#iswm theory

[purple-star-eyes]

So:

(Spoilers ahead!)

Wilford sets the date for our interview for Oct 30th of 2019 which was AHWM's premier date. So that already happened. But we were in the past after all. (Wmlw with Abe and Wills confrontation)

Will uses the calendar, which prooves that the theory about the date on it was correct!

Abe and Noir Mark share a scene with Abe calling us his gorgeous partner

Yancy is trying for parole for us, which means Mark saw the fanfiction. (one fear)

Most paths lead you to the one true ending where Actor Mark apologizes. It's debatable whetever it was genuine or not. Because you held on. You "forgave him" (in his mind anyway) but the cliffhanger with Dark means that the other theme of ISWM will not be forgotten about:

"Your actions have consequences"

6. Dark picks up the crystal which is the same crystal on the box from Heist and the same crystal that WAS in our hand for the majority of space.

7. Ms. Whitacare is basically Celine confirmed, with her calling Damien an old friend. (We dont know how she made it out of Dark or why she doesn't call him her brother, but it stands to reason that he is no longer her brother. He is Dark after all.)

8. Part 1: Actor Mark's scene where we see him backstage. His parole was ending today and there is a small scene where it is mentioned, that Mark has escaped.

9. .......The Jims were there. Briefly. Accusing us.

10. The Cliffhanger with Dark, Actor's apology, Celine in disguise, Damien mentioned not by name but with seemingly everything but his name, Abe making an appearance in 2 scenes, with Will taking away the burden of choice...

So let's see... 7 gods hold the key, right?

1. Actor Mark

2. Wilford Warfstache

3. Y/N

4. Abe Lincoln (yes that is his name look it up on Mark's twitter)

5. Dark

6. Celine (Ms Whitacare)

7. .....Damien.

I wonder when the showdown will be. Whelp. See you in the explanation stream Mark... well played for now.

[sp8ce-queen]

I might be crazy but... what if this is connected somehow ??? I can't be the first person to notice this.

Plus, the bell isn't there when we first go to the diner...

[hibruh1001]

[alaroweq]

IS HEAD ENGINEER ACTOR?

Mark:

[falontia]

Captain has Wings!!

[Summary: I'm pretty sure you all probably know...hehehe...]

ISWM x gn!reader

//Imagines//

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The crew's different reactions to their Captain having wings?! Say less!!

Mark:

Would annoy you about it ALL DAY, he'd ask you to "show me your wings again, pleeeeease captain??"

You'd get really annoyed to the point where you just shoved your wings really close to his eyes but he wouldnt know you did it because he was an annoying little pr-.., instead, he'd be really happy he got to see your wings up close.

When you're really stressed your wings just kinda pop out, and when this happens Mark would treat you like royalty, he would most definately scream "move out the way!! The captain's coming through!!"

Most of the crew really hate mark like that but they could understand why you got so stressed.

Mark is legit obsessed with your wings, he'd ask you "let them out , they need to breathe" just so he can take the 574th picture he took of your wings this week.

Would have a mental breakdown once you finally let him touch your wings, because he really never had the chance.

Celci:

Would be really delicate around you if you had your wings out.

Calls your wings "little comfy jackets" because they are.

Would definately be really really delicate when you let her touch your wings.

She'd brag to mark about how she got to touch your wings first.

Would collect all the feathers you dropped/shredded and put them in a little ziplock bag.

When you actually give her one of your feathers she starts sobbing because this is the nicest thing someone has ever done for her.

Gunther:

Would frequently ask if your wings are bullet proof, and if they are, can he shoot them?

Would try making a "feather" gun from all the feathers you dropped/shredded.

Suprisingly it somewhat worked? The gun would cause damage if your target was far.

Legit all of the crew has been atleast shot by feather once.

Mark has been so unlucky he got shot 4 times.

Gunther usually just plucks feathers from you if he ran out of feathers for his feather gun. (That's alot of feathers in one sentence..)

Would call your wings "Infinite bullets"

Burt:

Would give random speeches when you have your wings out about "being free"

He'd be really confused at first, and is still confused now, on how you hide your wings.

Almost makes you high with his little speeches, sometimes you'd see it makes a great bed time story.

Would absolutely try sniffing your wings the first thing he can.

