Okay So You Don't Bite But Now I Gotta Know, Who In Your Au (or Batim In General) Do You Think Does Bite?

Hudson frowned, looking unsure what to say.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," he said softly, sighing. He gave Ray's hand a squeeze, before tilting his head away to cough, still a little bothered by the fact he got stabbed in the chest. Again.

He cleared his throat and turned back to Ray, still concerned.

He shook his head, before letting his forehead press against Ray's chest. "I should've been there..." he muttered, feeling bitter and defeated. He closed his eyelids, the lights dimming at the action.

"You smell like cigarettes, by the way. I didn't know you smoked," he said, arching a brow and staring up at his lover. "Y'know that isn't good for your lungs, chéri."

The studio was quiet. There weren’t many people left, most having returned home by now. There was a background noise of groaning pipes and creaking floorboards as Ray walked down the hallway.

He had left his isolate office space in favor of a cup of coffee and some more paper, which somehow the storyboarding department lacked.

He was nearing the elevator, and mulled over whether the risk of the thing was worth not having to use the stairs.

~ @w-graves-nook

The hallway lights buzzed and flickered above. The air smelled stale, but oddly had a copperish tint to it. The floorboards groaned, always causing the worries of breaking.

The friendly posters and cut outs just seemed dull, almost sickening. The cheerfulness just not being what it used to be.

The air suddenly grew cold, like a cool draft coming in, even with no windows being in the premises. The feeling of dread was being tight in the air as it was almost overwhelming.

A loud clang could be heard as an abandoned type writer had been thrown off of a supply crate, causing metal to scatter into parts.

The feeling of being watched was sudden.

And the air was tense.

VOTE PEOPLE AND PLEASE REBLOG THIS.

Still taking BATIM or BATDR drawing requests or asks.

Here's a drawing of a ink demon head I thought of, hop ya like it.

Looks great!

SO. THE POLL HAS SPOKEN. MOST OF YOU WANTED A SHORT STORY ABOUT SAMMY LAWRENCE, SO HERE IT IS. PLEASE LIKE IT. I spent a lot of time on it.

How Could You?

“Mister Lawrence?”

I turned around, only to be met with my apprentice. He shuffled awkwardly, half of him hiding beneath the door. I then stared hard at my desk, letting out a sigh. Without meaning to, I dropped my book, music sheets spilling onto the floor. The yellowing papers swept up dust on the floorboards, I only narrowed my eyes at this. “What do you want, Johnny?” I muttered, kicking off my chair to retrieve the papers. I heard him slowly cracking my office door wide open and taking a few steps in.  Bending down, my hands furiously grabbed the scattered papers. I didn’t look at him. “Sorry to interrupt, but the band is waiting for you.” He said meekly. His British accent caught me off guard. I stood up, carelessly plopping the bundle of papers on my desk. I turned to him, an eyebrow raised. Today, he was dressed in a pale blue vest, buttoned up white collar shirt and brown slacks. I groaned, “Can’t they just warm up right now?” He hesitated, before he spoke, “They’ve been doing that, but..they’re getting impatient.” He nervously blew his light chestnut hair out of his face. I gritted my teeth, resisting the urge to yell. “Then tell them to wait.” I growled. Johnny frowned, avoiding eye contact with me. In a small voice he responded, “You said that…two hours ago.” Silence. 

I stormed through the vacant hallways, not even waiting for Johnny. Posters were plastered every four feet it seemed. With their cartoonish style, they all stared at me and smiled. This only fed my annoyance. The lights above me flickered and buzzed, making my shadow grow long behind me.

 God, my head hurts. Even though my feet were slamming down on the creaky wooden boards, I could hear Johnny jogging after me. “Mister Lawrence, wait up! I’m sure we could make a compromise with the band, maybe even-” “ENOUGH.” I barked at him. Irritation makes a nest inside my brain. Though, deep down, I do feel a little guilty. Trying to simmer down, I cleared my throat. “Johnny, is your brother already in his booth?” I asked, making a sharp left turn.  He hurried after, finally keeping up with my pace. “Last time I checked, yeah. Though, he was pretty mad that you didn’t show up.” I scoffed, rolling my eyes. Honestly, it felt like without me, the whole god damn music department would explode. “Tch-well, he better be there.” I huffed. 

Before Johnny could answer, I halted only to be met with a chattering river of musicians flooding out of the music department. Baffled, I yelled at one of the passing tuba players, Rick. “Mister Hoffleman! Where the hell are you-” With dark glaring green eyes, the middle aged man snapped at me, “Shut yer yap, Lawrence! It’s been two months of the same shit ya make us go through. Well, we’re tired of it.” He growled at me, his southern accent lacing his words. I recoiled back, almost stumbling into Johnny! If Johnny apologized, I couldn’t hear it. Not when my blood was roaring in my ears. I watched Rick stomp away, his brown suit jacket hanging from his shoulder.  I didn’t even notice that my jaw was hanging wide open, until Johnny quietly mentioned it to me.  I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t command them to stay. I just stood there, and while I did, lots of folks hissed complaints and glares at me when they passed by. Is this what it feels like? To be powerless? I don’t know why I’m so surprised. I’ve felt this before. When he left.

