Heyyyyy.

Remember when I posted my 8th anniversary drawing last year? Remember when I talked about how strange it was that we were getting closer and closer to this franchise reaching 10 years of existence? Remember all the times I expressed my indignation at the rapid passage of time? Well. It's 2026. We're one year away from being able to say that Bendy has existed for a decade. And I'm one year away from saying that I've been following this series for a long 10 years.

Yikes, lol.

I feel like I'm at the point where trying to say something interesting on the anniversary only leads me to repeat the same points I've been making for a long time. Following this franchise is a ride of emotions. We go through good times, and bad times. There are things we will remember fondly in this franchise, others with a bit more bitterness. It's a turbulent journey. But one that, even so, still has a lot of people following it and having continued interest in its future. And I believe I'm one of them still. And yeah, 9 years and still somehow standing is crazy, considering everything that's happened with this series. It's a miracle in a way that this franchise managed to come back to life with the release of BATDR and not just end up falling into the abyss never to return. And look where we are. Almost 10 years of ink terrors, again, it's crazy!

I originally wrote a sort of rant about how I'm feeling about the franchise right now, but I realized that maybe it's not the best time to talk about on a celebratory date lmao. It's not even sad or even "negative," I'd say, just maybe today isn't the ideal day to go deeper. I think the summary of the summary that can be said is that after considering everything that has happened with this franchise in recent years, its current present, and what we know about the future, adding the time I've been following this series, I'm in a weird spot with Bendy and one has to wonder if I'll still be following it after 2027. Maybe I will, or maybe I won't, nobody can say for sure.

At the end of the day, life changes. Time moves on.

That being said, I still have affection for this series and, despite its mistakes made along the way, I still like Bendy. It's something that is very significant for me, and I'm still grateful for knowing this franchise, for the good memories I've had with it so far, and for being part of a fandom full of so many creative people. Also, I still want to play The Cage when it's released, so I can't quit until then lol.

But yeah, happy 9th Bendyversary.

And happy birthday Bendy.