#batdr theories

[im-captain-basch]

Shit shit shit shit shit I had a thought regarding Bendy and the Dark Revival. It's kind of a stretch and I'm sure someone else has probably already thought of this, but just in case know there are major major spoilers ahead, especially pertaining to chapter 4, its character reveals, and the ending of the game.

I apologize in advanced if this seems a little disconnected.

OK, so I'm sitting here watching SuperHorrorBro play BatDR when he gets to the part where Audrey runs into Henry. He mentioned that playing the End reel would start the cycle over again, as we all know it does, but I felt his wording is peculiar:

"Everything begins again. Completely new."

Obviously we know from checking out Joey's house at the end of BatIM that Joey had drafted up several scenarios we don't necessarily ever actually see. It's possible that these scenarios are each seperate events within different loops, meaning we get such beautiful things as the Butcher Gang having fun at Bendyland and even Sammy and Bendy going fishing, most likely on the docks of the Lost Harbor. However, we don't actually get these different scenarios, either because of the limitations of the game or because Joey hasn't been able to fully implement it into the world of the Ink Machine.

Why is this important, well, there's a specific part of these drafts that fans have long speculated about, mostly in regards to whether or not it's an alternate ending that can be triggered.

This is one of the most interesting pieces from the draft, because it presents a scenario where Bendy is able to break free of the cycle ending, or at least ends it for Henry or manages to keep the cycle they're in from ending. It also makes sense if we consider what was said earlier about Joey's drafts being different loops too. I think this was something a lot of us wanted, but we haven't gotten it. At least, we didn't until Bendy and the Dark Revival.

I've seen full walkthroughs of the game. I know how the game ends, and as a result, it's very interesting to me that this is the one of those scenarios that makes a return.

The loop Audrey is caught in is certainly different, and that can be attributed to Wilson's interference to the world of the Ink Machine, but it does still run concurrent to Henry's story. For example, Wilson's Keepers are able to capture both Henry and Sammy during their chapter 5 altercation in the Lost Harbor, which is how we end up meeting Henry in BatDR to begin with.

Something I want to point out about Audrey real quick, if you're into spoilers or at least have knowledge of what happens in the game: she's a creation of Joey's through the Ink Machine, half flesh and half ink. When the ending comes and the final boss is defeated, the Ink Demon takes her and together they form a creature who looks very similar to Beast Bendy, but especially to the form we see in Joey's drafts:

My thought process here is that... in the end, we did get a "Bendy wins" scenario, just not quite in the way we expected back in 2018. It's been right under our noses since chapter 5 came out.

Audrey takes the reel, holds it in the monstrous hand of her and Bendy's combined ink form, and plays it on a projector.

Technically speaking, Bendy, though combined with Audrey, does indeed win.

They win against Wilson, and against the darker aspects of Bendy himself, who, if the last thing we see before the credits roll is any indication, may now be able to lead as normal a life as an ink creation can.

The cycle will start again, as it always does, and completely anew as Henry had said. This time, however, perhaps Bendy winning isn't the bad ending we thought it was four years ago.

(IDK man, perhaps I'm reading too far into it.)

tl;dr we probably got the Bendy wins scenario but not how we expected or wanted and it probably was never a bad ending to begin with

#bendy and the dark revival spoilers #batdr spoilers #batdr #bendy and the dark revival #theories #batdr theories #bendy and the dark revival theories #batim #bendy and the ink machine #audrey batdr #henry batim #henry stein #ink demon #bendy spoilers #bendy the dancing demon

[gothic-mothic-topic]

I headcanon that the Ink Demon maladaptive daydreams. Maladaptive daydreaming can be caused by such things as abuse and childhood trauma, both of which he's gone through, so I feel he fits the bill pretty good. Maybe that's why he has all those cartoons playing in his throne room/lair.

He's watching them all on repeat, possibly sitting on his throne for hours on end staring at them, thinking of better times, a better life. He's walking between Boris and Alice as they head to their picnic, letting them swing him as they hold hands and walk down the old dirt path. He's working on that skyscraper with Boris as Charlie barks orders somewhere below them on another rafter. He's watching some crummy film with Alice, stuffing himself with popcorn. He's the conductor of his own train, rushing to get Boswell Lotsabucks to his destination. He's happy.

Then, he comes back to reality, and he remembers he'll never have any of that.

#batim #batdr #bendy and the ink machine #bendy and the dark revival #batim ink demon #batdr ink demon #ink demon #ink bendy #bendy #bendy theories #batim theories #batdr theories #but that's just a theory #A GAME THEORY-

[angelofthepage]

Things you might want to know before BATDR releases (in terms of lore)

I've had a lot of conversations in different corners of the fandom about the Bendy books, Boris and the Dark Survival, and now the BATDR trailer, and I think I've got a pretty solid grip on what those pieces of media tried to do to set the stage for this next story. So today I'm gonna go through the pieces and put together a guide with all the details I think you'll want to know for BATDR. We'll see how this holds up on November 15th.

Warning, spoilers for BATIM, Boris and the Dark Survival (BATDS), The Employee Handbook, Dreams Come to Life (DCTL), The Illusion of Living (TIOL), The Lost Ones (TLO), and Crack Up Comics ahead.

Our story begins at the end of Bendy and the Ink Machine. Henry makes it to the machine, he plays a tape that says "The End" after a brutal fight with the inky beast and a monologue from Joey about how he can fix everything. When the boss fight ends and the screen erupts in light, we see Henry enter Joey Drew's apartment. A calendar on the kitchen wall indicates that the year is 1963, the month is August (the calendar date actually changes randomly per playthrough to show it's any day in August except the 31st, you cannot get the 31st to load).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgWN7R4-wPw&t=298s

The bulletin boards are where I want to draw your attention. I'm going to focus on Allison's letter, because it gives us this nugget: she's working for Arch Gate. This was the first time we'd ever heard of Arch Gate, and it didn't have much meaning then, but now it does.

