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.

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

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

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 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 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)