Ink realm
- This article refers to the ink realm from the main canonical series. For the setting from the novel series, see Ink realm/novel.
- This article refers to the realm created with the Ink Machine. For other uses, see Ink (disambiguation).
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"In his anger, Joey used an evil machine to create another world. A world made of paper and ink, where he'd torment his own version of Henry forevermore." |
The ink realm[a] is a nightmarish alternate reality styled after the world of early 20th century animation. Created by Joey Drew using the Ink Machine and completely removed from the flow of time, it is a cartoon world stuck in a "cycle", a forever repeating series of events designed as the world's torment for all of Joey's mistakes.
History
Early origins
During the waning years of Joey Drew Studios, Joey began to blame everyone around him for the mistakes that had led to his company's downfall, including the failure of the Ink Machine to bring his characters to life in the real world. Still resentful over the resignation of his friend and business partner Henry Stein in the early years of the company and wanting to rid the world of all of his failures, Joey Drew uses the Ink Machine to create another world, one made of paper and ink, where not only would all of his creations and mistakes would be locked away, but an ink replica of Henry Stein would be tortured forevermore in a constant, looping journey through hell.
Joey Drew would continue to operate the ink realm in his apartment beyond the closing of Joey Drew Studios, having stolen the Ink Machine from under Gent's noses. Joey would continue to alter and rewrite the "script" of the cycle from the safety of his apartment, constantly drawing up new ideas and scenarios to insert into his inky hellscape. However, in the later years of his life, Joey found himself becoming proper friends with a woman named Allison Pendle. Through their friendship, Joey began to shed his bitterness and hatred, and one day decided to give Henry a gift - an inky, cartoon replica of Allison, to grant Henry the same guidance that the real Allison gave him.
Wilson Arc's takeover
- Main article: Dark revival (event)
In 1971, Joey Drew would die, abandoning both the ink realm and the Ink Machine inside of his apartment. However, in 1972, Joey's old friend Nathan Arch would purchase his estate, which included ownership of the Ink Machine. While the Machine was being transported to Arch Gate Pictures, however, Wilson Arch was fortunate enough to discover the Machine on the loading docks one morning. After conducting enough research into the Machine and the ink realm, Wilson was able to discover a way to safely enter and exit the ink realm. Thanks to this ability, Wilson was able to conduct a mass takeover operation of the ink realm, artificially freezing the cycle in place and making sweeping alterations to its script with the help of the Keepers in an effort to establish control and safety.
Wilson's plan would fail, however, thanks to the efforts of Audrey Drew and the other residents of the ink realm killing Wilson and undoing his damage. Afterwards, Audrey became the master of the ink realm, using the power of the Machine to make living inside of it more bearable for its residents. However, in an unknown turn of events, Gent would seize possession of the Machine back from Arch Gate.
Background
The Ink Machine acts as a bridge between the real world and the ink realm, allowing for transfer of matter both to and from the ink realm. Due to the ink realm being fully removed from the march of real-world time, entering and exiting the ink realm has the potential to alter one's physical appearance, as seen in the case of Wilson Arch. For the most part, the residents of the ink realm are unaware of their reality being complete fiction and believe themselves to have full free will.
Environmental design
The ink realm is a massive complex of rooms, corridors, and areas from multiple facilities and companies related to the life of Joey Drew: Joey Drew Studios, Gent, Heavenly Toys, Bendy Land, and others. An entire generation in the real world later, other locations had been added, including a mansion and a train station, though the City between said two locations consists of a replica of the GENT building and a movie theater playing "bad movies" from Bendy's silver screen career (including one titled "Temptation"), which also tie to Joey Drew's life and career. All of the environments within appear to be sketched, giving the entire realm a cartoon-like appearance. To that end, the world's color is entirely sepia, to give the appearance of rotting paper.
Society and culture
- See also: Ink realm festivities
The ink realm is populated by a distinctive race of sentient beings that do not belong to the real world, including ink humanoids called the Lost Ones. The realm's primary culture is based on New York City in its early-mid 20th century period, although the lower parts, specifically the sewers, are populated by Lord Amok's cult-like tribes. Within the ink realm are also corrupted monsters born from the ink that stains the world, including versions of Joey Drew Studios characters like Boris, Alice Angel and Bendy. All of the creatures inside are trapped in never-ending loops of their own, always returning to the ink to be reborn if they are destroyed, something that many of the residents appear to be aware of.