We get a few more disconnected pieces in Boris and the Dark Survival. BATDS is a game where you play as Boris (or a Lost One or Sammy) walking through the studio to collect a set list of supplies for the safehouse. There are other collectibles hiding in lockers, Boris corpses' chests, etc, that give us a number of things to think on. The Milla Legna tapes give us an interesting story that I believe might be tied to Susie Campbell's backstory, but nothing is confirmed. What I'm going to focus on are Wally and Sammy's details. By collecting hidden pieces of pipes, we can assemble a mini game that has a high score set by Wally Franks. If we manage to beat his score, we can an audio log from Joey where he sounds extremely nervous. He begs his friend Nathan to help him out with financial trouble. This was the first time we heard of Nathan, but it won't be the last. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2savP-5Y4BY

Additionally, once we've unlocked Sammy (by finding his candles and mask to summon him), we can play as him, and he has two unique abilities. One is that he can teleport through cracks in the walls (which is necessary given he's the only character who can't run), the other is that he can play instruments in the hallway. There's a code for the instruments above where you place his mask (fun Easter egg, it's the same code that originally got us his secret lines in the pre-update version of Chapter 3), and if you play instruments throughout the level, you'll get an audio log from the Unknown Voice to tease Dark Revival.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7UG4H4XVng

The Unknown Voice has also appeared on the JDS YouTube page with this mysterious audio log.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFpgqSnE7zQ&list=PL5adzFCvE4-8cJXkyv9eqp0pOLQPmEamN

If this voice sounds familiar, it's because we've heard him in both of the BATDR trailers, and now we have a face for him. Many suspected this was Sammy, the Ink Demon, or Nathan before this point, but it looks like this fellow might be named Wilson (assuming the guy on the posters and this dude are meant to be the same, I would not be surprised if there's something impostor-y happening). His voice actor is still being kept a secret at this time.

Turning to the books, there's not a lot for me to note from DCTL at this time. This book takes place in summer of 1946 and follows protagonist Buddy Lewek as he becomes a gofer for the studio and ultimately ends up falling into Joey's schemes. The big things we get in this one do more to further our understanding of BATIM, such as telling us why Henry left the studio ala Norman (to spend more time with his wife, Linda). We learn that Sammy got addicted to drinking ink and starting sacrificing people once enough of it was in his system, hearing voices, we get Norman's death off-screen along with most of the art department (save for Abby, we'll talk about Abby in a bit), we find out Joey purchased a theater to expand the JDS building, and we learn part of what the machine is for. Joey wants to bring his characters to life, in part to have meet-able mascots at Bendyland, the upcoming project he pitches to investors (and the scene where he refers to Bertrum as Bertie and pisses him off, we actually get to see it happening in real time!). We also get a cryptic mention from Allison at the party to not forget what happened to Susie when talking to Buddy, to which he responds "who's Susie?" This is important, we know Buddy has never met Susie within this year and that Allison is the voice of Alice Angel by this point.

We know thanks to the Crack Up Comics’ introduction that by 1972, Joey Drew is believed to be dead, and Nathan Arch, head of Arch Gate Studios (a location we see mentioned a few times in the background of the BATDR trailer) has purchased the rights and assets for Bendy. Nathan is a steel and oil tycoon, never having shown a real interest in cartoons before, so why would he do this? Thanks to the JDS website’s press archives, he tells us it’s to keep Joey’s legacy alive, but is that the full truth?

https://www.joeydrewstudios.com/archive

We assume he wants it for the ink machine, it’s an invaluable piece of technology. But we also see several things in the trailer and on the JDS website that point to media preservation. A museum dedicated to Bendy’s history, a banner advertising “Joey Drew The Man and The Demon,” which sounds like a documentary. Even the animation cell we see Audrey working on is taken from the cartoon Cheap Seats, the first time we as fans got to see Alice speak in a cartoon. TIOL and the Crack Up Comics are framed as being projects that archive Joey’s legacy with the way that they’re released, and while Nathan tells us that he hasn’t messed with The Illusion of Living (which was originally released as Joey’s memoir in 1942 in-universe, right as Bendyland was being conceptualized and Joey got into contact with Bertrum), we don’t know how truthful it is. His anecdotes and annotations within Joey’s memoir do leave you wondering just how good of friends they really were. It begs a lot of questions, what is Arch Gate up to? I get the sense the motivation is a little bit of wanting the machine for a greater purpose and another piece achieving Joey’s dream where he could not, bringing cartoons to life. But we can’t be sure. There’s a lot we have questions on for BATDR, but I suspect it’ll be an exciting ride going into it. The one question I have is will we see Abby Lambert.

For those who don’t know, Abby is a very important character to the books. She’s a friend of Joey’s in the late 20s, an artist who’s not super traditional (she wears a lot of men’s suits and I believe was described as having short hair?), and she’s responsible for connecting Joey and Henry. Upon going to an art show where Henry’s work was on display with Abby, Joey started getting ideas about producing cartoons. Then he tried to come up with main character’s concept, and Abby tried to draw it but missed the mark. So she invited Henry over to help, which Joey was a little miffed about since he didn’t want a lot of people to know yet, but with a little back and forth and critique, Bendy was born (and apparently he’s named after a dead photographer from the detective story in this memoir, but that’s a rabbit hole I’m not ready to go down). After that, Joey and Henry start JDS together, and after Henry’s left, Abby is finally available to come on and works as the head of the art department (according to Joey). He talks to highly of her in TIOL, but when we see her in DCTL, she’s exhausted, frustrated, and he’s kind of dismissive of her when Buddy’s caught stealing from the department. Abby is important to the history of some of our central characters, and while I don’t think we should need the books to understand BATDR, I do hope she makes an appearance with some context. Bendy exists because of three people, it feels like she should be there. That’s all I have for now for details you might have missed from the books and spinoffs that I suspect will be relevant to this game. Here’s wishing you all a fun time with BATDR tomorrow (2 AM EST on Steam to be exact), beware the ink demon!

