Scarlet-cookie - Scarlet - Tumblr Blog

I am trying to catch up with Protocol and I’m wondering if spooky Archivist and Jon Computer are trying to find a way back to each other and maybe that’d be the key to y’know like bring TMA Jon back but maybe that’d also bring the fears back? Annabelle Cane too maybe? Maybe spooky Archivist is following OIAR folks so he could access the computer? And he has to keep collecting statements to replenish his energy? Making some guesses.

What would Jon feel towards seeing an essentially good end au of his universe here? Gertrude, Helen, Gerry, everyone.. (except Celia).

Suddenly, we tremble. We look up into the sky and see illusory, thin lines drilling out from our bodies. They extend to an infinite height, extending behind the grayish-white fog. They extend into an ancient palace and land in the hands of a tall figure shrouded in fog.

Lord of the Mysteries Chapter 1335 : “I”

I like to think about the silly connection I made between TMA’s Stranger, LOTM’s Fool Pathway, and HSR’s Path of Elation. Uncannily faceless people and monsters who laugh at misery and tragedy. My auto TMA sense when starting LOTM was like, oh yes, Klein is an avatar of the Stranger, and now that I’ve completed it, it became more like “Nikola Orsinov is a Sequence 4 Bizzaro Sorcerer”, “Sparkle is a Sequence 6 Faceless and an avatar of the Stranger.” also the fact that both The Unknowing and Klein’s apotheosis ritual made people in the vicinity 90% stupider. Except one is “we and the skinless puppets rave so hard the fear god descends” and the other is a bunch of gods fighting in some poor guy’s living room so loudly that he wakes up.

pplease let this guy into yoohankim he want,s to be in yoohankim so bad

The greatest babysitter, Medici

I like Merlin Hermes a normal amount (lie)

Cheeky, silly wandering magician who wants to make your wishes come true, what’s not to love?

Hear me out when I say I want Amon, Bill Cipher and Timekeeper cookie to have a tea party together.

Let the chaos causing, excitement craving gremlins be in one room.

Ink Demonth 2024 Day 17 : Sailor

Allison caught the hat on her head as it threatened to fly along the wind, forcing it to stay fixed to her. 

She sighed out loud to herself, looking up from the deck and towards the sea.

It wasn’t that long of a ride from New York City to Atlantic City, compared to the cross continent cruises she’d been on, but this one was heavier on the heart.

Running away, causing chaos.. all the events that had just transpired was something Allison wasn’t dreaming of doing when she agreed to join Joey Drew Studios out of desperation. She couldn’t help but feel guilty when recounting everything she and Thomas did.

Speaking of Thomas, he’s still taking care of that machine.. he told me not to worry about it, but..

Allison sighed again, making her way off the deck and back into the shabby looking cabin. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief when she couldn’t spot Joey Drew.

“Please, take a seat ma’am.” One of the crew members gestured towards a chair nearby. Allison acknowledged the goodwill and promptly took a seat, placing her hat in her lap.

Suddenly, she felt a gaze land on her. She carefully glanced to the side, noticing a young boy looking at her, a notebook and pen in hand.

The young boy was dressed in a fashionable attire, a clear contrast to other passengers on the ship. In fact, besides her and Joey, everyone else was wearing either work outfits or casual outfits.

The young boy opened his mouth to speak.

“You’re dressed rather nicely.” 

Allison chuckled dryly. “You too, young man.”

The young man didn’t reply. He looked back at his notebook again.

“Master Arch, do you need anything?” One of the sailors passing by quickly asked.

“No.” The young boy called Master Arch replied, not raising his head. The sailor swiftly left to continue on with his other duties.

Master Arch? This young boy is..

She wasn’t unfamiliar with that surname.

“Father told me I could use this ship to get a ride to Atlantic City.” He said, lifting his pen. “I know you. You’re Miss Pendle.”

Allison didn’t deny it. She was just slightly surprised Nathan Arch’s son would know her this well, as she felt she’d rarely seen the tycoon bring a child to the many social events she attended.

The young boy’s pen began to scribble thoughtfully on the notebook pages. He appeared extremely focused, trying to make out a character with the limited drawing abilities he had.

Allison watched intently, curious about the final product.

The boy lowered his notebook, staring blankly at it. The figure he had drawn was something in between a sailor, a pirate and a mythical sea creature. 

“Should it be a sailor?” He suddenly turned to ask Allison curiously.

“I think that’d be lovely.” Allison honestly gave her own opinion. Besides, there were more sailors around them than pirates and mythical sea creatures.

The boy outlined the figure of a sailor. After thinking for a moment, he made the body a little chubby, and the face a little cheeky. He seemed to have thought of Popeye, as the outfit resembled a sailor leaning towards such an attire.

“How adorable!” Allison remarked, but the boy didn’t acknowledge it. He seemed to still be unsatisfied.

He glanced up at Allison.

“He needs a friend.” His voice suddenly brightened.

