"I can’t believe we had Joe comeo in Alan Wank
Also fuck perspective. I can't draw that shit"

How much time had passed since then? Anderson no longer knew what the word meant. He scurried around his meager confinement, taking no heed of the objects within. A hovel of delusions, a monument to madness itself. A noise like hushed voices echoed from the room's door, and his body rushed towards it like a prehistoric predator. "+2? +2? +2? +2? +2?" His pleading added up to nothing.

He was trapped, within and without. Outside, the sky darkened.

Originally seen at Not Only Was It Alan (28th October 2023)

"insomnia noodles"

Anderson puzzled at the scroll which unfurled at his feet. It was unreasonably long, like a rambling conversation given physical form. A mad prophecy of paper, the page depicted all manner of potential futures from runaway success to the complete collapse of his identity. Only one constant was shared between the Delphic drawings - his Witcher 3 video.

Perhaps, he thought, that was his reason for being here. Perhaps the Red Presence held some grudge towards him for his creative inhibition. He quickly shrugged the thought off, however. If the Red Presence wanted the video to be completed, stranding him in the middle of nowhere certainly wouldn't hasten his creative process.

It just didn't make any sense.

Originally seen at Not Only Was It Alan (28th October 2023)

"So I just watched the vod of the last fanart showcase and decided to do my own Joe fanart, an iteration on the "handheld console graveyard" fanart by @Daxtear with a weeb twist"

I gazed into the distance, mind dark and empty as the void overhead. I had no memory of how I got there, no memory of when or where I even was. Amnesia. If I wasn't so unnerved by my surroundings, I might have laughed at how cliche my situation was. Though my circumstances were a complete mystery, I could still remember who I was. How convenient.

My name is Joseph Anderson. I'm a weeb streamer.

Scanning my surroundings, I found a scrap of paper at my feet. It depicted a field of snapped electronics, planted in the ground. Mementos of better times, cut short. A Red Presence loomed overhead, silent. I felt as though it was staring at me through the page, somehow aware that I was viewing it. Was it watching me? Judging me? Did it bring me here?

It was then that I realized something - or rather, that I realized I hadn't realized anything at all. These words echoing in my skull, using my voice - they weren't my own. That overblown flair. That undying commitment to the bit. There was no way it was a coincidence. The narrator was Jelly.

Reeling, Anderson's mind settled on the only conclusion it could. He was in a JanArt showcase... and it had only just begun.

Originally seen at Not Only Was It Alan (28th October 2023)

"animated Joe doodle!
audio from Resident Evil 4 Remake"

Lightning flashed. A triumphant cry rang out before shrinking to a bashful whisper. He recognized this too, from his Resident Evil IV Remake streams. It was a painful, embarrassing memory. Was the showcase mocking him?

Anderson didn't understand. Why would someone commandeer his voice like this? How many utterances did the entity behind this have locked away for future use? For all he knew, they were listening right now.

His stomach tightened at the thought, like someone had tied a knot with his intestines.

Originally seen at Not Only Was It Alan (28th October 2023)

"New Alan Wake fanart, fresh from the oven (updated to include hidden Beacoi)"

Anderson frantically maneuvered up the stack of objects, balance unsure yet determined. He had always been one to take the road less traveled, and being stranded at the behest of some mysterious, assumedly malicious "Red Presence" wouldn't change that. Clambering to the top of the stack of logs, he felt a wave of relief wash over him. He still had it. He was still in control.

Something in the distance caught his eye.

Originally seen at Not Only Was It Alan (28th October 2023)

"I made a little animation alert to thanks subs on stream (:"

Flames engulfed the forest. Fierce sparks whipped from branch to branch, threatening to swallow the world whole. Even the furious rain that had persisted through the entire night did nothing to slake the fire's endless thirst.

Bursting through a cloud of smoke and into a clearing, Anderson spotted a large building. Desperately patting out the embers that clung to his clothing, he sprinted towards the shelter.

Originally seen at Not Only Was It Alan (28th October 2023)

"Better snail than never. i had this idea on the RE 4 stream and my friend drew this."

There, in the center of the final panel, Anderson found himself paralyzed with recognition. It was the Red Presence from earlier. Why was it there? What did it mean? Was it following him?

Wracked with paranoia, he began to spiral. He could feel his limbs growing weak, numb from the sheer weight of his panic. It was as if TV static flooded his veins from the outside in. He needed to ground himself in reality - or whatever facsimile of it he currently occupied. He strained his gaze towards Leon's ample posterior. He was an ass-man, and the sight had always brought him comfort, even in the darkest of times.

The numbness subsided. This would not be how his story ended.

Originally seen at Not Only Was It Alan (28th October 2023)

"Drew my first chan, based on the first Alan Wake stream! Remember: no object is too insignificant for chanification!"

Barrel-chan plodded along the dirt trail, wallowing in a mixture of misery and resignation. She knew all too well that it wasn't meant to be, but it just couldn't be helped. A barrel is meant to be filled with something, after all; it was just her rotten luck that she happened to be filled with hope.

Aimlessly walking, she thought of Anderson - thought of their short time together. She hoped he was alright.

Originally seen at Not Only Was It Alan (28th October 2023)

"'I have become this' - Joseph Anderson"

Anderson awoke to a prison of his own design, unaware of his own captivity. A creature of impulse, he dragged himself towards the mounting pile of equipment which cluttered the far corner of his confines. A veritable dragon's hoard indeed. Shaking off the night's rest, he began prepping for today's stream. Another anime visual novel - his favorite - this time about a man stuck in a time loop.

The man's circular struggle amused Anderson. Surely, he thought, you would notice if so many things kept repeating. The brain loves to find patterns, even when they don't exist. Surely so many similar sights and sounds would raise alarm bells, or at least invite suspicion. Waving off an audience that did not exist, he returned to his peaceful slumber.

Anderson awoke to a prison of his own design, unaware of his own captivity.

Originally seen at Not Only Was It Alan (28th October 2023)

"ALAN 🦖

I actually thought that the Alan running joke was meant to be a reference to Jurassic park 3 and people just really found the scene where the guy falls asleep on the plane and a velociraptor shouts Alan at him very funny so everyone was just imagining a velociraptor was shouting Alan whenever a character fell asleep and that was the joke. I was disappointed."

Finding an empty room at the end of a long hallway, Anderson began to work feverishly. He scribbled endlessly on the walls, words overlapping words overlapping words overlapping words. He cobbled together a corkboard with twine and scraps of the manuscript pages he had found along his journey. He raved aloud, acting out scenes for a captive audience that did not exist. His mind was no longer his own.

The door closed behind him, locking with a loud click too distant to hear.

Originally seen at Not Only Was It Alan (28th October 2023)