- Lost Ones - The ex-human ink entities and one of the main populations of the Cycle.
- Searchers - The quadrupedal torso-shaped ink creatures born from the Ink Machine.
- Demons - Cartoon entities based on Bendy. The Ink Demon himself is the most known individual of his kind.
- Wolves - Cartoon entities based on Boris. Known individuals include Boris the Wolf, Tom, and the mysterious Borkis.
- Angels - Cartoon entities based on Alice Angel. Allison Angel and the corrupted Alice are the only known individuals.
- Butcher Gang - Corrupted versions based on Charley, Barley, Edgar, and Carley.
- Caricatures - Based on the individuals of the real world. Although, while some were actually replicas (such as Henry Stein's ink replica and Joey Drew's memory), there are also humans who visit the ink realm from the real world, including Audrey Drew and Wilson. Once entering the realm, it will change their appearance to resemble cartoon versions of themselves.
There are also creatures that do not resemble any specific thing and have their own identity. They massively vary in form, some resemble ink-made humans and some resemble hybrids, such as the Projectionist, a humanoid creature with a projector for a head.
The Ink Demon is considered to be the undisputed ruler of the ink realm, with all the realm's residents understanding that his presence is something to either be feared, worshiped, or both.
Landmarks
- Lost City
- Gent Workshop
- The Pit
- Heavenly Toys
- Giant Ink Machine lair
- Storage 9
- Artist's Rest
- Animation Alley
- Wilson Arch's retreat
Ecosystem
- Main article: Flora and fauna
Much like the real world, the ink realm supports other life, both fauna and flora. In contrast to the real world, such lifeforms are cartoon-like in feel and/or made of ink. The known plant life includes a stalk of leaves in various sizes, sunflower-like plants, etc. Known animal species comprise the ink versions of fish, crows, and the dangerous Ink Widows.
Structure
Cycle
- Main article: Cycle
The cycle is a looping series of events to represent the ink realm itself almost as a living narrative. Each characters have their own cycle. The "script" of the ink realm is able to be altered by users outside of the Ink Machine, which can bring changes to the ink realm's events, characters, and locations.
Void
- Main article: Void
The void is an outer darkness that exist outside of the ink realm.
Colors
The ink realm's color is generally composed of sepia-like tints and shades, mostly in yellow, tan, orange, and brown. Black is the realm's secondary color, relating to ink in every form, the environment's outlines and shades, as well as void-like areas. However, rust-like red is occasionally used to represent blood and injuries, especially in the ink realm's later years.
The only time the ink realm has had a full range of colors was when Wilson had control over the realm. From within his laboratory, Wilson conceived iridescent-like colored materials in pursuit of his goal to create his own version of the cartoon world, using it to paint a full-colored picture of his character Shipahoy Dudley, who was created to replace the Ink Demon's reign. The creation of Shipahoy Dudley was done partly with said colored ink as well, resulting in a hybrid of both regular and colored ink. After Wilson's defeat, the fate of the colored ink remains to be seen.
Behind the scenes
The ink realm is the primary setting that appears in almost every game of the Bendy franchise ever since its debut in Bendy and the Ink Machine, with the twist of its existence revealed in the said game's ending.
Development
The ink realm's unique visual style came from theMeatly experimenting with the idea of what it would be like to walk through a drawing, with the narrative of a timeloop coming from both theMeatly and Mike Desjardins' love for timeloops in stories.[Citation needed]
Notes
- ↑ This world does not have a true official name. In Bendy and the Dark Revival, it was referred with several names, such as "realm" and "cartoon world". The "cycle" was also used, though it was only referred to the world's series of time loop events, as evidenced by the Ink Demon's quote "This realm is mine... and the cycle will continue!" from the game's finale. It was also referred as the "ink realm" by 3D artist Ben Lacroix's Bendy and the Dark Revival environment design video on his ArtStation page.
References
- ↑ Bendy and the Dark Revival. Chapter 3: The Eternal Machine. Developed and published by Joey Drew Studios Inc on November 15, 2022.
