So That You May Wake Up To Experience The Joy Of Life Again

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.

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”

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)

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.

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 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)