#bendy and the dark revival #batdr #batdr theories #bendy theories #bendy summary #bendy #bendy and the ink machine #batdr trailer spoilers #I told you I'd get it posted in time! #sorry for cutting it close #it's been a MESSY couple of weeks here

[justmenoworries]

bunch of disconnected musings for the batdr trailer:

Wilson is a filthy liar. His propaganda all around the studio portrays him as “The Man Who Killed the Ink Demon” and he himself claims to have “banished” the Ink Demon.

I guess the latter is kinda true but the former? Wilson, you didn’t kill shit. You just locked a smol bean into a cage with some toys and called it a day.

Second, the trailer very heavily implies that Wilson was the one who dragged Audrey into the ink world and that he’s the one responsible for her transformation into an ink creature. He also knows who she is, since he addresses her by name.

Yet when speaking to his followers, he claims that Audrey is “a stranger” that must be stopped at all costs. It’s obvious he needs her for something or maybe he just doesn’t want someone not completely loyal to him running around in his little kingdom. I also found it interesting how he told his followers catch Audrey and bring her to him instead of simply ordering them to kill her.

Another very interesting thing: Despite having command over the ink creatures and the Lost Ones, Wilson doesn’t seem to be an ink creature or a Lost One himself. The shot we see of him and his image on the posters are entirely human.

(Also, we finally get to see what Joey looked like! Not surprised at all that he’s basically Walt Disney, tbh.)

Wilson is apparently in possession of an Ink Machine. You can see one right behind him. Maybe that’s what he used to transform Audrey?

Also, getting back to Wilson being a lying liar who lies, despite him claiming the Ink Demon isn’t a problem any more, the dialogue with Allison and one shot in the trailer suggest otherwise.

Allison: “Above everything else, stay away from the Ink Demon.”

Audrey: “What’s an Ink Demon?”

Allison: “He likes to smile. And he kills anything that moves.”

So from what we know:

 - Wilson is basically a cult leader who gained the Lost Ones’ and maybe the ink creatures’ adoration and loyalty by portraying himself as a savior figure who killed/banished the Ink Demon.

 - Wilson has some sort of plan for Audrey. He’s most likely the one who turned her into a Lost One-human-hybrid. He also lies to his followers about her, by claiming that she’s a “stranger” even though he definitely knows who she is.

- Despite his claims, Wilson definitely did not defeat the Ink Demon. Even aside from the small Bendy Audrey finds in the cell, there is another, much more dangerous Bendy running around that Audrey needs to watch out for.

- In contrast to the previous game where the Lost Ones (or at least some of them) worshipped the Ink Demon, in BatDR the Ink Demon is feared and hated. To the point that his former worshippers are publicly executed and called “Demon Lovers” in a very derogatory manner. Which begs the question: What about the other Bendy characters? If Bendy is hated by the new dominant religion in the studio, does that mean Alice is worshipped now? Or is she just as hated because she’s an ink creature too? The latter would explain why Allison doesn’t seem to associate with Wilson’s cult and why Susie!Alice attacks you all by herself.

#batdr #batdr theories

[scarlet-cookie]

Been nitpicking batdr trailer down to the frame so why not state a couple stuff

Wilson’s monologue

Attention.

Children of the machine. For 211 days you’ve lived without the ink demon (haunting/halting/hot on?) your (steps?). I banished him away. In return, I ask for just a little favor. There is a stranger. Bring her to me.

Firstly, does this kinda mean that everyone in the studio knows each other well? Secondly, he didn’t say dead or alive, thirdly, how the heck did he even banish the ink demon? Sure hope it didn’t involve Henry there my guy

Brightened up image: Audrey is an employee of the month. Employee handbook says that so far no one has been on that position other than Joey, so that’s particularly interesting.

“beds”

“Blankets”

“Zzz”

JDs or Archgate films (I’m just gonna call it AGF) doubles as a bedding company apparently. The only relation I could figure out is Sammy’s line of “it’s time for sleep” but not sure if one would build such a grand sign for sleeping equipment.

A lot of possibilities here.

I thought of Constance since counting Bendy book protags, she was the fourth to go. Buddy, Brant, Bill, and Constance. (Dot is implied to survive?)

Or maybe a fourth butcher gang member? Who knows?

#Batdr #Batdr theories #Batdr spoilers #Audrey #wilson

[reddeadredemptionrookie]

Ok, so quick theory on BATDR’s Allison and Alice Angel.

So, to start off, Allison and Alice look very different. And I don’t just mean one of the sides of their faces looks like the Ink Demons itself’s favorite chewed up bubblegum, They have different features, put them side by side and you can clearly see there are differences. (Exp. Noses, Eyes, Lips, cheekbones, etc)

NOW, I would usually show pictures, but since BATDR is so dark, and nobody posts good quality photos of Alice, you’ll just have to take my word for it.

So my theory is that when Joey created both Allison and Alice he took facial features from both Susie and Allison respectively, or when Susie went through the Ink Machine it took her features instead.

#bendy and the dark revival #bendy and the ink machine #twisted alice #alice angel #allison angel #batdr #Batdr Theories #batdr spoilers

[jelly-belly-fish]

Also, I wanna bring something else to light.

Cartoon Bendy was behind a barred gate, and by gaming logic, that gate was probably locked.