“Of course, what should he be?” Allison played along.

Allison could tell the boy was resisting the urge to draw another similar figure. He instead seemed to want to draw something else.

“A.. crab?” The boy thought out loud.

“A crab to accompany the little sailor boy..” Allison continued on.

The boy smiled softly, adding a crab grinning brightly next to the sailor.

The drawing now looked rather complete, like a set of cartoon characters ready to go on a sea adventure. The boy looked outside as he imagined the scenes playing out in his mind.

“What are you going to name them?” Allison asked casually.

The boy thought hard for a few moments, before shaking his head. 

“I don’t know yet. There’s plenty of time to name them.” He said. 

“Seafarers often say ‘ahoy’! That’d be a cute name.” Allison gave a suggestion.

The boy’s peculiar expression indicated that he didn’t quite like the idea, but he was considering it.

“Dudley…” He muttered under his breath.

“Dudley!” Allison repeated. The boy nodded. “My friend is named Dudley.” 

She didn’t press on further about that companion of the boy’s.

“Ahoy Dudley!” The boy snorted to himself. “What if.. Shipahoy Dudley? Since we drew him on a ship?”

“That has a good ring to it.” Allison pondered about it.

The young boy smiled, placing his notebook aside in satisfaction. 

“Thank you, Miss Pendle.” He thanked her sincerely. “Oh- I almost forgot, my name is Wilson!”

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Act 2 (Part 2/5)

Ink Demonth 2024 Day 16 : Erase

“Fine, fine..” Jack backed away from Sammy, raising his hands up in defeat. 

Sammy’s mouth froze on the word “Nothing”.

Jack had just asked him if something was up, and Sammy felt as if it was something Jack shouldn’t endanger himself with, nor know about.

He had pushed Jack away from the crux of the problem to protect him, and because he didn’t trust in Jack enough to be able to handle it.

He glanced at Jack’s shifting expression that flashed a look of disappointment for a second.

For a weird reason, he felt as if he had seen this scene before.

Something told him that he should tell Jack.

Just as Jack was about to make his way back to his office, another word escapes Sammy’s throat.

“Wait!”

Jack turned to look around at him, his wide, curious eyes still bright as always.

“Yes-“ Sammy stumbled on his words, fighting between the urge to stop himself, and the gut feeling that was telling him to expose the truth. 

Eventually, he decided on the latter.

“No, you should know..”

Jack’s eyes immediately lit up. “Finally, I was worried something was wrong with you..”

………..

Abby and Norman stood in the hallway, occasionally looking over to see the happenings inside the music department.

With nothing better to do, Abby decides to light a cigarette and take a puff.

“You shouldn’t do that in here.” Norman remarked, letting out a chuckle.

“It’s not real, why should I care?” Abby sighed, shaking the cigarette that automatically lit up on its own. “This isn’t my real body, this place isn’t real, the smoke isn’t real. The only thing that’s real is our minds and I really need something to distract me right now..” her hoarse voice trailed off. “By the way, you said Sammy is going to be real cagey about the whole ink machine thing, right?”

“Yeah.” Norman removed the monocle from his eye, fidgeting with it. “And then..”

Norman’s eyes suddenly turned glassy, as he seemed to space out. He looks up, staring into the distance where Sammy and Jack usually stands at.

Abby continued to smoke as she asked, “then what?”.

Norman lowered his head, placing the monocle back on his face. “Huh?”

“I asked if this is where Sammy is going to get very secretive about the machine towards Jack.” Abby repeated her question.

“What?” Norman’s lips curved into a frown. “He didn’t do that. He told Jack later on what happened.”

Abby jerked her head towards Norman, stunned. Then she slowly shook her head as she laughed.

“Real funny, Norman. You still got the guts to joke even after everything.”

Norman stared at her in confusion.

“What are you talking about?”

This time, the two of them glared directly into each other’s eyes.

“My memory might be bad, but this part is something I remembered vividly..” his voice gradually faded, as he seemed to come to a strange realization.

“Then, what happened after that?” Abby pressed, knowing this strange occurrence would definitely bring about major changes.

Norman’s mouth was left hanging, as he kept closing and opening it like a goldfish.

“Why.. why can’t I recall…” Norman pinched his forehead, trying to pull out the muddy memories from the depths of his mind. Everything suddenly seemed to become dim and foggy, like an old photo suddenly rotting away in seconds.

“I.. I would target Sammy, but.. why..”

He knew he remembered.

But it was as if those memories had suddenly been flushed down a dark vortex, and he was trying desperately to grab them again.

He felt horrified that a section of his memories suddenly became altered and erased without him even knowing, had Abby not pointed out to him.

A chilling fear crawled up Abby’s spine as she threw away the cigarette, looking up at the spot Norman had just stared at earlier.

Sammy was now there, and had turned his head to look directly at them.