He'd make a weird face and then ask if you have a tutorial on how to keep wings clean, because when he sniffed them they smelled really good

[grabtherain]

Captain, you have nice hands (GN Captain x Engineer Mark)

Summary: You and Mark are the only ones awake on the ship- and after keeping Mark from disappearing into space, fixing life support and surviving fricken death beams, you two sit down to talk. What will the rest of this mission look like? Why is Mark staring at your hands so much?

CW: In Space With Markiplier spoilers, Blood, Fire, a Man in need of a hand hold

"Current ship status is absolutely CATASTROPHIC." No matter how hard you banged on the glass, most likely expensive technology- it wouldn't shut the hell up. Wait a second- are you flying through the air?

"Motherfuc-" you grumbled out as your knees hit the solid metal floors of the Invincible....II. Slowly standing up with a concerning amount of groans coming from your bones- you looked around as you tried to access your situation. Your suit still read the bold print of 'Captain', your gloves however, seemed to have received a huge tear in both hands. "These were my favorite pair." You whispered to yourself as you solemnly peeled the bloody leather off of your worn hands- a sudden ringing meeting your ears.

"Reviving head engineer." A calming voice stated- though you could only believe it was calm because of the computers programming. If the machine knew the absolute danger it was in- you were sure it would be screaming and running around. Similar to what you felt like doing. The voice set off something in you, your eyes tracing over to Mark's pod- the same one you had seen him step into as you did yours. Your feet carried you, seemingly with intention, over to his pod and your hands worked to open it quickly- not allowing your head engineer to fly out as you had done. Images of Mark flying and hitting the glass of the space ship clouded your mind, the sickening crack of the glass hitting your precious engineer's bones. Then, the swooshing of your head engineer being lost in space. You could never let that happen. Especially as his captain. It would be unforgivable.

"Captain?" A soft, petrified voice cut through your thoughts causing you to quickly glance down at the man you held seemingly too tightly to your chest. At the realization of your proximity, you stepped apart from Mark- good timing because the huge console in the middle of your pods caught fire. The same calm voice calling over head that life support was in need of help. You and Mark paused in your positions for a second, eyes meeting, before springing in to action. "I'll go fix O2, Captain!" Mark sputtered out as he ran off- you following him to the door before stopping short so you could grab the fire extinguisher. You sat there for a couple seconds, letting the compacted air hit the fire, you sure as hell had no actual clue how these things worked. However, this was taking too long. What if you blew up? Was Mark okay? Fixing life support should also fix the oxygen levels what if- Oh, it's done. You let out a soft sigh of relief as the fire was completely extinguished- that voice coming online to explain the success in life support. If you had a mirror, you would be sure soot covered your beautifully handsome features. You sure could feel the soot sink into the wounds on your ungloved hands- suddenly becoming self conscious. You never let anyone see your hands- not because they were ugly or anything, but you feared they didn't match you. "Captain!" A voice called out for you, causing you to turn around to meet Mark running down the hallway. "I fixed O2 easily- however, we've got a bigger problem going on in-"

Your head engineer Mark was rudely interrupted by that stupid voice, "Asteroid Defense System is....Fine." Not only did the voice interrupt Mark, but it was glitching out and being totally suspicious? Wow, what nerve this thing had. Mark seemed to be feeling the same way because his face contorted into annoyance at the voice.

"Yeah sure, sure. Trying to gaslight me or something? I almost died just walking past it!" Mark yelled out to seemingly no one, but the intercom answered. You watched in amusement as your head engineer and his own creation bickered like a married couple, your hands coming up to pick up your hat and fix your hair in exhaustion. Mark's eyes fleeted from the roof he spoke so passionately to, concentrating on you now instead. "Sorry Captain but issues in Asteroid Defense." He said in almost an empathetic tone- most likely noting the blood that streaked your forehead as you adjusted your cap but not drawing too much attention on it. You didn't need to speak to get your point across, and soon the both of you were running to Asteroid Defense room. It took one disguise, a couple of bloody wounds, and an awesome head engineer to step in before the beams of death were deterred from its creator. Mark would come out seemingly unscathed, you'd say he looked even better than when he had went in. However, your hands continued to bleed and grow increasingly sore as the two of you slid down the metal wall that was riddled with bullet holes. "Captain, what do we do now?" Mark asked you, however- you never truly knew what you were getting into when you arrived on this ship. You had a resume filled with experience and references that spoke highly of every step you took- but the invincible was like nothing you had ever tackled. You turned your heavy head to face Mark, your eyes meeting the chocolate ones you had grown to trust more and more in through out your time on this ship. Even if they had a burn of mischief in them at all times.

