#the illusion of living | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mickeys-malarkey · 1 year

Text

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.

youtube

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?).

youtube

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?).

youtube

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

youtube

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…

youtube

…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

824 notes · View notes

randombendyfan · 4 months

Text

#batim #batdr #bendy #bendy and the dark revival #bendy and the ink machine #the illusion of living #joey drew #sammy lawrence

126 notes · View notes

spotlightstudios · 10 months

Text

The back is done!

Joey messed up a lot of people's lives w/ his company, but Sammy is my favorite of them, so he gets Art Privileges♡

(For anyone who missed the first one, I decided to draw scenes from the End Credits of batim in the front/back of my copy of The Illusion of Living! Sammy is in the back cover.)

Doing this was so much fun! Serotonin to level ten!

#light's spot #my art #batim #bendy #sammy lawrence #bendy and the ink machine #bendy and the dark revival #batdr #joey drew #The illusion of living #sammy #legit could'nt help myself #sammy my beloved #technically the projectionist is by favorite #but his end-credit inclusion was weak and I think Sammy's is my favorite!#if I do this again I'll probably end up doing the Boris' frame because all three of them together was so cinematic smh #but for now this is it!

194 notes · View notes

dynafire · 7 months

Text

wow, my last post which had links to the bendy novels blew up!!!! would be an even BIGGER SHAME if people began going to this mediafire folder that absolutely doesn't have the first four novels as pdfs.....seriously, don't do it guys!!!! and definitely don't spread this link around!

#batim #batdr #bendy #kindlybeast #the meatley #bendy novels #fade to black #the illusion of living #the lost ones #dreams come to life #batim dctl #batim tiol #batim tol #batim ftb #bendy and the ink machine #bendy and the dark revival

89 notes · View notes

reanimationstation · 4 months

Text

SINCLAIR MY BELINCLAIR.... i cant believe it took me so long to draw the guy ever!!

#victors art #detective sinclair #adam sinclair #idk what to tag him #joey drew #he's here! so im tagging him #bendy and the ink machine #the illusion of living #batim tlo #q

56 notes · View notes

halfusek · 1 year

Photo

this is joey and sammy’s dynamic in tiol right

#bendy and the ink machine #the illusion of living #batim #sammy lawrence #joey drew #halfart

608 notes · View notes

bendy-n-stuff · 4 months

Text

Some information I think people should be aware of, I’m pretty sure Nathan Arch is Joey’s Sugar Daddy.

DON’T LEAVE YET I HAVE PROOF!!!

In The Illusion of Living, we learn Joey and Nathan are friends via time served in the military. Nathan comes from old money. They go out for drinks what seems pretty regularly. Paying for a friend every once in a while is fine, but every time? Expense one

In the first game, we know Bendy Land was a thing and needed lots of steel. Like, 12,000 dollars of it. And who do we know is a steel tycoon? Nathan Arch. That’s expense two

In Boris and the Dark Survival, we get an audio log of Joey calling Nathan while said man is on vacation with his wife. For money. Y’know. Like a sugar baby would

SPOILERS FOR NEW BOOK! In Fade to Black, Nathan has paid for Joey to get a whole tv show. A whole tv show! In the 50s! There’s only like 4 channels on tv!!! Nathan ALSO hosts the opening party! Yeah, sure. Friends.

Finally, in Bendy and The Dark Revival, Nathan buys the entire studio. “It’s for his son!” I hear you cry. Sure. Sure it was my friends.