His eyes were nearly lifeless, his gaze seemed exhausted, like someone who had been repeatedly trying to fix something over and over again, only to fail every single time.

Abby jerked her head away, feeling unsettled by such a look.

“That’s exactly what happened.”

Sammy’s voice spoke up, as Abby couldn’t help but jolt. She was afraid of turning her head back again, fearing what she would see. Since she was looking away from Norman, she had no idea how he was feeling.

Abby could feel a cold puff breathing down her neck.

If she still had the cigarette in her hand, she definitely would’ve used it to try and chase away Sammy, or whatever sort of Sammy they’re facing right now.

“Norman, after that, you simply went along with my plans, and we approached the ink machine together, and then…” 

His voice also trailed off, in a similar manner to Norman earlier.

The projectionist shook his head, refusing to accept the fabricated truth of events.

“That isn’t what happened.” He muttered as soft as possible, to remind himself. Abby could just about hear it and gave a light nod.

Suddenly, the environment around them turned cold. The lights seemed to darken, and the workers walking around suddenly stopped. Even Jack froze in his place. Their eyes all turned lifeless at once.

Abby and Norman both knew Sammy was staring right at them, and only them in that moment, even though neither of them dared to look.

Norman could tell Sammy had suddenly jerked his head towards Abby.

After a few moments of silence, the dream suddenly resorted to its normal state.

Norman could no longer feel the chilling breath anymore, as he cautiously turned to look at where Abby should be.

Her figure had disappeared without a trace, as if she had never even existed there before.

Sammy’s voice spoke again, but in a tone he failed to recognize.

It was desperate, hopeless, and begging for help.

“Just play along.” 

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Final Reminiscence (Part 5/5)

Ink Demonth 2024 Day 15 : Draft

It was already after hours, and Alan had begun to turn off the lights in the building. Gent corp wasn’t massive, at least not yet— he definitely had plans for expansions, but for now, it was more like a standard office building.

“Good night boss!” A group of youngsters approaching the exit called out to him in a gleeful tone. Alan waved back casually, causing the keys in his hands to jingle. “Don’t forget to flush the toilet tomorrow, Darryl.” He gave a light warning. 

“I- what do you mean?” One of the young men exclaimed, before his face turned red. “Right- ah, right..”

Alan watched quietly as the last group of workers left the building for the night, smiling to himself. He was just about to lock up the building when he suddenly stopped at the door’s threshold.

Thump! Thump! Thump! 

He glared up at the ceiling above.

……..

Thomas sat down at his desk again, heaving a sigh of relief. In every aspect, he was an adult. But he couldn’t help but intentionally lower his noises when Alan is about to lock the building, like a little child hiding from their father. 

He liked having some quiet time to himself in the Gent corp building. Besides, he was the one putting in the money to buy candles and matchsticks for a light source. It wasn’t like he was using the electricity or anything. As for water amenities, he often held it in until he got home, which was just a few blocks away.

He looked down at the large piece of paper covered in notes, sketches and ideas in front of him.

The corners of his lips curved up a little.

Jingle..

“Knock knock.”

Thomas jolted slightly at the noise. He turned back to see Alan Gray standing in the doorway, playing with the keys in his hands that didn’t make any noise until now.

His small smirk froze on his face.

“As usual.” Alan caught the keys in his palm, laughing exasperatedly. “You really don’t change in this part.”

Thomas didn’t need to give him an explanation nor excuse. It was something he had been doing for years. His eyes simply twitched at the sight of Alan’s mischievous face.

Every time Alan had caught him, so Thomas subconsciously made it a personal goal to not get caught by Alan, even for a single night.

Regardless, it still wasn’t successful.

“Are you still working on that commission?” Alan asked, approaching Thomas’ desk to a certain distance. “Wow, you got a lot done today!”

Thomas looked down at what was a blank paper in the morning, now a comprehensive draft of a certain contraption. He felt rather proud of himself, even though the client was infuriating.

It was something unlike anything he’d ever designed before, nor had he ever seen before. It wasn’t exactly perfect, but it should satisfy the client’s wishes.

To be honest, when he wasn’t truly focused, he sometimes even hated this project. It was something extremely demanding, but a part of him also yearns for the thrill of a challenge, and something new.

It was something crazy.

Alan waited for Thomas to show some pieces of the draft to him, casually inspecting it.

“It’ll truly be something new.” Alan remarked. “Although, you forgot..” Alan pointed to a section and explained Thomas’ mistakes in this part.

“Ah, right.” Thomas acknowledged, turning back towards the desk to figure out a way around it. 

Alan simply watched as the man tinkered on, like a determined child trying to complete a difficult assignment.

“I thought you’d drop out of the commission already.” Alan chuckled dryly. “I mean, like I always said, you don’t have to take it if you can’t stand it anymore.”

Thomas paused for a second, looking at the draft in front of him.

On top of it wrote “The Ink Machine”.

He stared blankly outside for a few moments.

