real family, as opposed to the “studio family” that Joey was satisfied with)

Joey disses Henry a lot in the book. He paints him as untalented, unimaginative, boring, and a poor dresser on top of that. Nathan thinks that pretending to not care about Henry is Joey’s “greatest illusion”

Nathan hates Henry and thinks that Joey’s going too easy on him (if BATDR is Nathan’s world, Henry’s gonna be screwed)

Sammy used to play music at a movie theatre when he was a teen and Joey came to watch his performance every day

They met again a few years later and Sammy recognized him. Joey hired him and Jack on the same day

Sammy smokes

Sammy and Jack performed jazz songs at vaudeville together for some time before working at JDS

Jack gets upset when people ignore him and only pay attention to Sammy. He loves being the center of attention, and has a knack for showmanship. Very optimistic and good natured

Sammy was hired a year after Henry’s departure and has never met him (curious, given that he recognizes Henry in the game) Not true - turns out Sammy was hired in October 1930, so he still could’ve met Henry

As part of his deal with Joey, Sammy has full creative control over his department and people he’s working with (did Sammy replace Susie?)

Sammy hates being at the center of attention and is always very serious. Making jokes comes hard for him, but he plays along sometimes. His expression is very hard to read and he always seems suspicious of people he’s talking with. He’s dressed very neatly and appropriately (unlike Jack, who wears bright and flashy clothes), his hair is long and not slicked back. He’s a few years younger than Joey, but acts much older

Joey thinks that Sammy is his best decision and the man who comes closest to fully understanding him. He takes pride in the fact that Sammy sticks by him for all these years out of his own will, and not because Joey makes him. He thinks Sammy is a genius and deserves to be worshipped like a god (he doesn’t hesitate to tell him that). Asked him once whether there’s anyone Sammy worships, and it’s painfully obvious that he wanted to hear that it’s him (Sammy replied that a god of this magnitude hasn’t been invented yet, which is a nice foreshadowing) 

Allison is already working at the studio at the time of TIOL. Before that, she was a Broadway actress. Joey likes to watch her recording sessions. It’s not confirmed which character she’s voicing, but Susie wasn’t mentioned anywhere in the book, so there’s a possibility that Allison was already voicing Alice Angel in 1941

Joey’s meetings with Jack Fain and Grant are just an excuse to have a coffee and chat with them

On his first meeting with Bertrum Joey got drunk and flirty with him. Bertrum told him he’s “not that kind of date” and Joey played dumb (the scene is played for laughs though, so idk if it’s supposed to be seriosuly indicative of Joey’s sexuality)

Bertrum returned from retirement to work on Bendyland

Disney exists in this universe, Joey wishes he could be able to achieve the same with Bendy

Nathan wants to prove “very soon” that he is limitless

The moving ink was developed as part of the Sillyvision film process at some point around 1941. The purpose of Sillyvision was to make corrections to images that have already been created, without having to redraw them from scratch. The ink is activated through contact with a special paper

Joey describes Bendyland’s conception, and the Dark Land sounds eerily similar to the studio world in BATIM & BATDR

Light Land is Alice’s Domain, and as the name suggests it will have many lights. It’s designed to create an illusion of being lifted up

Tiny Land is Boris’ Domain and it gives an illusion of getting shrunk

Big Land is Butcher Gang’s Domain and has giant airplanes and battleships

Joey hates the real world and wants to escape to a make-believe one. He was hoping Bendyland would be that for him. His greatest fear is being unable to create that perfect world, and creating only its dark reflection (ironic)

Joey feels like he won’t be able to truly die and rest his soul until his dream fully comes to life. He calls art his “doorway into immortality” (is Dapper Joey?)

Joey believes a soul is needed to make a lifeless artistic imitation of the world into a real breathing world. He says that he’s been looking for a soul for a long time (he means it metaphorically, but it feels like a foreshadowing)

Okay okay okay!! So I have a LOONG batim theory/idea I just wanna talk about for a bit since I’ve finally managed to organise my thoughts - I’ve seen it being discussed briefly by a few other people, but there’s one BIG detail people have been missing out that almost definitely connects and confirms the entire thing.

Spoilers for The Illusion Of Living!

-

So I’ll start from the start, where I first began thinking something was a little odd. In TIOL, Joey talks a bit about where he first met Sammy and Jack, when they were performing at an opening night party for a musical called Girl Crazy. Joey says he met them the night before his 30th birthday, which would mean the opening night was held in 1931 (since Joey was born in 1901).