All I’m saying, is that Nathan paid for Joey in sooooo many “convenient” ways. That’s a Sugar Daddy and I don’t think Nathan even knows it. Joey does, but Nathan sure doesn’t. Might also explain why Wilson hates them both

#bendy and the ink machine #bendy and the dark revival #batim #batdr #bendy fade to black #the illusion of living #boris and the dark survival #Joey Drew #Nathan Arch #bendy n stuff stuff #enjoy your psychic damage

53 notes · View notes

scarlet-cookie · 1 month

Text

Hello! 9 days ago I (finally finished and) posted the Lonely Religion very one-sided Jenry PMV on YT! If anyone would like to check it out, here’s the link : https://youtu.be/7i1jea9WR_M?si=UFDdbRvfd2AP9Gxu

Extra loreeee for the Untrusted AU in description

I used a color palette that… honestly I don’t even remember where I got it from. It’s called “disquiet”. If anyone knows who made it pls tell me so I can credit them tyyy

#henry stein #joey drew #batdr #bendy and the dark revival #bendy and the ink machine #batim #the illusion of living #joey drew studios

27 notes · View notes

ripleycano · 1 year

Text

The Illusion of Living: Sammy Lawrence Archive

Long time no see, BATIM friends! In light of BATDR releasing soon, I’ve decided to buy The Illusion of Living and compile all the information we have about our favorite music director. I’ll also include information from sources other than TIOL for a more holistic aggregate of knowledge :)

Full post under cut!

Appearance

Let’s start with mentions of physical features and attire. We already knew from the Hot Topic takeover that he had a ‘flowing cascade’ of brown or blonde hair:

TIOL adds onto this in Joey’s description of Jack Fain and Sammy Lawrence at the evening party:

“Though I suppose his (Sammy’s) hair could have been slicked back a bit more, not quite so long and floppy on the top as it was. As it still is.”

It looks to be the case that his hair was indeed on the longer side, and it remained that way during his time at the studio. (Personally, I’m a big fan of the idea of his having messy, unkempt hair that’s a little long for the standard of his era.)

DCTL describes Sammy as looking like a bird or insect, TIOL does the same:

“Sammy stepped toward me out of the dark. His angular face was highlighted now from the lights of the party, throwing sharp shadows that only made him look more insect-like.”

In addition to this, TIOL confirms my assumptions that Sammy is both younger than Joey and looks permanently exhausted:

“He was a couple years younger than me but seemed like a fellow who had lived several lifetimes already.”

Keep in mind Joey thinks this on the eve of his thirtieth birthday, meaning Sammy was likely somewhere in his twenties when he started working at the studio.

We already know suspenders were part of his closet, but what else? TIOL portrays Sammy in stark contrast to his musical partner, Jack Fain. This is seen not only in their personalities, but also in their attire.

“The man (Jack Fain) tipped his bowler in our direction. I understood now why he was still wearing it even indoors. His whole outfit was a kind of costume in a way. He wasn’t in a tux or a dinner jacket either. Instead he was in dark gray wool trousers with red suspenders, a white button-up shirt beneath an orange vest and brown bow tie. He fit the description of “a character” to a tee. Sammy Lawrence on the other hand was in a neat simple black evening suit and looked totally appropriate for an opening night party.”

Looks like Jack prefers to dress in bright, flashy clothes, while Sammy’s style of choice is plain, smart, and occasion-appropriate. Unfortunately for him, he is eventually fated to wear only ink-soaked suspenders for the remainder of his life :,)

Past

With TIOL, we finally have some insight into Sammy’s life before the studio! Joey mentions he had already seen Sammy prior to their meeting at Chapter 6′s opening night party.

"I hadn’t realized right away when I met him properly on the eve of my thirtieth birthday that I’d seen him before. Only in that first conversation was it revealed he’d worked for the Grand Cinema as a teenager. I remembered him then easily. I’d been so impressed by the quality of the music that I’d hardly noticed the film.”

Sammy had already been working in the film industry before taking up Joey’s job offer-- looks like his job was to play live music scores to accompany film visuals.

“The music he (Sammy) made felt effortless but what was just as striking was his focus. The way he stared at the screen before him, watching the film as keenly as any of us in the audience.”

"It was an incredible show and I remember the audience applauding at the end of the film, which didn’t happen all the time.”

Not only was Sammy skilled at his job, but it looks like he had a deep predilection for cinema. I wonder how things would’ve turned out for him if he’d continued his path in the film industry.