“It’s.. something I gotta do, I guess.”

Alan laughed lightly, acknowledging Thomas’ stubbornness.

“It’ll be a wonderful machine.”

Bendy : The Untrusted AU

Ink Demonth 2024 Day 14 : Steam

A cup of steaming tea was placed in front of a young lady with soft, reddish-brown hair.

Her breath trembled as she tried to calm herself down.

Rose carefully picked it up, taking a sip of the slightly sweet tea.

It had been a long time since the incident involving the bizarre ink machine, and that wretched man named Joey Drew. Even though a period of time had passed, her family still suffers from hallucinations often. 

It has gotten better since a while ago, but suddenly, everything seemed to worsen tenfold. The hallucinations now weren’t limited to visual, extending to auditory, and sometimes, Rose swears she could even touch them.

She looked up at her brother sitting opposite to her, fidgeting with his mug of tea absentmindedly.

“I don’t-“ Ollie stopped mid-sentence. “I really don’t understand why..”

That was what they’d say out loud often, to keep themselves glued to reality.

“Don’t understand what?” Rose casually asked. This was a response to begin solving any irregularities in their senses.

“Why.. why it’s suddenly gotten worse.” Ollie concluded.

Rose’s gentle smile froze. It was a question she didn’t really feel like bringing up.

“That’s..” Rose tried to answer, her eyes trying to focus on the tea in front of her.

Suddenly, the color of the tea seemed to darken, until it looked like ink.

Rose turned her face away, focusing her sight on the fridge. Ollie quickly pushed away his mug as well, indicating he was seeing the same thing Rose was.

Rose’s gaze was glued to the fridge.

She watched as it slowly creaked open on its own, a mound of goopy, black liquid seeping out from the edges.

She quickly retracted her gaze, looking at Ollie instead. His fearful expression matched hers completely.

“It’s okay.” Rose, out of habit, quickly denied her sights. “Remember, it’s not real.”

“Exactly because it isn’t real that it could be rewritten.”

Rose and Ollie jerked their heads towards the direction of the voice. Even though they’d come to the agreement to ignore all voices, this voice was new. Usually, they’d hear the same voices over and over again. Some Rose would recognize as Joey Drew, some as Archie, some as Evan…

This was a new voice, a bright, upbeat voice with a tinge of madness.

More importantly, this voice was crystal clear, as if the owner of the voice was speaking to them.

All the other noises they’ve heard so far are always muddled and distorted, like a broken radio.

The two of them landed their eyes on the big window over the kitchen counter, overlooking the streets.

The sky outside seemed to have darkened.

They walked over carefully, drawing the curtains. 

A strange, dark gray fog wafted through the streets, the pedestrians making confused expressions, implying that their eyes weren’t lying to them.

“What is..” Ollie trailed off, covering his nose and mouth out of habit.

Rose slowly backed off from the windows, glancing towards the stairs.

“I’ll go get a better view. You stay here and make sure all the windows are locked.”

Ollie wanted to argue that his sister always threw herself into dangerous situations first, but being given a responsibility, he quickly shut up.  

“Okay.” He replied dryly.

Rose rushed up the stairs, going up to Ollie’s bedroom, which faced the streets. She made sure they were locked, before focusing her sight outside.

The ground suddenly rumbled.

A tall building in the distance, near where Kismet was, appeared to distort in shape. It seemed to bulge and grow, turning into a gigantic mausoleum of some sort. The chutes on top of the roof also extended up into the darkening sky, appearing more like spires which spat out steam and gas, turning it into fog that permeated the streets earlier. 

The steam smelled like ink.

Rose rubbed her eyes.

Screams began to emerge from the streets. Rose couldn’t tell what danger they had encountered.

As she retracted her hands, she saw that it was stained with ink.

Ink began to seep from the edges of her eyes, like tears flowing down her cheeks after being exposed to the strange steam.

Without another moment to waste, she grabbed the pillows and blankets in the room, wetting them with tap water and using them to block the edges of the windows to prevent any more from leaking inside. Rose could feel the uncomfortable sensation in her decrease as she did that.

“Rose, ROSE!!!” Ollie screamed, rushing up the stairs and into the room. “Don’t stay near the windows!!” 

“I know, don’t worry.” She tried her best to reassure herself and her brother. “I will-“

As she turned away from the windows, she heard a loud splat as something collided with the glass.

A frightened expression slowly grew on Ollie’s face. 

As Rose’s expression froze, she took a deep breath, turning back to face the window in a careful stance.

A dove had hit the window, its wings dripping with ink, its body tainted by the dark smoke, turning its usual white color dark.

The dove helplessly slid off the pane of glass, leaving a nasty black trail behind as it fell to its eternal slumber.

Rose and Ollie turned to face each other, knowing well their senses are no longer lying.

“What..?”

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Epilogue (Part 4/5)

Ink Demonth 2024 Day 13 : Bow

Grant wasn’t athletic, nor was he strong. He was just some salaryman who’s been loyal enough to a single company that got him out of a sticky predicament in life, that was all.