Turns out, Norman was still in his booth, packing up his projector. Even though the booth was mostly consumed by lingering shadows, we could hear him shuffling around.  I stared up at him, only for him to swing around and glare from above.  “Oh great, the all mighty composer finally arrived.” He said flatly, his dark grey eyes narrowing. With a grunt, he placed the metal projector on a rusted steel cart. “Polk, what happened?” I yelled, still looking up at the booth.  The shadows answered with another grunt, “Whaddya mean what happened, Lawrence? They’re fed up.” A pause. When I didn’t answer, he continued, “Look, I dunno what you’ve been doin these past months, but Jesus, can’t ya just compose the band ON TIME??  Some days, the doors are locked and no one can get in. Why? ‘Cause ya keep forgettin to unlock ‘em. Meaning WE can’t do what we need to do.” I felt my stomach tightened while my fists were clenched. “Can’t you just get Franks to unlock the damn door?” I retorted hotly. “Kid keeps forgettin his keys.” He replied with a monotone voice. I let out an exasperated sigh, feeling my nerves being shot left and right. Norman said nothing else and with that I turned around. I  watched Johnny struggling to gather all the music stands. Taking a deep breath, I walked over to him and helped him put them away in the storage room.  I didn’t say anything. Despite how clumsy or frantic this kid is, I didn’t hate him. He’s a good apprentice.

 Well, decent anyway. 

After stacking up the chairs and cautiously putting instruments in their cases, we were done. During that whole time, I didn’t mutter a word. I was too absorbed in my thoughts.  Was working with Mister Drew on his project really making me digress  from what needs to be done? Surely, I could balance them both. Right? No. I couldn’t and today proved that. Bitter disappointment felt like a knife in my gut, wedging itself further and further in.  I felt something sting my eyes, rubbing them. Jesus, was I so powerless that I was having a stupid CRYING FIT?! I muttered something to myself, when suddenly, I felt a gentle hand clamped on my shoulder. “It’s okay to cry, Mister Lawrence! It’s..it’s been a tough day, but..there’s always tomorrow!” Johnny exclaimed, his eyes brightening.  I stared at him for a moment, actually looking at him. His face looked similar to Normans, same nose, and structure.  Light chestnut hair with streaks of dark brown while his eyes..well. One was dark grey, like Norman, but his other eye was a dark auburn.  Wasn’t that called.. Heterochromia? I think that's what it's called.

Anyhow, he just smiled at me sympathetically.  Without thinking, I smiled back at him.  “I..suppose you’re right.” I said, nodding curtly. He slipped his hand off my shoulder and walked over to the piano. “So, about that music sheet you sent me home with yesterday, I practiced it and I think I got it?” He smiled, sitting down on the chair and straightening his composure.  I was stunned. He practiced it? Hell, I didn’t even tell him to do that. Though, of course, I was skeptical.  I pulled up a stool and gestured for him to start. He cracked his fingers, staring down at the keys and gave it his all. There were a few slip ups, but I was impressed at how beautiful the melody was. And how Johnny was so focused on the piece. When he was done, he paused, before hesitantly turning his head to look at me.  I stood up from my wooden stool and placed my hand on his shoulder. “Good work.” I praised, smiling at him slightly. 

I swear his eyes lit like bright stars. I was proud of him. Even though I failed the band, I didn’t fail him.  Until…I did. 

It’s been a few months since that moment. 

I looked at my shaking right hand, a smoking pistol was tightly in my grasp. 

Oh Johnny. I’m so sorry.

I’m 

      So

               Sorry

Man, I should totally draw Jimmy the searcher now :0

not too long ago, I finished BATDR.

and boy oh boy was it an experience.

so, for starters, I'm upset. SAMMY HAS BARELY ANY SCREEN TIME >:(

though I did notice a funny little detail that sammy now has 5 fingers instead of four, so the fact that he plays his banjo slow could either be that he's still getting accustomed to 5 fingers, or he's major sad.

also, the sammy memos were nice :D

the memos and audio logs actually gave a bit more depth to the studio, and that just makes me so happy :3

just silly new characters that are truly canon unlike SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE CANON (dctl has to be somewhat canon you can't change my mind)

Audrey being a Drew was actually a nice little twist

i wish you could interact with that vending machine in the beginning of the game.

i so badly wanted a root beer

anyway, back on track. game was good, porter was silly, keepers are if norman was more stupid. oh, and ugly as all hell. god I hate the keepers.

on the topic of enemies, we can't forget the INK DEMON SHOWING UP EVERY TWO SECONDS!!!

i got to chapter two, looking at a guide, and I couldn't find a hiding spot in the (maybe) 10 seconds it gave me.

AND I DIED.

i hate the ink demon mechanic in batdr so much :<

i was pretty satisfied with henry's face reveal to be honest. also, malice is just so silly. more depth to her character in the whole interaction. and her death was just so much more emotional

also, pet good boy tom because you can :D

last couple of points before I give my rating

joey's death made me cry. so did the scene like two chapters before where it showed joey's grave. i'm overly emotional, but i was bawling when joey died :<

the silly track 77 pigeon :3

and also, at the tutorial searcher that says "you don't have to kill me," i promised i wouldn't kill him...