Personality (oh boy)

Pre-ink

All the information prior to TIOL (audio tapes, DCTL, etc.) point to Sammy being adherent to a specific archetype: the tortured artist. He’s artistic, sensitive, and immensely talented-- however, he’s also irritable and blunt. (“I just hope nobody tells Sammy. Because if he finds out I lost my keys again, I’m out of here!”)

Luckily, TIOL adds more nuance to his characterization! Before becoming affected by the living ink of the studio, it seems that Sammy was fairly quiet and very much introverted.

“’Sammy!’ called out one of the supporting actors in a low baritone. The man at the piano shook his head. He seemed annoyed. I thought it was funny, I didn’t realize that it wasn’t an act. That Sammy was not a fan of attention and definitely didn’t like putting on a show like this.”

When conversing with Joey, he speaks in a curt, brief manner, never bothering with hollow pleasantries. He’s not one to sugarcoat his questions, consequently offending one very ego-driven Mr. Joey Drew. (He only gets away with it since Joey is so enamored with the idea of hiring him, but we’ll expand on that later.)

“”I’d like to talk to you two,” I said, smiling as warmly as I could. I wanted them to know I was a friend. But of course Sammy just stared back at me. “About what?” he asked curtly.”

“Sammy reluctantly nodded. I had no idea then why he was making such a fuss, honestly still don’t know to this day what makes him a grouch, but if being a grouch means beautiful music, I have no problem with that, I’ll tell you.”

““Joey Drew, owner of Joey Drew Studios,” I replied. “And what’s a Joey Drew Studios?” asked Sammy, lighting a cigarette from the darkness by the stone wall at the edge of the terrace. Yes, he said it in that dismissive tone. I didn’t understand why he needed to talk to me like that. I didn’t respect it. I was starting to doubt my own judgment. Did I really want to offer the opportunity of a lifetime to someone so extreme in their indifference?” (Side note: “What’s a Joey Drew Studios” absolutely knocked me out. Joey being incredibly offended about it didn’t help.)

““That was me, I remember you now. You are quite the talent,” I replied. “I know,” he said.”

Being a man of (very) few words, it seems that Sammy doesn’t express his thoughts much, either. Oftentimes, he’ll simply drift off in the middle of a conversation to ponder something with no additional context given. (Essentially, he just throws things out there and expect people to understand exactly where he’s coming from)

““Joey Drew Studios,” he said again, mulling it over. “So like film?” I nodded. “Sure, like that,” I replied. ... “You like movies,” he said, nodding back. Was he imitating me now? “I do.””

““Can we watch a movie?” asked Sammy. “A movie?” Sammy always had and still does have a way of surprising you with what he’ll say or do next."

What Sammy doesn’t say with words, he conveys with the occasional bemused facial expression. Joey finds this especially fascinating, often scrutinizing him closely in an attempt to figure him out. I imagine he treats it as some kind of game.

“Jack was duly impressed, Sammy was unreadable. Typical Sammy.”

““Why do I know you?” he asked then. He was looking at me carefully now. Not in the same suspicious manner. He was truly trying to figure out the answer to his question.”

“Jack on the other hand seemed to love it. “You can feel the creativity!” he said. Sammy said nothing, of course."

“Jack looked at Sammy, then back at me with an expression of “I have no idea what he’s thinking.”"

In fact, Joey has an incredibly unhealthy obsession with trying to read Sammy which begot this... fascinating passage:

“He (Sammy) leaned back on both elbows on the stone wall. Beneath him Fifth Avenue roared and certain death would come to anyone who toppled over the edge down onto it. The man definitely had confidence in that wall. I had a sudden urge to give him a shove. Not push him over, but just to see his reaction. This might sound strange, but I needed to see a human moment from him, I needed to see the man he was hiding from me.”

A mysterious guy for sure.

As if his lack of willingness to verbally communicate wasn’t difficult enough, Sammy is shown to be very, very stubborn and demanding. (Artists, am I right?)