He was imprisoned there…

Someone put him there, and gave him toys to keep him entertained.

#batdr #batim #batdr theory #bendy and the dark revival #cartoon bendy #bendy and the ink machine

[fishymom-art]

Thanks, MatPat :)

#game theory #matpat #oh boy i have to tag every single game in there now?? #fnaf #batim #batdr #zelda majora's mask #super mario #call of duty #minecraft #poppy playtime #garten of banban #deltarune #undertale #earthbound #sonic the hedgehog #spider man #fnaf sb #resident evil 8 #roblox doors #generation loss #ranboo #slenderman #onlycans #cooking companions #pokemon #duck season #doki doki literature club #animal crossing #the stanley parable

[the-solar-system52]

INK DEMON AND BENDY THEORY

So Bendy's official Instagram account just posted something very interesting, and I want to theorise about it!

For awhile the social media account for Bendy have been doing these posts where Bendy takes a photo of a location from BATDR and steals an item from that location, and people have to guess what he took. I thought it was just an unimportant game to give the social media managers something to do, like Steelwool's 'Guess The Sketch', but now it's actually important.

The picture shows that Bendy built all his stolen items in the shape of his Ink Demon form, with an interesting caption. Some fans have took this post to mean that Ink Demon ordered small Bendy to make a statue of him, but I don't think that's true.

I'm a big fan of the "Bendy is the Ink Demon with the mind of a child, and they are NOT seperate people" theory, and I don't think this post disproves that.

So if you know my past TPOH and FNAF theories, then you know its time for another round of:

SOLAR NEEDLESSLY OVERANALYZING THE GRAMATICAL STRUCTURE OF SENTENCES TO MAKE A THEORY EVEN THOUGH MOST PEOPLE DON'T PAY THAT MUCH ATTENTION TO HOW THEY PHRASE THINGS

Lets dissect this single sentence like a frog!!

"His inner Ink Demon is always on his mind-"

If Joey Drew Studios had phrased this as "IN his mind", then I see how this would be more literal. Meaning that the Ink Demon is a separate entity to Bendy and is literally living IN his mind.

But they didn't, they said "ON his mind". This phrase is usually used more metaphorically. If I'm hungry, I can say that dinner is 'on my mind', but that doesn't mean my dinner is actuallly INSIDE my brain. All this means is that Bendy has been thinking about his memories of his Ink Demon form, and therefore made a statue of him when he looked like that. Possibly to try and communicate his complicated feelings through art, or maybe he collected those specific items almost subconsciously.

Second of all, if the Ink Demon really was ordering Bendy around from inside his mind to make that statue for him, then I don't think it looks right. In BATIM, there are multiple shrines made by followers of the Ink Demon like Sammy, that look more demonic. As you can see, Bendy's statue doesn't look anything like that. Not a candle or pentagram in site! I feel like if this was made by the request of the Ink Demon, it would look way more like the ones from BATIM. But it doesn't! Instead, I think it looks more like it was made by Bendy on his own accord, like a children's drawing.

"His inner Ink Demon-"

Again, Joey Drew Studios decided to take the less-literal more-metaphorical route of this phrasing. If they just said "THE ink demon" then it would imply the Ink Demon as his own separate entity. But saying "inner" when referring to a buried memory of someone's past is not uncommon to do for regular use as well. For example, if I draw cats a certain way then I can say it's my "inner warrior cats fan" coming out. That doesn't mean there's actually a warrior cats fan inside my brain ordering me around, it's symbolic.

"on his mind, searching for an exit."

This also doesn't disprove my theory. The Keepers technology is preventing him from turning into his Ink Demom form. This means he can't use his powers and is weaker and smaller. It's clear he at least vaguely remembers what the Keepers did to him because of how scared he is of the GENT building.

Since he is in an incredibly hostile environment, it's no surprise he'd be thinking of a time where he wasn't as vulnerable. And he would also be trying to find a way to be strong again, in his own child-like way. Which explains the statue.

Personally, I find this all way more interesting then "rrr ink demon scary rrr", but to each their own.

I have more evidence for my "Bendy is the Ink Demon with the mind of a child, and they are NOT seperate people" theory outside of this instagram description, but I've already written enough for this post. I may make another post about it but we'll see. Please comment if you have anything else to add ^^

#I really need to get a hobby #I just wrote an entire tumblr post analysing ONE SENTENCE about my hyperfixation #batim #batim bendy #bendy #bendy and the dark revival #bendy and the ink machine #batdr #batdr bendy #the ink demon #batim theory #batdr theory #batdr the ink demon

[mickeys-malarkey]

Pt. 3/3: My BATDR Timeline & Plot Twist Theories!

First, I think both BATIM and BATDR take place sometime between 1978 and 1991. I already suspected BATDR was happening in the ‘80s based on the fact that card readers – which have featured in many of the environment screenshots we've seen – were invented in 1979...

…and Audrey's clothes and hairstyle look very 1980s.

Then they released the images of Audrey's office, where her chair and desk lamps also look very 1980s, and the wallpaper and flooring looks pretty 1970s…

…and @inkdemonapologist pointed out that the type of bankruptcy we see documents for in Joey's apartment didn't exist until 1978…

…and I remembered that Joey's apartment also had a newspaper whose headline took place in the future— Princess Diana's 30th birthday which, as TetraBitGaming on YouTube pointed out, would be in 1991 since Princess Diana was born in 1961. She should be two years old if BATIM were really taking place in 1963!

Maybe, at the time, they didn't mean for these two to be clues, since they seem to have rolled the date backwards a bit from the newspaper one; but at this point it feels pretty clear when BATDR takes place, to me. And I'm even more certain than I already was, after finding out that this image from the JDS website…

…is titled “museum” (good work yoinking it, @halfusek /gen 👍🏻), that we know the ink dimension's new home: Nathan Arch Sr.'s private Joey Drew Studios museum that he mentioned he was curating in TIOL (meaning it's existed since around 1972).