"We get this ship back on track. Save the colonists." Your voice croaked painfully, the soot that covered your hands and face- seemingly covering your lungs. "Most importantly we save you...and our staff." You coughed out, using your bloody hand to cover anything that came out. This mission was never about you or what your title meant as a Captain. You truly just wanted everyone that had made this ship possible- to finish their goals as researchers, staff, and engineers. Maybe you cared about one person's goal a little too much. Under the surprised eyes of Mark, struck with the sound of your voice, you realized that you would take a bullet for not only this man but the images his mind created. The storylines and people he brought into your life. Something about him felt new every time you saw him- yet familiar. "Don't look at me like that Kid." You spoke out, a puffy chuckle leaving your lips as your hooded eyelids trailed over Mark's worried features. First you had thought he was worried about your voice- however, you could see his eyes trained on your dirty, wounded hands. "Mark?" You questioned as you instinctively clenched your hands slightly- pushing them together in your lap.

Mark's head shook- a powerful notion to seemingly get him out of whatever daydream he had pushed himself into. "Sorry Captain, you have nice hands." Mark's own partially gloved hands came up to his lips. "I mean I would hold them." Mark's face contorted in what only could be labeled as embarrassment as you watched his eyes dilate for some new words. You simply watched in amusement as you watched your engineer glitch out. "You've just never had them uncovered. They look nice. I mean, solid. Well that's weird. I mean-" You couldn't say that you were necessarily getting tired of listening to Mark dig a bigger whole for himself. In fact, you relished in every second he seemed to spill more and more thoughts that had crossed his mind. However, you had to admit that you didn't want to see him implode upon himself- knowing you needed him to go through this mission with you. You did the only thing you could think to do- while still giving the man you appreciated so much, what he wanted. You slipped your hand into Mark's, entangling your fingers tightly before squeezing as a sign of comfort. Though you knew Mark couldn't feel the blood directly, you felt soft electricity run across the tops of your hand as his uncovered fingertips trailed the veins. His leather covered palm pressed comfortably into your moist, red one.

"Sorry, you looked as though your head was going to blow." Your eyes finally went back up to Mark's face- them widening as you felt as though you had only made the situation worse. At least as Mark spoke about your hands- his face only contorted and looked pained, but with your hand in his own, his cheeks had turned a bright pink that covered his nose as well. You went to move your hand away, but Mark's hand firmly pulled you back in- or you were never trying to leave his grasp anyway.

"Please, let's stay like this for a moment, Captain." Mark's voice was sincere. His face held what could only be labeled as true content with the situation at hand. Or with hands. How could you deny your most hard working staff member from pure bliss? You couldn't. So in that regard, you two stayed hand in hand, your head falling upon Mark's shoulder before his head fell onto your own. Nothing about this situation felt familiar. No images of other scenarios played in your mind. You didn't know whether you should feel worried about this, as your job as Captain was to predict the unpredictable- but this, was never in your books.

Your eyes began to feel heavier by the second, Mark's soft snores of sleep already beginning to lull you into a similar state of rest. Mid blink, something shimmery caught your eyes in front of you. Opening your eyes as wide as you could, there before you was a text box- image showing a preview of what could occur if chosen. The hand that grasped Mark's became tighter, somehow an unknown feeling filling you- your body trying to find anything it could ground itself to. "Go towards the light." You read the text inside of your head. You couldn't fully comprehend what was going on. You knew you didn't want to leave Mark, especially if he would wake up all alone- not knowing if you were alive or not. What would he do without you? He needed you like you needed him. Didn't he? You slowly moved your head out from under Mark's, using your other hand to gently set his head on your shoulder so he didn't wake. Your eyes focused on his features- the ones you found comfort in, the ones you had took note on as soon as you got there, you also looked down at your hands- tightly clenched together. Something told you that you didn't have a decision whether you left or not. Or else there would be another little box wouldn't there? With salty tears in your eyes, you squeezed his hand one more time- whispering something no one would ever truly know. You don't even know if you would remember what you said after this. Either way, you reached out with your free hand to reach into the box of glowing light- feeling the light pull you forward and the weight of Mark evaporating.