When asked to work for Joey, he first demands that he receives a tour around the studio. Before Joey can even start to schedule a date, Sammy pulls a Sammy:

““How do I know it’s real?” Sammy asked. “Oh it’s real,” I replied. Sammy stepped toward me out of the dark ... “Show me.” I nodded. “Of course, let’s schedule a tour for some time this week,” I said. ... “No,” he said, inching toward me. “Now.” “Now?” “Now.”” (Now I know for one that Joey’s heart DEFINITELY skipped a beat there)

Upon visiting the studio, Sammy kindly (?!) gives his unsolicited input on a group of characters he’s never seen before:

““Do you have other characters?” asked Sammy, not turning around. “A wolf,” I replied. “Boris,” I added. “Good name!” said Jack, turning in his seat and grinning at me. “You need a girl,” said Sammy.” (No maidens???)

Thanks, buddy.

Finally, Joey manages to win him over, to which newly hired Sammy Lawrence responds:

“Finally Sammy spoke again. “I want full creative control over my department. I want to hire my own people. And if the money isn’t good, I’m not signing the contract.” ... “Ol’ Sammy, a man who knows his own mind,” said Jack with a laugh."

It’s a very bold move to speak to your boss like this, but I fully support it. It’s no secret that Sammy is very talented and fully aware of this fact-- I’m very glad he knows his worth :) (Although signing that contract did lead to him becoming a cultist stuck in a time loop)

Post-Ink (I’ll likely touch on his post-ink self and descent into insanity on another post once I find my copy of DCTL!)

That’s all I have the energy for now, but there is one more thing I’d like to touch on: Norman.

Unfortunately, there is no mention (that I know of) of Norman in TIOL. Perhaps this is because he was hired later on, partly thanks to our very own Sammy Lawrence :)

“Sammy looked around the room. “I’ll need a projector,” he said. “A projector?” I asked. He nodded. “To play with the movie.” Of course, I realized then. Of course. That was what he did best, improvise as the movie played. “Yes! A projector booth, of course, that will be our top priority.” I added it to the mental list I’d started months ago.”

Looks like Sammy was indirectly responsible for the projection booth in the music department! I love the unexpected eye for detail he has when it comes to the video side of the production process. His enthusiasm shows in his insistence on watching the films he plays to, which I find very sweet.

I’ll probably follow this up with posts about Sammy’s in-studio relationships and one focused on his post-ink ‘prophet’ self. Thanks for sticking around for so long!

As for my final thoughts on Sammy, Joey says it best: “I’d never trade Sammy Lawrence for anything.”

#sammy lawrence #bendy and the ink machine #batim #bendy and the dark revival #batdr #joey drew #jack fain #norman polk #text #the illusion of living #tiol

1K notes · View notes

thehealingsystem · 2 months

Text

me going to read the illusion of living and there isn't any gay sex scenes in it

#I was pretending to infodump to people that didn't exist about joey drew's character #in the illusion of living #somehow came up with this post #and listen I was over here talking to myself for like an hour pretending I was some theorist on youtube #then I wonder why no one actually talks to me #joey drew #the illusion of living #tiol #batim #bendy and the ink machine #batdr #bendy and the dark revival #also this is totally about creatorship #they did it nasty as least once but joey was desperately pretending that they had a normal professional friendship between two men #he just didn't do a good job at it. still seem a bit obsessed my guy

25 notes · View notes

l00rem · 1 year

Text

I keep thinking back to this letter at the beginning of batdr and how much it says about Sammy and Jacks relationship.

I assume the ‘situation’ is likely referring to when the studio started going into decline, this could be as early as 1942 as Nate mentions the studio already having financial issues when Joey originally wrote Tiol, and as late as early 1946 because Jack seems to have disappeared during Dctl.

So, what does this say about their relationship? Notice how Sammy continuously uses plural pronouns: ‘ us’, ‘ we’, ‘our’, ‘let’s’. He considers Jack to be on the same level as him, his equal. Despite the ‘tension’ Joey noted seeing all the way back in their introduction, despite the fact that Sammy would have been Jack’s boss for the past 16 years, despite the fact that Jack moved into the sewers at some point, they were still partners in the end.