He blinked.

A tether of black, sticky liquid rushed towards his neck, solidifying into a sharp blade.

He swung the pipe in his hand without hesitation, just barely blocking off the lethal attack. The tether exploded into droplets of ink, raining down upon him and the room.

He felt his vitality drop in an instant, only to be rejuvenated again.

Grant heaved a sigh, glaring straight at the figure of a man standing on the other side of this strange, metal-walled circular chamber. The pipes on the ceiling spurred, screeching loudly as if they’re ready to burst at any moment. 

From top to bottom, the room was drenched in ink.

Yet his boss wasn’t touched by any of it, as if there’s some kind of barrier between him and the world.

Grant, on the other hand, besides being covered in ink, the pipe in his hand was a prototype of a weapon Thomas had been working on. The colorful electrical sparks danced around the weapon.

But it also was painful to Grant.

“What are you doing this for!?” Grant mustered, trying to stall for time. “This- this place-!!”

“You should stop hurting yourself.”

That man opposite the room coldly spoke to him, yet it was tainted with a sliver of kindness.

Grant recalled in that moment, that Joey Drew once told him the exact same words.

He stopped his entire body from trembling in exhaustion, quickly forcing his head to look up.

The man named Joey Drew lunged towards him without any care in his eyes.

Grant raised his arm, his lips curving into a small smile.

“If only I’d never met you.”

He felt something sharp shatter the back of his head at that moment.

…….

The chamber that was rumbling and screaming just now had quietened down. Joey’s frail hand slowly let go of a handful of wet hair, letting it droop over a lifeless face again.

He watched as the ink began to seep up the corpse, happily consuming it and taking it in as one of them.

He looked down at the disgusting, human heart-shaped object in his palm. Without another word, he carefully placed it nearby the lifeless body.

“This is my final gift.” Joey whispered under his breath, unknown whether he was talking to the dark ink, or the corpse.

He slowly stood up, watching as the liquid that once backed away began to crawl towards him again, only to retract on its own.

The man who lost everything made his way across the chamber to the exit door, his smile growing wider with every step.

He turned around one last time, looking up at the throne he erected himself. It was empty, standing tall and proud like it was looking down on the world.

Joey stared for a few moments, before solemnly bowing down to that throne, saying his final farewell to this dramatic play he wrote, casted, and directed.

A certain broken dream has come to an end.

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Act 2 (Part 2/5)

Ink Demonth 2024 Day 12 - Copy

Bendy had always felt a sense of disconnection from Audrey. In a way, she was his elder sister, but in another way, he couldn’t help but wonder who she saw in him.

He recalled the first time they met over and over again, his cute, plump little figure warily approaching the strange lady, reaching out for a hand. Her desperate apologies he couldn’t hear as he ran away from the pain in fear. 

The little devil knew he was the product of another him- or in a sense, his elder brother’s suffering. He gradually came to realize that, and had accepted that.

He never really knew how he should spend his life. Often times, he felt more like a forceful seal to keep a boiling rage contained than an autonomous identity. He had the urge to live like a child, to be like a child, to be a part of the Ink Demon that never got to experience happiness. Since he knew both their memories are somewhat shared, he wanted to continue being innocent in this world.

But he felt like the Ink Demon had deserved more of what he felt. He seriously thought his elder brother should be experiencing the joy, the laughter, the love by himself, and not through him.

Bendy fidgeted with the toy train in his hands, looking up at the pile of old experiment records Audrey had came back with yesterday.

“The Ink Demon.

Experiment had resulted in a failure. The little devil darling has come out with a disproportionate figure, rendering him useless…”

He shook his head away from those papers, opening the voice in his mind to talk to Audrey, who was half-asleep at her desk.

Suddenly, her hand reached out, patting his two soft horns.

“You shouldn’t think of yourself as his copy.”

Her gentle voice echoed in his mind, causing him to stare blankly at her for a moment.

He couldn’t see her eyes clearly, as a result of his height.

But the little devil could see her kind smile.

“You and him both deserve love no less than the other.”

Beneath her collar was a red bow, just the same as him.

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Epilogue (Part 4/5)

Ink Demonth 2024 Day 11 : Melody

Susie, or would better be called now- Alice, staggered through the dark halls of the music department. Susie seemed a lot more timid and quiet lately, perhaps she had already given up on trying to “do good” in this studio filled with madness. She’d seemed to lost any hope remaining in her after witnessing Sammy’s heinous actions of colluding with Joey Drew.

She just wanted to find a place to rest.

Whether that’d be temporary or eternal was another matter of whether she could hold onto herself well enough.

Just as she forced the door open and pulled herself over to a chair hidden in the shadows, another set of light footsteps emerged behind her.

Who.. at this hour? Alice quickly blended into the darkness of the shadows easily, planning on simply watching the strange person who’s about to come in.