"Current ship status is absolutely CATASTROPHIC."

[bathboysblog]

The reader is rewritten into every one of Actor Marks stories as a new character: lame

The reader, who was stuck in the mirror for WKM, had their glass remade into the camera lense so they can come along on Marks adventures, only seeing what the camera sees in the final cut, still being effected by the events of WKM like all the other characters are: good soup

[lineralangohr]

Here are my thoughts on Actor Mark in ISWM. I’ve seen a lot of discussion about Head Engineer Mark and whether that’s actually him and if he’s genuine and in which scene you can see behind his facade, and I mean yes, obviously he’s there in the meta scene of part 1 and I’m not saying that there is no connection between him and the head engineer...

...BUT what I believe is that these parts are more like traces on the character than “the true self showing through the cracks”. Mostly because he’s not the hero in his own story.

We’ve gotten to know the Actor as a narcissist who’s obsessed with the idea that he’s the hero. The leading role in his own stories. And both AHWM and ISWM start out with him posing in the spotlight, us just trailing behind him like a sidekick. But that quickly changes.

He gets dirty, he faceplants, he gets tossed around like a ragdoll or punched through brick walls, he’s whiny and scared and he’d definitely rather stay out of danger than play the hero.

He basically becomes the adorkable sidekick of the story. I really don’t think it adds up with what we know about the Actor.

So what I believe is: Assuming that the Actor is still behind all of this, the stories and characters do start out as his own, but then quickly get away from him. He probably believes that he is in control in “his world”, but he never really was - it has its own mind and his story never really turns out the way he intended. It takes it’s own course with us as the protagonist.

And the character he plays? Well, Head Engineer Mark wouldn’t exist without him because yeah, it’s a role he plays. But what if as soon as those roles come to life, they become their own separate being. What if a character in a story becomes self-aware and doesn’t even know they were made up or played by someone else. And yes, they will still have some traits of that person, but that doesn’t mean they’re the same individual. They become something on their own and experience further character growth the longer they are around (and Head Engineer Mark has been around for a LONG time by the end of ISWM).

And if we assume that the theory about Dorene being Celine holds any water, the way she interacts with the head engineer only proves this. The last time Celine and the Actor met, she didn’t even hesitate to throw an axe into his chest.

She doesn’t react like that with the head engineer.

Unless those cookies were laced with arsenic, she is just polite and friendly towards him. Only when she needs to remind Mark for the second time that she is no longer married she gets a little harsh for a moment. And when she tries to jog our memory during the third time we summoned her, she just ignores him. He’s just not that important.

Because he’s not the Mark she’s after. There is no mask she could tear off him to reveal the Actor. It’s head engineer Mark and he’s probably not even that important from her point of view.

Edit: I originally wrote this post before the explanation stream and now after it I’m sticking to this concept of a role turning into an individual after its “creation” more than ever. The beauty of it is that we can have the Actor still be a defining factor in the grand total of it, but also just take the story for what it is (which I strongly believe is what Mark wants us to do above all).

[logancreates]

Actor Mark in DAMIEN: “This place is a dream! A never-ending starring role as the hero!”

Darkiplier at every chance he gets: “Same snake, different skin.” “The truth, not the lies he’s told you.” “I always thought you were trapped in his games, perpetually plunging down the rabbit holes of his stories.”

The fandom, very logically: “Okay, so while future projects aren’t necessarily related to WKM because that story is done, they were set up because of it and technically all of the choose your own adventure protagonists are Actor Mark. They’re Actor Mark’s stories. Thanks Mark, that’s cool lore to establish how all this ridiculous stuff can happen while still having consistent characters and faces.”

Mark, like an asshole: “Lol Engineer Mark isn’t The Actor by the way.”

Us: “I’m sorry, W H A T?!”

(In all seriousness I’m not actually salty at all I just think this whole situation is funny)

[editorsix6]

SPOILERS FOR ISWM PART 2

At the end after the credits are done we seen this scene.

Of course we assume it to be Dark because of the blue and red aura, the voice, and voice lines.