“Over the years, I have collected every single piece of the studio memorabilia I could find to restore it to its former glory, to create, in a sense, a private museum that gleamed with the true vision of Joey Drew…” ~ Nathan Arch, The Illusion of Living, pg. 2

Also, besides the fact the museum image has clearly aged, here's some more evidence that at least a few years have probably passed since Bendy was purchased: it generally takes a fair bit more time (years!!) to make movies/documentaries, as Archgate Pictures seems to have made about Joey, than it does to make shorts.

As for BATIM, I think that time has been moving as normal outside of the loop, we were just seeing a repeat of that significant day in 1963; Henry and Joey have been trapped in the ink dimension for somewhere between twenty and thirty years, and the bankruptcy paperwork and Princess Diana newspaper were pieces of the real world leaking into the memory. This explains how there seems to be evidence of Audrey in BATIM and how BATDR is still supposedly neither sequel nor prequel to BATIM despite all the evidence that it takes place long after 1963! They're happening at the same time!! I wonder if Audrey is the daughter of the little girl we hear at the end of BATIM? So, Henry's (great-)granddaughter or Joey's (great-)great-niece?

Now, onto my big theory: the plot twist.

If they handle it right, it would be really, really cool if “break the cycle” really doesn't just mean “end the time loop” but also “break the cycle of abuse/trauma” and a lot of the huge cast of not-so-innocent characters wind up with the potential to get redemption arcs. I have an idea of exactly how they might be planning on even providing the opportunity for Joey.

Victor McKnight commented this on his Artistic Hallowing music video and pinned it:

Those last two sentences. “Make sure you're watching every second! You don't want to miss any vital information. 😉” Does that not sound to anyone else like he's got insider information? Now, I want y'all to watch these music videos that either Victor himself or his brother Noah were suspiciously involved in all of (and one of which is supposedly a BATDS song but for some reason involves Audrey) and tell me if you notice any patterns.

This one seems to be a duet between Sammy and the Ink Demon, both singing to Audrey. Sammy mostly sings in the default sepiatone, asking us things like “Can you see me? Can you feel me?” (that feels so… sad… and desperate…) and telling us things like “make sense of the consequence we witnessed on that day” (Excuse me, you're telling me that there was a consequence for something on a specific, significant day that we witnessed?? 👀) The demon, on the other hand, mostly sings when the grayscale effect is on, and seems to just be playing a stereotypical villain roll until you notice “be forced to believe what I see” (why would we even give a crap about what you're seeing /srs? How the actual heck would we see what you're seeing /gen? You don't even have eyeballs, bro /j) and “be damned in this evil received” (how do you receive evil that damns you? Maybe by being abused and becoming an abuser in response?).

Two apparently-separate characters singing with the same voice but very different tones and outlooks on the situation, still both singing to Audrey, in this one. One mostly sings in the default sepiatone, again, at first seeming more hopeful, helpful, and friendly until you start noticing ominous comments like “you've made mistakes, accept the change. You will be punished too” (*incoherent noises* 🚨🚨) and “welcome to my dream . . . you still think you are safe in my dream.” The other mostly sings when the grayscale effect is on, again, and seems much more aggressive and seductive until you start noticing comments like “take up your weapons, just leave my friends be” (why is this stereotypically evil-seeming character both telling us to take up weapons, not just letting us have them, and asking us to leave his friends alone with them?).

More hints that the demon who will rise and presumably is most important to the story is linked to grayscale, in this one.

And, in this one, Sammy's asking if the grayscale-linked demon is the one who will set him free (as he claims to be in the first two videos).

Across all four of these first videos, there seems to be an overall “things change when we switch from the default sepiatone to grayscale” and “grayscale is dangerous and seems hopeless but it's important and linked to truth and freedom” theme…

…You're telling me that Sammy and his followers' past (BATIM?) selves were worshipping an imposter demon…? And the truth will be revealed in BATDR…?

Hum, hum, hum… fascinating. I'd noticed the sepiatone vs. grayscale split and imposter vs. true savior thing long before I read the books; for the longest time, I thought it meant we would be dealing with a Henry-Bendy and a Joey-Bendy, as I've been seeing people theorizing. But then I read TIOL, and discovered what I think is evidence that this info is indeed canon and was not left on the cutting room floor while BATDR was in development limbo.

Nathan makes a very strange note on Joey's story about the Sparkle Unicorn speakeasy…

“…I remember this night well. Though I remember it being at the Bee Room, gold and black, not silver as the main design aesthetic. Doesn't really make much of a difference though, I suppose.” ~ Nathan Arch, The Illusion of Living, pg. 44 (emphasis added)

Nathan remembers that night in sepiatone, Joey remembers it in grayscale.

Now, I've seen all kinds of theories all over about how Wilson actually “banished/killed the ink demon…” “Wilson took advantage of some sort of blip in Bendy's existence that happened when Joey died,” “Wilson got rid of him by purifying him and turning him into Dapper Bendy,” “Wilson got rid of him by fusing him with either Henry or Joey,” “Wilson got rid of him by trapping him in Henry's loop,” “he didn't, Wilson's just another liar manipulating everyone,” etc…

What if we're looking at this from the wrong angle? What if the point is that, whatever happened, neither of the BATDR Bendys is the original soulless monster we see in BATIM and the books? What if, whether they share a body or are separate, there are two human souls involved here? What if one of those souls is the “new evil” in the ink dimension, not Wilson, who may have been meddling in ink dimension affairs since 1963?