AND MY CONTROLLER SLIPPED AND I KILLED HIM WITH THE PIPE 😭

anyway: on to the final score of the game

I give it a solid 8.9/10

i think that sammy deserved a bigger role, and the ink demon should've been... way better to be honest... silly jumpscare though.

:3

“Heya! Sorry to bother, just wanted to stop by to uh… Check in. Hope you’re doin’ okay.” He set down a cup of coffee on Hudson’s desk, leaning back with his own cup.

~ @w-graves-nook

Hudson lifted his head from his desk, his eyes red and tired. He glanced at Ray, his lips pressed in a thin line.

He took the coffee and sipped it.

"Thanks...." he mumbled.

Ok this may seem a bit weird but uhh...

I wanna draw Hudson and uhh, not to seem rude but your art style is kinda hard to translate...

Plus I don't know his lore that well...

Could you give me maybe a like, full body picture of Hudson..? I guess..?

(and maybe how to get his lore/some of his lore..?)

I don't know how to ask for this... T-T

Yeahh, I've been told that a lot :P

It's not weird that you want to draw him! It's nice to see someone interested in him as I put a lot of work into working on his character.

Lore (but shortened as much as possible):

Simple introduction:

Hudson Hendriks is a young man who was about 17/18 years old when hired. He's 5'5 (when hired) and was first just a wistful nostalgic writer who was insecure of what made him "him". (Ex: accent, height, etc)

Hudson worked in the Writing department (hired somewhere in the late 30's) from Toronto (Canada). He was offered the job by a friend and decided to take up that offer so he wouldn't waste his talents and enlist in the Air Force (like most of his family.)

Hudson was one of the many victims of ink poisoning, which was his downfall.

He started hearing things, skipping meals/proper rest and developed an unhealthy short fuse with himself and his fellow writers. This short fuse even grow to be a full on fight with a Gent Employee later on. It went terribly and Hudson was almost fired due to him breaking the employee's nose. He was spared, but did get a permanent record.

He was mocked by his fellow peers due to his newly founded paranoid behaviour and this led Hudson seeking refuge anywhere BUT the writing department (avoiding bullying and concern)

He kept further isolating himself and grew an unhealthy habit of seeing his work as "not good enough" or "could be better".

Finally, he had made plans to head back home and enlist in RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force). He was once an Air Cadet, a boy scout and with his ties in the family..this decision wasn't all that surprising.

He decided to fight in WW2.

In his last month of working for/in the studio, he had begun to uncover what had been happening in the couple of YEARs of working there. To the ink machine, experiments, financial issues, the IRS, etc.

In his third week, he was unfortunately caught by Joey.

Joey would then try and see how much Hudson actually knew, while Hudson would just play dumb or be uncooperative.

He was then tortured by a blade Joey had and would die to multiple injuries and horrific blood loss.

Instead of placing Hudson in the machine, Joey had decided to hide his body near the elevator shaft and block it off to the public (even Gent). Due to these complications, Hudson was never a lost one or toon.

Instead, he became a violent and bitter spirit, mostly haunting the elevators and was later blamed for causing them to suddenly drop.

Even when people were in there.

(This was not short, my apologies. Some of this info has been changed, so apologies to my moots who might be like: Wait what..)

Ahhh, I just finished reading your Dead and Buried AU post and I just love it! I love how in-depth you made the characters and their backstories— it’s something I’ve always wanted to get better at as a writer and you do it perfectly! I can’t wait to see what else you have in store! :D

I think my favorite little piece was Norman looking up to Lacie as kind of a mother figure! Does Lacie think of him like her “unofficial” kid too, or does she think he’s just a friend? (You got me thinking of Lacie finding Norman sneaking around the studio and scolding him for eavesdropping XD)

Lacie does think of Norman as her unofficial kid, but this thought only starts when the studio starts going to shit, not before. When the studio goes to shit the more reckless, violent and angry Norman becomes (probably 'cause he sees the people he love die around him. Idk just a guess.).

I don't like how I drew Lacie here and she'll get a redesign soon! I just couldn't NOT show this because...OH C'MON LOOK AT NORMAN'S FACE.

(Also I should totally draw her scolding him XD)

Also thank you so much!!! (I should totally draw more Norman and Lacie moments!)

YESSSS!!! THE BOYS LOOK FANTASTIC!!! What are you talking about? THIS LOOKS AWESOME! HUDSON LOOKS SO CUTE AND HEALTHY FOR ONCE WHATTTT

As an apology for not posting the third act yet, I have thiisss (It’s not that good and I drew it in class but-).

Act III is coming at some point, I’m in the editing stage! Just… bear with me-! > 3 •

[a gift for @unnoticedunawarestillhere? Yeah, you could call it that-]

Now that I have a cold right now..I'm definitely losing my mind.

SERIOUSLY GUYS I DON'T BITE

Drawings requests or asks about my AU would be most appreciated because school is making me lose my mind ^ ^! If you want more facts about a certain character let me know!