Wandering is a deadly sin.

[shamanicshaymin]

Now that the game is finished, I caught up with all chapters of Bendy and the Ink Machine!

Is it me, or does anyone else feel sorry for Bendy?

I mean, the guy never asked to be made. He never asked to be brought as a literal living cartoon into reality. He didn't ask to end up becoming this monstrous ink atrocity instead. He didn't ask to be rejected and hidden away by his own creator in the darkest depths of the studio because "OMG this'll stain my public image!" He didn't ask to be this bubbly mischievous devil who brought joy to audiences to being the horror that ruins and twists their lives instead. He didn't ask to be revered as a god who could fix all their problems when he can't and just end up making it worse (like Sammy wanted) He didn't ask for all this anger and hate from the betrayal to fester inside of him. He didn't ask to be created out of a substance that corrupts anyone who touches it. Just... poor guy.

I feel like an essay could be written about how Bendy is a criticism of capitalism and how it punishes everybody but the ones who created the system in the first place. Joey drew treated his facility like shit because all he cared about was fame, money, and his cartoons achieving immortality. As a result, everybody suffers and is trapped inside the factory (representing the system) where they either die or are warped beyond comprehension. All except Drew (and despite seeming remorseful, he's still "WEEEEHHH NOT MY FAULT WHY DIDN'T YOU STICK AROUND TO BE MY CONSCIENCE???" to Henry, the way powerful bigwigs like him refuse to accept responsibility for the lives they've ruined)

Goddammit. I just realized Bendy and the Ink Machine is the closest we're going to get to Ralph Bakshi's original idea for Cool World for a long time. Basically, Cool World was a shitty movie that was originally supposed to be a horror film: a woman is born half-cartoon & half-real, and is considered an Uncanny Valley abomination. So she plans to get revenge on her father for bringing her into the world to suffer. Sound familiar regarding Bendy? Yeeeeeeeeah...

I went looking for Bendystraw (aka Bendy/Cuphead) shippy stuff, but most of it is OOC fluff with Uke!Bendy. Like... how is Bendy uke? Hooooooooow? DDD: I mean, I expected him to be OOC uke against, I don't know, Boris or Joey Drew, but not Cuphead. D: Dubcon with Bendy as the aggressor plz.

Comments

[sankseas]

Re: Bendy being tragic, yes!! Everyone I followed agreed on that point, in the end. Gathered up a few theory / discussion posts on tumblr, but the point that stuck out most was this (paraphrasing from multiple posts, sorry):

Joey makes Bendy be whatever he needs him to be at the moment - saving Henry from Sammy & the Projectionist, or chasing Henry onto the ""correct path"" - all to progress Joey's story. On his own, Bendy just cares about his cartoons - he gets mad when you cut down his standees, and surrounds himself with videos.

I think Bendy misses his toon self. Like you said, he never asked to be a monster.

Also, hadn't really thought of that capitalism point you brought up :O That's really good!!

[shamanicshaymin]

I think Bendy saved Henry from the Projectionist out of the goodness of his heart. ;; He's hostile because he *knows* Henry is here to kill him, but a part of him still cares because well... he's Bendy. ;; Gods, somebody save the poor boy! At least I have much more sympathy for Henry than I do toward Joey Drew. Henry had nothing to do with Drew's bullshit, but he still came back to try to make things right. ;;

I mean, with the bullshit currently going on in America, it makes too much sense. There's even traces of how terribly female stars are treated and manipulated by the Hollywood industry in Susie's backstory, even if it isn't the primary focus. (And gods, poor poor Alice. Poor Boris even more! ;;)

I feel so bad for most of the cast and I want them to be reborn in the Inkwell Isles where they can start new lives aaaaaaaa. ;;

[sankseas]

Right?! I do enjoy stuff about the ending, but man oh man do I wish we could punch Joey :'D Glad that they didn't try to give him a half-hearted redemption, if that makes sense? Like, he talks about regret, but it's purposefully a failed sympathy grab. He's still Being the Bad Guy while he's Lamenting His Mistakes. Solid villain.

I wish fandom was nicer to Susie & Alice :( I feel so bad for her. And everybody. Everybody but Joey lol.

Oooh Inkwell Isles, yeah!! Always lowkey wanting more crossovers with Cuphead, or Toon Town, or Rodger Rabbit for stuff like that.

[shamanicshaymin]

Definitely. I like how he was portrayed as just... pathetic. It feels the most realistic way to go.

Susie was awful and cruel, but she was a good villain too! I was so mad at her for what she did to Boris, haha. XD My favorite worker has to be Bertram Piedmont. There's something both creepy and Crazy Awesome about literally turning yourself into your own creation out of revenge. "BUT I'M STILL HERE" indeed.

Gods, I have to rewatch Roger Rabbit, it's been years! I've been meaning to watch an LP of Toonstruck too.