WRONG! When I first read this part of the book I was curious to see if the musical was a real one, and it is! The thing that I didn’t understand though was that the musical was actually released in 1930, not 1931 like Joey says it was. I thought surely that was an error, right? NO IT WASNT!!! LET ME EXPLAIN!!!!!!!!!

(It also means that supposedly, Joey’s canon birthday is October 15th, because opening night for Girl Crazy was October 14th! But that’s not too important, and not a big part of the theory.)

The same night Joey meets Sammy & Jack, Sammy insists Joey takes them to see the studio and show them one of JDS’s short films. When he does, Sammy tells Joey he needs more female characters since at this point it’s only really Bendy, Boris, perhaps the Butcher Gang (though it might’ve been a bit early for them still), and random male one-time side characters.

Later in the autobiography, Joey talks more about how what Sammy said inspired him to create Alice Angel, after Henry had left so he had no input on the character and we can only really credit him for the creation of Bendy & Boris, despite what Joey says.

Now here’s where it gets fun!!! Sammy and Jack being hired in 1931 means they likely never met Henry, so Sammy’s whole “you look familiar to me!” line from Chapter 2’s ritual can only really be chalked up to Sammy being the one moving the cutouts and disappearing through the walls as usual throughout Chapter 1.

BUT!!!!!! BUT BUT BUT!!!!!!!!

A common theme throughout TIOL is that Joey is both an unreliable narrator AND a huge liar, so there’s a lot of information throughout the story that can be proven false pretty easily, like Henry not being the one behind Bendy etc. Since we know for sure that Sammy and Jack were hired in 1930 and not a year later, there’s a much higher chance they did have an opportunity to meet with Henry, and while I doubt Henry attended the opening night party, being the co-founder of the studio he definitely would’ve met them if they were employed while he was still working.

No doubt that upon meeting Henry, Sammy would’ve relayed his whole “not enough women” piece to him as the lead cartoonist. Henry definitely would’ve taken that criticism, and the two probably shared ideas around since she was going to be a very musical character, singing and whatnot.

BUT...there’s still more! What about Susie, you ask? I WILL EXPLAIN!!

When I tell y’all this franchise is ALL I think about im not kidding 😭

If we listen to Susie’s BATDR reveal tape, she says her and Sammy had been talking about a new character they were working on upstairs that she was most likely going to be given the role of. It’s pretty clear she’s talking about Alice Angel, since we know Susie was working as a voice actress for all kinds of random background characters before she got lucky with the role of Alice.

But wasn’t that audio log from Susie dated 1932, though? Wasn’t the original concept for Alice created around 1930? Yes and yes, sort of. Now this part is partially just a headcanon, but I do have something pretty definite to back me up here that I’ll get to soon. I reckon Henry designed Alice pretty early on in 1930 and Joey didn’t actually put the character to use until Henry was long gone, and Joey could take the character and make her more into what he would’ve wanted (and when he would’ve had a voice actress readily available).

Now here’s what I’m using to back myself up on that! In Dreams Come To Life, Norman says this and I’ll quote from the book:

Buddy: “He [Henry] created the big three, didn’t he?”

Norman: “Bendy and Boris. Even Alice, though they didn’t start featuring her until after Henry left.”

So my idea is pretty much correct, that while Alice was designed and given a basic character concept pretty early on while Henry still worked at the studio, she wasn’t shown in comics or cartoons until after Henry had left. I also hold the firm belief that in Henry’s hidden tape in Chapter 3, where he talks about how he’s working on a new character he thinks people are going to love, I definitely think he’s talking about Alice. Otherwise, why would it be found in the chapter focused around introducing her as a villain?

-

There’s not really a big end to this theory, but I just thought it’d be worth bringing it up to tie up any loose ends and conclude that Henry is almost definitely responsible for all 3 of the original characters, including Alice.

Joey is a big liar and so so dumb but by god did I enjoy how he was written, and TIOL as a whole

How do you feel about the upcoming DCTL graphic novel?

Cautiously optimistic!

When I first heard the rumours, before Adrienne’s announcement, I had pretty mixed feelings. My background is in comics, like that’s what I went to school for and worked on semi-professionally for years, and I love it as a storytelling medium, so I’m really intrigued to see how they handle the adaptation…and I also really, really don’t envy whoever has to make decisions on how to depict these characters.