Immediately after that scene, the end card is for A Heist With Markiplier. So i checked the outfit Dark is wearing and the shoes are different. Dark is wearing black shoes.

Then it hit me. I HAVE seen those shoes before. They were worn by someone obsessed with time, someone who might be trying to buy more time.

Ladies, gentlemen, and everything in between… i present

Annus

I can’t really come up with a reason for Dark wanting the crystal that can bend time and reality when he can basically do that himself. I can’t think of a reason Annus would want it either as he seemed content going to his grave, but what if something changed. or what if that was the beginning of the channel that shall not be named. What if that’s how it started or what if something went wrong and Annus is desperately vying for time.

Mike, my theory buddy, if you have something to add please do. i’d love to have a chat.

[purple-star-eyes]

So ,,Actor Mark ISN'T Engineer Mark. BUT Engineer Mark is Actor Mark."

And he did say he would explain some stuff later on down the line. So it will not be the last we have seen for any of them. LET THE THEORIES RISE.

In all honesty tho the fact he did not answer the ending means quite a lot. He did not even touch on Ms. Whitacare. For now Mark will have his well earned rest of two weeks and I for one am excited to see where we will be taken next.

I do think what he meant was that, while time goes backwards (while playing in the future), is that the meanings of the ending, while not being Actor behind the curtain DIRECTLY, can be applied to him and Dark in the future.

Like I said he did not touch on the secret codes, Ms Whitacare, Abe or Damien and Dark and Actor only partially (confirming the ending was Heist and Dark but that is about it).

Cant wait for more! Get some well earned rest, Mark!

[ghouliethejoyboy]

Here’s my takeaways from the 10 year Markiplier anniversary stream.

A: Mark canonized something that the fans loved and supported. Feeds into his whole “you create” thing. We literally made Yancy lore.

B: I am of the personal opinion that Engineer Mark is **not** Actor mark. When Mark said “engineer is not actor but actor is engineer” the context around this is very important. He’s talking about youtube and the art of creation as a whole. I take this quote to mean that like he said earlier, Engineer is not Actor with a capital A mark. Rather, Mark Fishbach, the person, the hooman, is Engineer. He is acting out a story we feed into. He is actor, lowercase a. He is acting Engineer.

C: I am truly deeply inspired by Mark’s words about how anyone can do this, and I am going to retry to keep myself active in creative projects, specifically youtube, ya’ll should do the same. My current goal is to get to 50 views on a video, and get enough traction that I can start fleshing out lore I have planned. Mark has been such a huge inspiration for me and I just.. I want to prove what he said to be true.

D: YA’LL DID YOU SEE ANNUS AT THE END?!?!? /j

[ao-xingyume1987]

Not really spoilers for ISWM both part 1 and 2 but based on the teaser/trailer for part 2 + "We are Darkiplier" theory from matpat

[alaroweq]

Ok my theory is that at some point Actor himself got lost in his own stories. Like, his characters doesn't recognize us until we tell them something space related. Wilford predicted that in WMLW. Mark himself started playing out stories the way other characters do. He got a taste of his own medicine. Also this most definitely isn't the end end. Plus the timeline is so awesome, exactly like we were told a long ago - time doesn't make sense in a place like this (the manor). We, the viewer as a character can watch Mark's projects in any order we want and that's the canon order for us. We're just like Wilford, we see things not in order, maybe it happened or maybe it didn't happen yet. It's complete chaos and it's beautiful. I am so proud of Mark and everyone involved in this project I LOVE IT

[nekosounds]

Actor Mark has something planned and here's why

So in A Date with Markiplier. The ending showing Actor Mark says he only has 5 years left of parole. ADWM was 5 years ago.

In space part 1, Actor Mark says he only has one month left.

And one comes out one month after he said that? In Space With Markiplier part 2!

Actor Mark is gonna be off parole when part 2 comes out.

[deelusi]

WAIT WAIT WAIT, IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MACK!

Remember when Mark (Markiplier on stream) told us that Actor (with the help of the "mystic mansion") can play any role that he wanted.

Actor took over Mack's role.

This is Mack's story getting people to another planet and actor took over it. When we decided that he doesn't exist he had a breakdown because we literally erase his existence after he merely got it back from Actor.

Ok, thanks for listening to me thinking about the minutiae. Wilford will be waiting in the next space time.