Whether you ship them or see them as friends, it’s still wholesome as heck. Makes me wonder how much of that ‘tension’ Joey reported seeing was the truth, wouldn’t be surprised if he was lying out of jealously considering he and Henry’s partnership was quite similar to Jack and Sammy’s, but they fell apart after a year of working together unlike Sammy and Jack who stayed together the whole time.

I really wish we could see a proper conversation between Jack and Sammy, they seemed to be quite close :,)

#sammy lawrence #jack fain #bendy and the dark revival #the illusion of living #overanalysing Sammy’s 3 seconds of screen time because I have to talk about SOMETHING

189 notes · View notes

archer-kacey · 3 months

Text

Joey Drew is Gay and there's no way around it (Pt 2)

In Illusion of Living, Joey claims that he was the one who created Bendy. In reality, Henry was the one who ultimately put pen to paper and created Bendy, Boris and Alice. Again, there's possessiveness over Bendy here, but that isn't all. Remember when I said in the previous part that Joey viewed Bendy as his literal son? So, the funny thing about that is...Henry created Bendy...and from Joey's perspective, his son.

Henry created his son.

And even if that's still a reach, Henry created the entity that was one of the most important things in Joey's life-his muse, messenger, and avenue through which he communicated his stories and ideas to the world. (Basically, his favorite OC.)

Things start off pretty swimmingly in terms of their friendship.

Joey was the one who got Henry set up working at the bookstore. (Apparently he also found him more complex than he initially thought.)

Things only pick up steam from here. When Joey finally does see Henry's art, he seems to have a strong reaction.

Joey has a "lightbulb moment" at the sight of Henry's cartoony style. He doesn't stop at the art, though.

(Joey, did he tackle what was right in front of him, or did you just want him to tackle what was in front of him? Be honest, now.)

Notice Abby's reaction. She sees how quickly he gravitates towards Henry's art, and the man himself.

Henry also seems stunned to silence by the high praise Joey gives him, which is a fair reaction to being told he might chart the course of the rest of someone's life.

Notice how Joey can't explain why he had such a sudden fascination with cartoons, he just "felt" it.

Pardon my french, but Abby seems to either be worried that he’s thinking with his dick, or not thinking at all. (Probably both.) Despite Abby's reservations, when Joey keeps his insistence that he wants to get into cartoons, she knows Henry is the man for the job.

And her intuition about bringing them together as business partners paid off.

Henry co-founded the studio with Joey, and by all surrounding context we're given, Joey seemed to be perfectly content with this setup. That is, until their eventual falling out.

We don't know the nitty gritty specifics of their falling out, but we know a few things. For one, it was brutal, which Nathan helps confirm via footnote.

Secondly, we know Henry moved to California. That's all the way across the US. Thirdly, we know Henry had a wife, Linda.

So the guy that helped him actualize his dream, created his SON/favorite OC, and was probably his best friend at the time, fell out with him and moved all the way across the country with his wife (and assumedly didn't talk to him again.)

I would find it hard to believe that Joey was solely using Henry similar to what he did with Susie, because there are very curt admissions throughout Illusion of Living that he can't entirely erase Henry from the narrative, as badly as he wants to. Joey couldn't get Henry out of his mind. Of course he didn't treat Henry fairly, and of course Henry had every right to leave. But he had a strong connection to Henry whether he wanted to admit it or not.

There's no proof that he felt romantically about Henry. There is, however, proof that Joey wanted a family, viewed Bendy as his son, admits he still admired Henry after the fallout, and seemed perfectly content living out his wildest dreams with the man who, from his perspective, created HIS SON.

But we're not done yet. See, Henry is FAR from the only man who had a great deal of relevance in Joey's life.

PART 3>>

#believe it or not it gets gayer #joey drew #the illusion of living #batim #batdr #abby lambert #henry stein #joey drew is gay #archer writes

32 notes · View notes