But the announcement is encouraging! I haven’t kept up with Chris Hastings’ more recent work, but I remember enjoying Dr. McNinja back in the day, so I have to admit there’s something exciting about seeing a name I recognise and can be hopeful about to do a good job with the adaptation. Checking out the artist’s work, I’m gonna put a lot of my poker chips on “Sammy will look really normal actually,” but I don’t think that’s a dealbreaker – like, Dober’s Sammy is a big fav as far as Sammy designs go, and I think he’s a good example of how you can still get great Sammy vibes in a more conventionally attractive face. (though i also think there’s a chance of “the artist will lean fully into his unhinged vibes and make Sammy look like a batman villain” so wE’LL SEE!!) Genuinely, the artist’s portfolio seems well-suited to this. I would’ve pictured DCTL with a rougher, more indie look if you asked me to pick a fitting style, but I think this artist's slick Western-Comic-Book style with its strong spot blacks could be a REAL good fit for the inky vibes this story demands, and they don’t have the level of “sameface” that I’d usually be concerned about with these kinds of styles; there’s enough solid variation in their character art that I believe they can handle all the characters needed, and also do a cool ink demon.

DCTL does have some design questions that are genuinely pretty fraught, in that there's no perfect way to handle it (Norman’s a great example; do you take someone that 80% of the fandom has been drawing as a black man for years and make him canonically white, or do you present the Weirdo Creeping Around In The Shadows Who Mysteriously Gives The Protags Supernatural Info And Then Dies At The End And Nobody Misses Him as canonically a person of colour??? ROUGH CHOICE I DO NOT ENVY), but I'm still so curious to see designs for these guys, and my big hope is that the fandom will be understanding of the huge task the creators have been given and that this won't be regarded with the pressure of getting “The Official Canon Design That I'll Be Mad If It Josses My Interpretation” – like, getting an official Henry & non-old-man Joey in BatDR just felt like, y’know, seeing anyone in the fandom make a new set of designs. It feels like drawing fanart of the BatDR AU; it doesn’t mean my henry and joey designs are Obsolete. And I hope these designs are enjoyed from that perspective, as a new DCTL Comic AU, and that the fandom takes whatever we get as less THIS HAS TO MATCH MY PERCEPTION OF SAMMY B/C ITS THE OFFICIAL REAL SAMMY and more just, a take on a design for Sammy Lawrence.

Though of course I can’t help but be a little more anxious about Sammy specifically, haha. He is my big fav after all, and as embarrassing as he is in DCTL it has become a part of his story I’m quite attached to. A lot of humanity could be added to him or taken away depending on how he’s drawn… I don’t want to get my hopes up, but it’s hard not to hope that he’ll have Good Sammy Vibes that Resonate With Me Specifically.

And in general, my expectations are still tempered – the comic could certainly turn out to be very mediocre, especially depending on how well the artist is paid and how much time the creators can afford to put into it – but tbh I’m super interested in how this turns out. I can’t wait to see Joey in this style and it’ll be SURREAL to see a comic of like……. BatIM humans…… I’ve wanted sincere visual content about the humans for a long time and I’m stunned we’re actually getting it, so I’m feeling kinda cautiously eager!! I’m also curious if the comic will make an effort to preserve Buddy’s “voice” from the original novel, and how that will be handled – like, the whole book is really strongly framed as being written by Buddy, and that’s not just an incidental detail; it fleshes out his feelings about Dot, ambiguously gives us info on Boris without directly revealing the ending, and shapes the way he presents some moments as unreliable and time jumping strangely – he even talks about the frustration of not being able to just draw these things and having to describe them! (RELATABLE) – but at the same time, just filling a whole comic with tons of narration boxes is not usually a great artistic choice. It’s a really interesting challenge for the adaptation, and I’m curious if they’ll shift away from the framing device altogether or look for a balance to keep it.

Anyway TL;DR I’m keeping my expectations low but I’m really intrigued!! I don’t know if I’ll, like, actually acquire it; I usually don’t buy JDS Inc. stuff, but I feel more wibbly about the books in general b/c of how strongly I appreciate Adrienne Kress specifically, so we’ll see how I’m feeling when it comes out, haha.

TIOL LIVEBLOG: PART 4

holy shit, game-canon character time

Note: I’m busy tomorrow, but I should be able to finish up the liveblog on Wednesday.