Going back to the time frame I propose BATDR is happening in… Joey was born in 1901, which means that if Nathan was 18 or 19 when Joey was just turning 16, then he was born in 1899 or 1898. So, in 1978, Nathan would've been 79 or 80, and in 1991 he would've been 92 or 93. Especially considering the clues that point towards Nathan having been a smoker, it wouldn't surprise me if he's straight-up already dead in BATDR. Mayhaps for 211 days? During Loop 414…? Could this be why the BATIM loop is different, with Henry apparently not remembering anything that previous versions of himself could? The now-previous owner of their prison has died of old age and/or lung cancer? And could that be why the JDS museum has fallen into bankruptcy? Has Nathan Jr. taken over and isn't as ruthless a businessman as his father?

Itsjustjord on YouTube pointed this out in his trailer reaction, which when he said it set my Clue Radar off so that I went to the trailer again to get a closer look. And… well… *clears throat*

…Do y'all see this weird effect over Dapper Bendy? Compared to every other character we see in the trailer as well as the environment around him, does it not look as if we're seeing him, specifically, through some sort of cartoony filter? Maybe it'll only be in circumstances like this (far away in weird lighting) that the edges of the illusion will fray in-game, based on the other teaser image we have of him, but it definitely looks off to me.

Especially with what I now suspect Allison and Susie's situations were in relation to Nathan, I think that the ink creatures’ perfection vs. imperfection has nothing to do with how pure/good vs. impure/evil their hearts are as we've been lead to believe/is the conventional surface-level reading, but instead how intact vs. broken their hearts are. I think that the more horrific the ink being's appearance, the more the soul inside was abused while it was alive. Allison isn't a perfect Alice because she's a better person, it's because she obeyed Nathan and wasn't made to suffer as severely as Susie, who Nathan chose to be his next Isabel. So, why is one new Bendy (apparently created after Joey lost everything, I suspect even being made to watch his Shoulder Angel's murder before being murdered himself) so much scarier than the original (created before Joey lost everything) and the other so goshdarn perfect, proportions and all?

Maybe the banning of everything related to Sammy's demon cult and Henry under Wilson's rule has to do with his decades-old mission to keep the Creators from joining forces, as well as everyone including himself feeling like they're finally free from The Great Puppet Master?

I love Dapper Bendy's design as much as everyone else!! He's positively adorable, and it would also be a nice outcome if the baby boy is exactly what he seems and just a precious lil friend to love forever; but I theorize that Dapper Bendy is the perfectly sane, untraumatized, and truly evil one, that (assuming we actually get choices in BATDR, unlike in BATIM) his route, no matter how things seem in the moment, is the wrong one, that he's Nathan. And I think Freaky Teeth Bendy (that's been my nickname for him since we first saw him and I'm sticking to it lolol) is the damaged as heck but able to be saved one, that his route is the correct one, that he's Joey. I also think that we won't get to see either demon for what they really are – won't be able to get the True, Broken Cycle, “Joey's Redeemed & Nathan Faces Justice” Ending – unless we somehow unlock Grayscale Mode like we could in BATIM and gain the ability to see Joey's truth. Until then, we'll be seeing the demons the way Nathan wants us to see them. Through Nathan's tainted, gaslighting, sepiatone filter.

If I'm right, the fact that they did choose these color palettes is so perfectly poetic~! Sepiatone is what happens when black-and-white images have been chemically altered for preservation purposes; Nathan's altered our perception of himself, Joey, and all the events surrounding them, and his version of events is much more resilient. Meanwhile, Joey's would be more pure and unaltered but easily destroyed— including by himself, with his Illusion of Living coping mechanism… The only thing that could make it more perfect is if not only do we get to see Henry in BATDR, but when we do he's an angelic toon… *Vibrates with excitement*

Please, please, please, JDS, let me be right about where you're going with this!! Cause this would genuinely be so freaking cool…!! 🙏🏻 I hope that we eventually get to “rejoice with our founders,” as Artistic Hallowing says, when they're reunited.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk, rofl. Congratulations on making it through the ramblings of a hyped AuDHD fangirl (though, I guess we already knew you were capable, if you've read TIOL. I could do a whole nother rant on evidence that Joey's basically confirmed canonically ADHD(+?), my freaking gosh). 😝

Read the Rest of the Original Analysis/Theory: Part One • Part Two • Unexpected Part Four

BATDR Analysis/Post-Playthrough Theory Revision: Part One • Part Two • Part Three • Part Four

#long post #spoiler warning #book analysis #game analysis #book theory #game theory #bendy and the ink machine #batim #dreams come to life #dctl #the illusion of living #tiol #crack up comics #bendy: the lost ones #bendy: tlo #bendy and the dark revival #batdr #batdr trailer #batdr theory #joey drew #nathan arch #henry stein #allison pendle #thomas connor #wally franks #bertrum piedmont #sammy lawrence #tw: abuse

[inkylegacy]

So, new character bio for Wilson, huh?

Now this is interesting in SO many ways (and im sure dreamfisher-nux is also furiously typing up a post rn with even more than i got lmao)

Custodian of the ink? Who put this guy in charge, Nathan? Custodian means he's taking care of it for someone else

In both worlds. Wilson can move freely between the real world and the studio, somehow. And more than just that, I'm strongly suspecting it's not as simple as him having a magic door like the one in Joey's kitchen to walk through, because

We got a poster, instead of his in-game model.

Why does that matter? Because every character bio until now has been said character as they appear in the studio. Wilson however? We've only seen him in the real world, in the trailer. These posters are the only glimpse of his face seen inside the studio.

Something's mega sus about this old man and how he appears in the studio, I'm calling it now.

Now for those three bullet points...

Who the hell are his enemies? Sounds awfully specific to just be referring to some ink monsters that are too mindless to listen to him...