Suddenly, her mind stirred.

At this time.. there could only be one person who would be here.

She quickly turned her head towards the entrance, but instead of the exhausted, tall, blonde man she was expecting, another ink-covered figure trudged into the room, instead.

He was covered head to toe in ink, only barely able to be made out as human, or at least once a human. The figure wore a pair of suspenders equally caked in ink, however, its light brown, almost sepia hue made it easily distinguishable from the man’s jet-black appearance.

The man opened what should be his mouth, letting out loud gasps that came in altering frequencies, as if he’s trying to control his breath to suppress something within himself.

Just as the breathing got more and more rapid, he reached out for a banjo left on the nearest chair, strumming onto it with a force that didn’t belong to a musician.

Only when that melody sounded out did he began to regulate his breathing again.

His breath slowly came to that of a normal pace’s, as he softly took a seat on the director’s tall stool. It was such a natural movement, as if he had done it a million times. 

Alice drew a sharp breath as she realized who the figure was.

Sammy Lawrence.

The music director didn’t notice the angel hiding within the darkness as he kept playing, even though his hands were trembling, and he lacked one finger on each hand.

He still kept playing that wonderful tune like it was second nature to him.

Behind him, Alice quietly watched him.

Her face formed a sinister grin as her mind began to whirl with plans.

Suddenly, she felt something wet on her cheek.

Her eyes turned blank, and her gaze began to wander. The malicious grin still remained on her face, but in her mind, she could only muster a single question.

Why am I crying?

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Act 1 (Part 1/5)

Ink Demonth Day 10 : Exhibit

A strange archives hidden within the halls of Archgate. An exhibit displaying the brief history of Joey Drew Studios.

Wilson scrunched his brows, his hand still holding on tight to the broom in his grip. He kept pondering the particular nature of this archives. It seemed to be akin to a museum, immortalizing the legacy of a bygone studio, yet, it was also a hassle to access, having to get through halls of the building before one could see it. It seemed illogical, as if it wasn’t meant for the public. Of course, it could be that Nathan wanted to let the outside world see Archgate’s work environment as well, but wouldn’t it be too risky? A well disguised thief could easily sneak in and learn the insides. Wilson’s expression turned strange as he considered his father’s slacking of being wary. Usually, that man would keep his trade secrets to himself..

Or was it because he was indeed hiding these items from someone? Wilson knew a person or two who would match that description. 

Or..

The fake janitor carefully placed away his broom, examining the items on each shelf casually. He had seen them one too many times, but this would be the first he could examine them up close. Back when he was hiding in Gent, Alan would always switch the location of certain objects periodically, making them hard to track.

He was curious as to how the wonders of that ink machine truly worked.

Wilson had a brief understanding, but that was it, just a brief understanding. It was nothing to brag about against people like Thomas Connor or Joey Drew.

He wanted to investigate deeper into the potency of such a machine.

He tried to see if any of the items was having a strange reaction, but he couldn’t notice any. Failing to gain anything, he went to the far back of the archives to access a locked room.

The room containing the ink machine.

Wilson stared at the particular machination for some time. It wasn’t the first time he came here, but every single time, the machine remained quiet. The gears didn’t turn, nor any weird liquid seeped out of the main tube. It was no different to a big metal box at the moment.

He knew Alan had used various methods and elaborate techniques to activate it all the time, but besides a few loose water pipes and electrical wires, there was nothing that could be of help to Wilson.

Aside from that, the room had three pillars scattered on both sides of the hall. It had pictures to resemble what item should be placed on top, but none of those items existed within the exhibition. Wilson questioned why Nathan would order these pillars to be erected if they had no correlation to the machine. 

That simply meant those pillars were the key to the machine.

Wilson slumped against a nearby wall, sighing out of exasperation.

It seemed a certain janitor would be treasure hunting for a while.

Bendy : The Untrsuted AU - Intermission (Part 3.5/5)

Ink Demonth 2024 Day 9 : Record

(Splashing sounds of a pair of leather shoes and work boots echo through the sewers.)

(It stops)

(A tape slides around the corner)

(Jack’s hand reaches out, unsure for a moment, then clicks the tape run.)

(Static ambience)

Thomas : The stench..

Joey : Bear with the stench a little bit.

Thomas : (grunt) A little worse than somedays.

Joey : (weary laugh) Come on, now.

Thomas : ..

Joey : So, finished that report?

(Thomas smoothens a paper and hands it over)

Joey : Thank you!

(Thomas watches as Joey reads the report)

Joey : Coherent enough, alright.

Thomas : Mhm.

Joey : When are you free to deal with the cartoons yourself?

Thomas : ….

Joey : If you’re still persistent on doing it yourself.

Thomas : ….

..

Joey : (sigh)

Good we still have help.

Thomas : (under breath) God knows how long he’ll stay.

Joey : Excuse me?

Thomas : …

Joey : ..