Spoilers under the cut:

Part 4, Chapter 1

I like how Joey is still into old-fasioneds like in DCTL

Part 4, Chapter 2

Joey Drew discovers how packaging design works

Part 4, Chapter 3

"we didn’t need Henry. he was holding us back. did I mention how much I didn’t need Henry oh god please take me back”

Joey: “I wasn’t gay for Henry” *NateA: “yes he was”

I like the contrast with Nathan considering Joey humble for not holding a grudge with Henry, but in reality he just stole all his shit and Henry left due to poor work environment

BATIM AU where Henry enters Joey’s apartment at the end and starts smacking him with a copy of this book

Henry is so bland that Joey instantly forgot his face rip

Apparently Abby is only the interim head of the art department. Not the impression I got from DCTL but whatever

not even sure if the archives are canon (probably not) but I wonder if Joey’s habit of visiting art shows factor into it

Assuming he’s not lying (which is a pretty big assumption) Joey made the BG rather than Henry. Makes sense, I don’t think they debuted until after Henry left

Henry: give me credit Joey: anyway Abby was my inspiration

“I half expected that you would be an animated character, not an actual human being” this is either more Joey-is-story-Bendy stuff, or foreshadowing for BATDR

bruh if you think people want an honest-sounding lie instead of a critique you’re not a very good art director

“a small man with a surprisingly low voice came over to talk to him” is a weirdly specific description but I don’t think it’s anyone or else Joey would’ve mentioned it

“I might even argue I don’t even have a subconscious anymore” Joey walks into his board meeting calls everyone a bitch and leaves

I feel like Joey’s reaction to Abby’s sketch is exactly how he reacts to the deformed ink creatures whenever they’re made

Abby’s like me in the “can draw realistically but can’t draw cartoons” corner

Part 4, Chapter 4

"I have excellent control over my emotions” is like, fucking hysterical

Joey spends so much of this book just dragging Henry into the dirt aljfd. we get it you had a bad breakup

“Boris was special” wondering what the hell that means

“Boris came to me in a dream, Alice was a pain in the ass, the Butcher Gang were a mistake”

“Something that wasn’t Bendy. I will never understand that drive” is a pretty clear nod to Henry wanting to be with Linda, which makes for a nice contrast with Joey regretting not having a family of his own

It’s weird, because Joey keeps saying he made Bendy, yet the scene in which he was made clearly shows Henry doing it. Like he didn’t even try to hide it

Part 4, Chapter 5

"I did make a mistake once. I fixed it” the only time Joey has done that in his life, ever

Part 4, Chapter 6

I’m assuming the chapter title is an intentional reference, given that this is a well-known song (not this remix specially, just in general

honestly I kind of love Sammy’s backstory

he blatantly says it wasn’t his birthday a page after he said it was

Jack just like, radiates Good Vibes(TM)

I can see why they’re friends. Jack takes all the attention off of Sammy who really doesn’t want it

see I knew Jack was gay. no straight person dresses like that

Joey has like, a major issue with having the urge to shove people off of high places

no one: Jack:

I’d also like to point out that this is canonically the first time they’ve been confirmed to be friends. This does imply some tension between them, probably because Jack’s need for attention rubs Sammy the wrong way sometimes

Sammy just walked up and made Joey his bitch. iconic

Part 4, Chapter 7

I like how Joey shows them the little animation of Bendy dancing from Chapter 1, nice touch

I have no idea how to take Sammy’s “you need a girl” other than he’s been drinking his respect women juice

Sammy: “maybe I’ll worship a God if you make a good enough one” Joey: “is that a challenge motherfucker”

In terms of characterization:

Henry seems right, nothing else to say there

I know some people have said Jack being an attention whore doesn’t fit with canon, but he mentions needing a quiet place to compose here, so I think he’s just the type of creative who can’t focus with noise and not someone who doesn’t want to be around other people by default. Him brushing off Joey getting their award is a bit more questionable, but I also noticed here that Sammy was the one who dictated if they both took the job (Jack obvs. wanted it but still). I don’t think him wanting attention and him being a pushover are two incompatible ideas.

Sammy is much better here than in DCTL (he’s not being an open bigot, for starters). I do question if he’s being a bit too much of an asshole though. Don’t get me wrong, he is, but I got the impression from BATIM (and the Hot Topic Q&A) that he can be an asshole sometimes, but isn’t 24/7. Seems a hair too aggressive here, especially as he doesn’t have a reason to be pissy. He’s not openly mean like he was in DCTL though, so like I said, it’s better.