Oh hell yeah riddles-

Excited nerding aside, I think I'll go give that trailer and also the Unknown's audiolog (which we all know now is Wilson) another listen, make sure we haven't missed anything 👀

Big Brother much?

Ok but seriously, I didn't realize this until @dreamfisher-nux pointed it out to us on discord...

Sure sounds familiar.

#bendy and the dark revival #batdr #bendy and the ink machine #batim #batim theory #batim wilson #dreamfisher-nux #i had to give credit for that last one my reaction was basically just 'huh neat vaguely rings a bell' #and then dream with the photographic memory of all things bendy-

[salpho]

WANDER OVER YONDER LAVA THEORY STYLE BLAST !!!!!!!!!

#ive seen more than one person who likes batim and woy now I CAN FINALLY POST THIS #(just forgot to post this for literal months) #batim #bendy and the ink machine #batdr #bendy and the dark revival #bendy #woy #wander over yonder #lava theory

[from-thoseghosts]

So... I have a theory about Bendy. It is useless for the lore but can be interesting for understanding the world of ink (?).

I think Bendy doesn't really talk like we do but instead communicates telepathically and can only do that with the ink monsters.

Why do I think this?

I noticed that when Bendy talks to Audrey at the end of Dark Revival, he doesn't open his mouth to speak. Ok, maybe he's just a ventriloquist idk. But he can communicate remotely as we can see when Audrey is with Wilson at the start of chapter five. Besides, Wilson could not hear the demon's voice because he is not initially ink. Another fact that supports this theory is Henry. In Ink Machine, we don't hear Bendy talking to us. Maybe because Henry isn't ink either. Then yes maybe it was just a simple change without really having a purpose behind it but it's still strange. Maybe this could be confirmed if Henry and Bendy have contact in The Cage ?

Yeah I'm thinking too much..

#bendy #bendy and the dark revival #bendy and the ink machine #batdr #batim #theory #batim theory #batdr theory #idk #ink demon #ink bendy #the ink demon #audrey batdr #audrey drew #wilson batdr #wilson arch #bendy fandom #bendy the cage #theory useless #but a theory #ink demon's voice is so grrrr #hes so silly #sean crisden

[angelofthepage]

Memory Joey - What is your source?

Hi I did not get my full eight hours of sleep, and I am chomping at the bit with a new thought, so prepare for a slightly unhinged Kat theory about Joey.

Last night I was chatting with my partner in crime Beth about a number of Bendy things, but one of my many takeaways from that conversation was a new angle of looking at Memory Joey. So, recently I shared that I was frustrated with the narrative shift of Henry and Allison being ink copies, because it feels like it cheapens the original BATIM and doesn't do anything to serve the Joey Drew Redemption Arc (tm) narrative. We as the player know the man has a body count. Even if you take these two characters out of the mix, he's still responsible for the deaths of multiple other characters, mostly in the books, but like, come on, the whole "I own thousands of them" comment about souls in BATIM? The coffins with secret names on them? Joey you ain't slick. We spent too long establishing that Joey used his employees for their souls across MULTIPLE MEDIUMS to suddenly throw all of that out the window, and I don't entirely buy the idea that these two aren't the real deal. Granted, it still leaves us with questions about how the ink demon works given, there was also time dedicated to establishing that he was imperfect because he's soulless, but that's for another day.

But then, last night we talked about how none of these characters know Audrey is the daughter of Drew. And if they did know that, would their reactions be different? Would they still try to help her? I'm not sure. But it got me thinking about how there's a lot of things we the player know/believe that the characters don't. And that's when it hit me.

Memory Joey's story wasn't for us. It was for Audrey.

Now, that sounds obvious, like no duh, he's talking to Audrey for the whole scene, of course it's for her. Memory Joey doesn't know we as the players exist, he's got nothing to prove to us. But hear me out: that sequence wasn't meant to give us as players new information or prove he's a changed man, we weren't the ones who were supposed to believe in it. Audrey was. He has EVERYTHING to prove to Audrey. That's the daughter of the man he came from, his precious little girl, the first time he made something with the ink machine out of love, and she doesn't even remember that he's her father. Joey Drew, throughout his lifetime, cared a lot about how people saw him. Having shoes and a suit that didn't make him look poor, appearing financially stable to investors, the nasty things he had to say when he thought he wasn't being recorded, acting like he had control when everything he knew was falling apart, Joey was always trying to keep up appearances. And while I'll believe that he can mostly let go of that with time and growth, I don't think he could deal with Audrey, his daughter, seeing him as the bad guy. Especially when she doesn't remember Joey? Trying to make a good impression, sharing that yes, he did bad things, but he wasn't all bad? That he changed? That's covering Joey's ass something fierce.

Audrey isn't aware of Joey's body count. She doesn't know what happened to his employees. How Sammy became a cultist, how Susie was mistreated and manipulated to be desperate to be Alice. The entire story of Buddy Lewek and Norman Polk. She knows NONE of it! She doesn't know what he did. She doesn't know there were so many teenagers, just a little younger than her, that DIED because of his machine. And until you get the note about the kids that came before her, she has no idea she's not the first.

I often give Memory Joey a pass, he doesn't strike me as someone who would want to lie, especially to Audrey since he clearly cares about her. He delivers his slideshow presentation so earnestly, it feels like he truly believes this is what's true. But then I'm left questioning, what is his source? Why does he believe that they're clones? But maybe...maybe he is lying on purpose. I think it could be an equal opportunity for both. Joey was a liar in life, he lied about so many things (which is frustrating when he's the one giving us most of the information we look to to figure out how the heck ink works, Gent can you please give us some notes to cross reference?). Why wouldn't he lie to appear better to his own daughter? Memory Joey making that distinction for himself, that he himself cares for how Audrey sees him and Joey, would be a really valuable detail for his character, but him not knowing and believing all the information that someone like Joey left behind for him (since I'm assuming that's where his understanding of the cycle comes from) would also be interesting for his characterization.