Alright then.

So, filling the sewers?

Thomas : No.

Joey : I’ll deal with any external complications.

Thomas : You were the one who wanted to cut corners.

Joey : (about to interrupt, then withhold) It’s a worthy investment.

Thomas : (irritated) Then how about fixing those blasted elevators.

Joey : (sigh) Those’ll be fine.

Thomas : Those won’t be fine. You think a few monologues of “visions” and “ambitions” would help the elevator to work properly?

Joey : (warning) Tom.

(Thomas glares at Joey) 

Joey : Fine. Fill the sewers, fix the elevators. All at once. Sounds good?

Thomas : ..

Joey : I take that as a yes.

Thomas : …

Joey : Tommy, you gotta remember this is all for the machine.

It’s all for it, one way or the other. 

(Thomas’ expression becomes somewhat wear and falters)

Joey : For the studio, Tom.

For the studio.

(Ink noises)

(Thomas looks away. He makes a sharp turn and walks to some secret route.)

(Joey watches)

(He walks away too, in the opposite direction.)

(He passes the tape, possibly ignoring it.)

Joey : Jack!

Jack : (perfect poker face) Oh, hey Mister Drew, what brings you here?

(Joey is stunned for a moment)

Joey : Just checking in.

(Jack peers behind Joey dramatically)

Jack : Where’d you come from?

Joey : Another entrance.

Jack : Gee, guess I don’t know these sewers as well.

Joey : (chuckles)

Alright, glad to see you’re still hardworking!

Jack : (haha) Of course, of course!

Joey : (Heh) Now, to change out of these shoes as well. 

(Joey walks past Jack, and out the sewers. As soon as Jack’s sure Joey’s out he dashes for the tape and stops it.)

(He stares at it for a moment, carefully picking it up and returning to his station.)

……..

(A tape lands in Norman’s lap.)

Jack : There.

(Norman inspects it)

Norman : (Heh) Didn’t think you’d actually do it.

Jack : What? Was all that an attempt at a joke!?

Norman : (smirks) ‘Course not. I’ll get it sorted out.

Jack : (sighs, unamused) 

So you tell me what’s up soon.

Norman : Sure, sure.

Jack : ..

They’re gonna fill my sewers. Overheard it.

Norman : (surprised) What?

Jack : (downbeat) Yup.

Norman : …

Anything else?

Jack : All in that tape. 

Norman : ..

Thanks.

Jack : ..

Anytime.

(Jack walks off, his expression morphs into that of concern)

(Norman pulls out the other tape. He stares at the floor, as if concerned something will pop up from there.)

(He contemplates for a moment, then creaks open the floor tile beneath his feet.)

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Act 1 (Part 1/5)

Ink Demonth Day 8 : Line

Alan Gray pressed on a small button, allowing a minuscule amount of light to just about flood into the workshop. The dilapidated yet orderly room became somewhat lively again as the light reflected the colors on each object.

Alan softly took off his hat, caressed it, before placing it on a small hook by the entrance. He didn’t do the same for his black coat, instead using his hands to pull back any off his loose, messy brown hair out of habit.

The man of a tall build approached a board divided into segments at the far end of the room. Each segment clearly drew out theories, hypothesis, and the like. The failed ones were pushed behind the improved ones in a neat fashion.

Alan stared blankly at it for a while, before an exhilarated smile formed on his face.

He reached his brightly-colored bandaged  hand to grab out the piles of paper pinned to the board, stuffing them into folders of various colors, until there was only a single pile remaining.

He stretched out a little to spread out those papers. In contrast to the other documents filled with writings and corrections, these papers only had a few things on it.

The most prominent feature being a long line.

He spread out the papers with a single line accompanied by little notes, as if creating a timeline on his board. He then took out a few more papers from a nearby table, forming another long sheet of paper beneath it. He quickly drew out another line across the sheets of paper, adding a few anecdotes to them as well.

Just as the line was about to reach the end of the board, he suddenly swerved up, causing the two lines to intertwine with each other.

Alan backed off, quietly observing those papers with extreme fascination.

He clasped his hands together in satisfaction.

“Yes, of course.” The man wandered over to one of the folders, pulling out a couple more documents. “Why didn’t I consider this before? It is.. it’s extremely clear.”

His huge, curious eyes glistened in the light.

“If we look at it this way, then..” his tone gradually grew more and more excited.

“Then, it’s completely sensible for fiction and reality to have intertwined at any point in time.”

His eyes slowly casted its gaze on a small object in the corner of the room.

It was a dusty reel. A reel that was simply labeled “The End”.

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Act 3 (3/5)

Ink Demonth 2024 Day 7 : Projection

The projections displaying Norman’s memories reflected on the muddy wall behind the two of them, flashing past quickly akin to scenes on a subway’s windows. Thomas watched those scenes quietly, his expression blank.