Reacting to BATDR, Part 1 and 2?

So as mentioned before, because I cannot play the game at launch, I’m watching SuperHorrorBro’s coverage to experience BATDR. I’ve watched through the first two videos he’s launched (linked under the cut), and oh my gosh, I’m already REALLY INVESTED! Normally I’m not one to blog about stuff like this, my reactions are pretty muted about most things, but while watching these videos, I was emotive and excited as hell, I swore more than I have since my last bad night of Splatoon 3, and that’s saying something! Usually my self control is better, but GOSH I squealed so hard.

And seeing as I don’t want to go into any of the spoiler channels in my designated Bendy servers, for the sake of not getting spoiled by people who are ahead of me in terms of the story, that leaves me with only a few options to get the feels out. I think, I’d like to react a little bit here and speculate. This is new territory for me, but it’s exciting! So as promised, we’re using our tools, we’re tagging things, and we’ll put a majority of this under the cut. Let’s dive in! (also do not spoil me for anything ahead of this content in the replies/comments, please and thank you!)

If you’d like to follow along with where I am in terms of story, here are the videos! Thank you Mike for all your hard work covering this game, you are an absolute gem and this is SO FUN!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okUwwu1cK8A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE4u3Kc5Hzc

So RIGHT OFF THE BAT, this game is gorgeous to look at! I was a little worried that it would lose some of the charm of looking like a sketch with the graphical upgrade, but I think this is still pretty good, both in the “real world” section and the “studio”. The introduction did a lot of things I didn’t expect, and I appreciate that so much.

I can’t believe we got to do a version of the ritual that Henry did to start the machine, and I’m kind of annoyed that I didn’t see that coming. Like it seems SO OBVIOUS, but at the same time, it just was not on my radar. But like, why did Audrey have to throw the switch and gather the items? What is it just because you’re old and decrepit Wilson? Is it just because we need to get used to the mechanics in a safe environment, or is there a narrative reason for it? Also, the fact that the ink just, FLOODED THE FLOOR?! And they got pulled under?? Or did Wilson grab her and drag her under? I feel like he kind of ragdolled and they got pulled, but I'm not sure, we'll have to go back and rewatch. That is NOT how I expected us to get pulled into the ink realm, but I love that a lot actually. It's so good!

Wilson, gosh, I have SO MANY FEELINGS about Wilson. Sir you are a creeper, and if I were Audrey, I would be contacting HR about you. We get it, Audrey’s gorgeous, but keep your goddamn eye to yourself bro. X’‘‘D I did not see that coming, I dunno if he’s like, interested in Audrey in the sense of romantic/sexual attraction, or if he knows something about her in this world that we don’t and that’s why he’s fixated on her. Like, I’m hoping it’s the second of the two, but I do get the sense it could be a little bit of both. That does seem to point to a more "chosen one" styled story with her, which I feel like ties into her being related to Joey or Henry, which is something I'm not sure if I want. Like I LOVE next generation stories, but I really want this to feel like Audrey's story, not just an extension of Joey's or Henry's, you know? If nothing else, I'm REALLY CURIOUS what Wilson meant by "we're going home". Sir, excuse you, what?! What does that even mean?!

Speaking of, LOVING Audrey as a protagonist. She leaves plenty of room for the player to react to scares, but she still has a lot of personality that I like. I LIKE that she's scared but still pushing through with a little sass and witty remarks, it's great. She's doing a great job. Don't get me wrong, I loved Henry, but there was a lot he didn't react to that always struck me as kind of odd (which makes sense once you know he might be trapped in a loop), like the only thing we hear him get emotional about is Boris, and I wanted more moments like that. We're getting that here.

Heck , we're getting a LOT of things I value and we're not even an hour and a half into the gameplay, that's wild! THANK YOU dev team for giving us the option to listen to audio logs in the pause menu with a transcript on screen, that is SO GOOD! I do miss the on screen text during gameplay, but this is honestly more efficient. You can take a moment to take it all in instead of worrying about enemies catching you off guard, so you don't lose important information (and given we actually get some, that's good. The voice direction in this game is so good. I knew it would be, you've got Lauren Synger who knows what she's doing as the voice director, and Lani Minella who's not only well connected, but also well versed in many different kinds of voice work, so she's a great pick for casting director, and the people they got are phenomenal. The deliveries are solid! I also love that we can hear some voices of the Lost Ones matching up with the audio logs so far, that's a GREAT touch. I'm loving Dale a lot, Dale is good. It leaves less room for interpretations about what happened to everyone, but I'm okay with that. Can't wait to read the credits to see who's responsible for each of them! Really excited that we got to hear Nathan, and that we might have been wrong about him from the books, though I’m gonna wait and see. He seems like a fairly earnest guy, I get the sense I need to read through his annotations in The Illusion of Living again.