But here's the kicker: by introducing the idea that Henry and Allison are not truly their human counterparts, if that turns out to be untrue, you've made a grave mistake Memory Joey. Audrey doesn't know any of these people were human before they became ink. I mean maybe she can deduce that other humans are in here given Allison's whole "I remember my first day" speech, but then Memory Joey throwing this at her, Allison is a creation rather than someone who was once alive? Who's to say she'd think twice about it? Wilson treats everyone like they're just ink and not worth caring for after all. But if she finds out about the sacrifices? That many of these ink creatures were once human? Oh Broseph my dude, you are gonna have a lot to answer for, more ways in which her trust in you will be utterly broken. That is a very messy, delicate balance. I kind of want to see that. I want to see him have his world view turned on its head, learning that he was wrong about Henry, and have him genuinely not know that he was fed bad information. Let him process that, let him struggle, and let Audrey grapple with the truth too.

Yeah, I don't necessarily think Henry and Allison are clones. Inhuman, yes, but clones? I think we need more than Memory Joey's word to know that for sure. So I ask again, sir, what is your source?

#batdr #bendy and the dark revival #memory joey #joey drew #batdr theory #bendy theory #audrey #long post

[doodle17]

Some DR theories that made me realize they should've hired me to write the Bendy Lore

I'm just gonna dive right in okay? Okay. First things first:

Audrey is not a Drew.

At least her soul isn't. Hear me out, why did all those failed attempts call Joey, her "father" uncle? That's not just some- weird flaw I don't think. Also, it has been proven time and time again that you cannot, I repeat, CAN NOT create a perfect living thing from the machine without a soul. Ink Bendy is a perfect example of that

One of the first things we hear the Ink Demon say is "A voice... A soul..." Why would he say that if Audrey was just made completely out of ink. It doesn't make sense.

Which is why, I think Audrey isn't a Drew. She's a Stein. This will come back later it is crucial to my next theory, I promise, so I'm quickly going to talk about:

"Everyone is just an ink copy"

See that? That's bullshit right there. I've already said you can't make a perfect thing unless it has a soul inside of it, unless you excuse the searchers and lost ones.

I really do think that Henry, Allison, Tom etc. Are all the real people. Henry is an interesting case, however.

I think it's in scraps of paper hidden in the Employee Handbook (the original one) saying something about how an employee was worked to death. Literally, found dead at their desk. Who's to say that wasn't Henry?

Joey could have had plans for an ink clone of Henry but was unable to execute it. So? Use the real Henry's soul for the copy. There ya go. It could possibly explain why some of Henry, and characters like Sammy, have their memories so jumbled up.

Now back to the topic of Audrey, what if Henry had a daughter? Joey always wanted a family, right? Seeing Henry have what he didn't definitely would have pissed him off.

So, if we were to assume that when Joey invited people over, like Allison, he could've totally sacrificed them to the machine. What if he invited Henry's daughter? And with her he could finally get what he's always wanted.

Audrey is Henry's daughter's soul

We learn that once your soul is trapped/bound to your character, you start to lose your memories, and even have false ones replacing who you really are. It happened to Buddy as he slowly forgot who he was, and started becoming more like Boris, until Buddy had seemingly faded away completely.

It could explain why Audrey has no memories of her childhood. Why she doesn't remember where she came from. Because she's not supposed to.

Audrey is really Henry's daughter, but her soul is now inside a different body, and believes she's Joey Drew's daughter instead.

Speaking of Joey, let me bring up my other theory:

Memory Joey was lied to as well

I know people think memory Joey is lying, and, while, yeah he totally could be, what if he doesn't even know he's lying?

Remember that Joey most likely made Memory Joey, and he could have told/made him to believe in everything he tells Audrey. The reason reason he seems so genuine in what he's telling us is because he was made to be that way. BUT remember when I said that you can't make something perfect without a soul? Remember how I said real memories can be replaced by false ones?

That could have happened to Joey. What if with his dying breath he became Memory Joey? He doesn't even remember who he really is or all the terrible things he's done because he designed himself to be the perfect "doesn't murder his coworkers for experiments" kind of boss, who made a few oopsies, but can easily be forgiven.

I hope this doesn't come off as ramble-y and doesn't make sense fam, but I swear this would have been a MUCH better concept

I love Dark Revival, don't get me wrong, but there is no way that none of the people we meet are just copies.

And I know there's a reason all the failed Audrey's called Joey uncle... That wasn't just some minor mistake...

#doodles rants #batim #bendy #batdr #bendy and the ink machine #bendy and the dark revival #batim theory #batdr theory #joey drew #henry stein #audrey drew #audrey batdr

[cats-and-cobras]

This has probably already been said before, but-

you know how in chap 5 of BATIM, Sammy spouts out weird, random bs about Henry? “Betrayed, abandoned! I trusted you, I gave you everything! And you left me to rot! Why, WHY?!”

With BATDR giving us more context on what the Cycle is (how it’s literally just a torture chamber for Henry but with extra steps) I think that Joey was probably projecting onto Sammy there. I can’t remember any interactions said in the tapes between Sammy and Henry, so what reason would Sammy have to be so attached to Henry specifically?

#finally playing batdr again #I never even finished it lol #just left it at like… chap 3 maybe? #batdr #batim #bendy and the ink machine #bendy and the dark revival #batim sammy #sammy lawrence #joey drew #batdr sammy #batim henry #batdr theory #kinda? does this count as a theory? idk