The hidden hallways within the walls of Joey Drew Studios, the times Norman endangered himself by trying to probe into the Ink Machine’s matters alone, the times the Projectionist felt agitated, and the times he felt satisfied by a secret’s exposure. Thomas’ attention, however, latched onto a certain expression on that man’s face.

A face of relishing a truth, regardless if it was a pretty one or not.

Thomas turned to lock his cold gaze with Norman, who was simply smiling lightly.

“It hurt, didn’t it?” 

Thomas asked in a clearly blunt tone.

“It did.” Norman nodded.

Thomas narrowed his eyes to a squint. He threw away the fire poker-trident weapon, turning around to face the exit.

“What a pity. Sorry for you. I was hurt as well.” He began to take his leave without another word of consolation. He had no time to apologize to every single soul. Besides, he found someone who begged for pity amidst clearly relishing in their sins to be rather disgusting.

Just as he was about to turn the handle to the door, a faint chuckle emerged.

Thomas carefully glanced back. Norman stood there, his arms crossed, one of his hands covering his curling lips.

“As I thought. That’s still Thomas Connor.” Norman said, his tone mixed. 

“…” Thomas didn’t reply. He pressed on the handle.

Norman’s chuckle arose again, causing Thomas to instinctively pause.

He finally turned around to glare at the man again.

“What do you really want?” He asked, even though he already had a small hunch.

Norman smiled, wide, akin to a grin of the Cheshire Cat’s.

“Since we’re both suffering from this place, why don’t we cooperate?”

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Act 3 (Part 3/5)

Ink Demonth 2024 Day 6 : Drop

Joey felt the wind rushing past him- or at least, he’s believing that there’s wind rushing past him at that moment. Because, abiding by all laws of the Cycle, there shouldn’t be wind here.

He closed his eyes, although it didn’t make much of a difference since his environment was dark anyways, and began to recollect his thoughts.

Alan threw me in here..

After telling me he ‘revived’ me by extracting memories within the Dark Puddles…

Joey blinked a few times.

Did he say that?

He felt as if there was some detail he was missing, but he couldn’t tell what it was.

Joey felt his body plummet faster as his thoughts rushed past him.

Finally, there was a soft thud.

Joey carefully pushed himself up to his knees, looking around his environment, albeit, he didn’t really have to.

His heart seemed to pound as he inspected his surroundings.

The familiar corridor, the ink seeping through the ceiling, the old wooden floor.

It was indeed the Cycle he created.

….

Joey stood up, casually brushing off any possible dust that could’ve come from falling down such a height. He stared at his wrinkled old hands that seemed to be made from a pencil sketch now.

Then, he looked up at the sight before him.

His eyes continued to be blank for a while.

What now?

What do I do next….

Joey suddenly found himself unable to remember the exact details of this part of the ‘script’.

He couldn’t help but feel vulnerable again.

After a little bit of focusing, he gently came to the realization that many chunks of his memory seemed to be missing.

Is this what Alan meant when he said he ‘revived’ me?

He wanted to ponder his own identity now, whether or not he could still be called “Joey Drew”.

Solemnly, he decided to shake those thoughts off for the meantime.

He wondered if he could return back to his old office.

It wouldn’t hurt..

He quietly took a step forward.

His expression turned fearful as he realized the ground beneath him gave away, sending him plummeting towards the depths once more.

That was when Joey Drew finally understood why Alan would reconstruct him incompletely like this.

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Intermission (Part 3.5/5)

one of these days I’m gonna be heaving over all the short stories I’m writing for Ink Demonth into tumblr all at once and my blog is gonna be overflowing with Untrusted AU short stories lmao

Klein starting off as a human acting as a god, a reliable pillar of support in the first tarot club meeting, and becoming a god who’s more like a caring friend to everyone else, truly half a pillar of the universe in the last tarot club meeting before going to sleep.

You were always a guardian, yet also a miserable wretch.

So that you may wake up to experience the joy of life again

I’ve been thinking. Of the angstiest. Azik and Klein fanart. And now that I’ve finished the main story, I can draw them with full understanding and emotions. The relationship between this student and teacher is beautiful. What went from a simple favor between a seemingly random profesor and student to a bid to keep each other’s humanity anchored through words written by genuine love and care from the other party is wonderful.

LOTM Vol 3 doodle dump because Gehrman Sparrow is unhinged

“Great Master, are you afraid?”

“Yes.”

GUESS WHO FINISHED THE MAIN STORY OF LOTM!!! 1394 chapters, WOOHOO!!! What. A. Ride. I was speeding through the past three hundred chapters and besides rambling about Merlin on tumblr I didn’t write much reaction posts haha. Oh, man, what an amazingly constructed world, plot and story. Isn’t it funny that the moment I finish reading is just about the time Klein is nearly about to make a return in COI, from what I’ve heard? Also cuttlefish didn’t have to wring my heart out with that last chapter AHHHHHH [sobbing]

PRAISE THE FOOL!!!!!!