Also, LOVE the addition of notes. We FINALLY GOT IT! We have heard Jack refer to Sammy so much in his audio logs, but never Sammy refer to Jack, and as a huge appreciator of them as musical partners (and occasionally as a ship) I was ECSTATIC to see him acknowledge him in writing. I'm also really curious about who "Your Best Pal" is. Mike speculates it's Henry, but I'd argue it could be Henry OR Joey, given Joey ALSO signs things that way (case in point, his letter inviting Henry back at the start of BATIM). It's more likely to be Henry, but it could be fun to do that with Joey too, especially since we have it confirmed that he's dead as of 1971, and we're currently in 1973.

In the same vein as before with previous employees, LOVE the studio tour audio from Joey, oh my gosh, I wish we had some subtitles or a transcript of those! That was a really good addition in terms of presentation. Also really loved hearing him say Sammy and Jack’s names, that was a GREAT moment. Feeling really awful for Carl though, gosh I kind of want to run into Carl even though that was extremely morbid. Here’s where my gripe comes in: how the actual hell did Joey not get charged with murder?! The blip in the tape puts Allison’s name over Susie’s, which tells us that this tour could have been happening in the 30s, but had an edit sometimes in the 40s when Allison took over the role of Alice. And given we ALSO have another details from these other employees about how dangerous it was with Gent coming in and pipes bursting, how did this tour keep running? Surely the newspaper HAD to have reported on a tour group getting hospitalized or disappearing, right? No? No we’re just gonna cover the bankruptcy in the late 40s? Okay, okay fine, have it your way. X’‘‘D How the hell did Joey Drew get away with anything? Like the tour stuff is cool, but if we don’t get an explanation for how Joey kept all this ink stuff from getting into the public (seeing as Wilson seems to be the only one that understands what the machine can do when Nathan acquires the brand?! Excuse me what?!), I’m calling this a massive oversight.

Moving onto more physical character stuff, can I just say, I LOVE that Striker comes down from the ceiling now?! Oh my gosh that is so GOOD! Very spidery. I would have hated that in BATIM given the controls just did not feel great for combat, but I hope this isn’t giving Mike too many issues, because it’s a great touch. Also PIPER CAN HURT YOU THROUGH THE MIRACLE STATION?! I’m sorry what?! Also Allison is acknowledging Piper by name?! That’s such a small thing, but like, we only knew what the enemies were called last game because people dug through the game files. We never had this enemy referred to as Piper or Charley, and it is SO NICE to have that. Same with Searchers, thank you Allison for talking about Searchers. I didn’t think I’d be so happy to see Allison, but I’m REALLY HAPPY to see her, she’s been done so much justice in terms of characterization, it’s great to see. Last game she didn’t give us a lot in terms of character development, and the difference within the first two encounters with her here are night and day. My one thing is that her reason for not coming with us feels a little weak, but I get it, for the sake of gameplay and programming the AI, this makes more sense. Girl, you don’t have to take us to your hideout, unless like, the entire upper level is your hideout, but I doubt it is since you wouldn’t be telling us to go there if we shouldn’t be there period. But the nice part is that she’s exploring again when she’s not supposed to, or at least, that seems likely. She’s trying to respect Tom’s boundaries about guests while also going out on her own and getting into trouble, it’s a mixed bag, very interesting. But just, “I’ve got a wolf”, MAN I wanna see Tom! One thing I’m unclear on though, we hear Alice’s humming right around the time we have a run-in with the Piper, and I just, I’m lost. I thought that noise was exclusive to Twisted Alice, so for a moment I thought she was gonna pop up, and then we got Allison. Do they both hum now? That’s interesting. And now we get to the part everyone’s been waiting for: Baby Benders. Okay first of all, I love that Audrey is so smitten with this guy when they first meet. Like she’s scared of everyone else, but the minute she sees this beloved cartoon character and he’s real and alive and adorable, she tries to befriend him, and it’s SO GOOD. I also LOVE the way his facial expressions are handled! That is beautifully animated. He’s SO EMOTIVE?! I was worried he was gonna have the smile plastered on the whole time, but the TEARS IN HIS EYES?! The MOUTH?! BENDY I’M SO SORRY OH YOU POOR BABY! He was so hesitant, and then he opened up and got burned, oh this CHILD! He was just playing with his train, my GOSH! Audrey ya gotta use the other hand next time. So this makes it seem like Bendy isn’t an AI that follows us around, I’m guessing he’ll function more like an NPC that we go and connect with for help if needed? I’m okay with that, that’s a vibe, probably better for less glitches and getting stuck on stuff because of collision detection, since there’s a lot more stuff for a model like his to get stuck on (I’m guessing of course, I don’t do game design). I’m okay with us not having an AI ally this time, though I AM curious about how Porter is gonna work, he still has an opportunity to be something like that or an NPC with quests for us.

THAT BEING SAID- this is where we get into where my theories are being proven wrong. I had speculated a little on Nathan wanting the machine specifically, and preserving Joey’s legacy was just a cover-up, but now I’m not so sure about that. But my bigger theory looks to be pretty close to disproven. So on my theory stream last week, I had speculated that Porter was gonna be the Lost One we saw hung up on the wall like a crucifix, the one we get the pipe from. It seemed like an ideal jumpscare opportunity, for that Lost One to come to life after we pulled the pipe out and spook us with an enthusiastic thank you, and then Audrey would get her special ability that way. But that’s not what happened, it was more like taking the wrench out of Boris’ corpse in the first game. The reason I suspected this lost one might be Porter was because of the feet and the rope. Looking to the feet after someone pointed out how weird they were, I noticed several parts of his model has small indents that looked like the spots where this lost one was impaled. Furthermore, if you look at the rope around Porter, it conveniently covers up the spot where the pipe was sticking out of the wall lost one, leading me to believe it could be concealing an injury. Now, if we say, go back to that area later and he’s not there, or Porter drops some info for us later, then I could still be correct, but I’m not holding my breath. But given we see the ink itself give Audrey the power to banish searchers, I’m led to believe that Porter might function in a similar vein but not the same one. Since we have an upgrade system for health and stamina, and possibly one for the pipe, I get the sense Porter is gonna be key to upgrading our golden abilities so we can do more than just banishment. But for now, we’ll have to wait and see.

Last thing: We had our first run in with the ink demon, and OH MAN that was good, but also, um, LOTS OF QUESTIONS?! One, bro how come YOU get subtitles denoting that you’re the ink demon speaking but Joey doesn’t?! Were Joey’s subtitle privileges just revoked or something? But also, MAN, he has a VOICE now?! And it’s DEEP?! Sir you sound like Venom, I kind of dig that, but I wonder WHY you can speak now. Wilson’s loudspeaker monologue tells us he “tore his body in two,” which, to me leaves a lot of questions. We’ve speculated that our little cartoon Bendy and the Ink Demon could be one and the same, but I also suspect they could be two halves of a whole. Half of me suspected that Wilson might have fused himself with the ink demon so he could be powerful and rule over this place, and I get the sense that could happen still, but I’m feeling it’s less likely. So far I’m leaning towards the two demons being two pieces of a whole, maybe not halves though, maybe more like quarters? I speculated that Joey, Henry, or both might have been used to make our little guy real, and I still think it’s possible, though Bendy’s behavior doesn’t read like either of them from what I’ve seen so far. Man, this is a really twisty thing, I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. But this is an ink demon that makes sense for Sammy to worship. If THIS is what Sammy heard this whole time, combined with the dark puddles that gave us the banish ability? Oh that adds a whole other layer of context.

Overall, I’m REALLY EXCITED by how this has gone so far. This seems like a game I would struggle to play, since there doesn’t seem to be a map and I am extremely directionally challenged. But overall? The narrative is alright. It hasn’t been super long, we’re only getting into the second chapter, so I don’t expect to see any major returning characters yet, but I do hope they show up soon. I’m especially eager to see if/how Sammy returns. Given we have a note and a couple of mentions of him, I’m hopeful. I need to know if I was right about something.

DCTL Liveblog: Chapters 1-3

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

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

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

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

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

Spoilers under the cut:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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