#so in the version of wkm that exists in MY head

[infinite-infinite-stars]

What if... Who Killed Markiplier... but it's Ace Attorney Investigations...

"Ace District Attorney Investigations", if you will.

(Everything you see here was drawn by me, with some backgrounds/that one evidence photo being either screenshots from the show, or edits of official photographs of Mythea Castle, where WKM was filmed)

[cadmium-ores]

the overdue "Cadmium's Take on the Markiplier Cinematic Universe" post

The comment that shook the multiverse: Engineer Mark not Actor Mark??!!1?

Yes, but also no.

(Obviously these are all my headcanons/thoughts/theories/etc. The fandom would be way less fun if there were not these varied interpretations and room in canon for that, so please know that I'm not trying to put down or shut down anyone else's headcanons.)

When considering most fictions, two layers is all you need: real life (e.g. where the reader and the author reside) and the fictional world (where the characters reside; where things in their real lives take place). However, the MCU needs three layers.

Layer 1 is still real life. That's where Mark Fischbach the YouTuber channels his insane creativity and skill to deliver us mind-blowing projects for us to enjoy.

Layer 2 is still the base fictional world(s). Plenty of hairs could be split here, but to keep things simple, I'll focus on the most cut-and-dry example: Who Killed Markiplier itself. This fits fine into the two-layer structure. It features events actually happening to the characters. This is where we meet the fictional character Mark "Markiplier" a.k.a. Actor Mark. (...And honestly, this is already where we lose some people not familiar with the fandom who fail to understand the distinction between Mark's characters and himself, but I digress.)

The MCU in specific, though, rapidly builds up a third layer, because the character Actor Mark is also a creator — and a creator who attains reality-warping powers. Without this third layer, you do get snagged on questions like is the Engineer the Actor? Because, if the MCU has only a single layer of fiction, the answer is either "yes, at some point the Actor becomes the head engineer and goes to space" or "no, the Engineer is a different character."

It makes sense that people want to find a "yes" — both based on the obvious parallels between the characters and because of what canon has established (from WKM, the Damien animation, and so on).

With the third layer, a much more logical "yes" presents itself: the Engineer is a character written and played by the Actor. It makes the most sense and is the most consistent to consider the interactive (Date, Heist, and Space) as (in-canon) creations of the Actor. So, Space!Mark is a fictional character to Actor Mark just like Actor Mark is a fictional character to Mark Fischbach. (And of course I must at least mention… I think ISWM illustrates the Actor beginning to come to terms with the events surrounding WKM.)

This allows us to resolve a lot of questions, actually: e.g., is Date a prequel or sequel of Heist? It can't be a prequel because of the callbacks and references in Heist, but it can't be a sequel when it's only at the end of Heist that Heist!Mark asks us on a date!

Well, the answer on layers 1 and 2 is the same: Date was written before Heist. It contains callbacks and references for the same reasons from layer 2's POV as it does on layer 1. Then, on layer 3 — they're simply separate works of fiction; they don't exist in a cinematic universe. Date!Mark and Heist!Mark aren't the same character.

I could discuss some other aspects of canon, but those two should serve to illustrate my point. One last item I do want to touch on:

"But wait, but wait! We see Actor Mark in Space in his dressing room."

This is simply another instance where layers 1 and 2 agree — where Mark Fischbach's choices are echoed in Actor Mark's. Back when Date came out, nobody took the meta ending literally. It was another joke, a bit; Mark playing a parody of himself. Nobody thought it was supposed to be a reveal of what Mark was really like IRL. So, it's the same for the Actor. He's playing a caricaturized version of himself. (I have headcanons as to why, but I'll reserve them for another post, since they're not relevant to the point I'm making here.)

Anyway, then in Space, on layers 1 and 2, it's a callback to the same.

I think that about covers it. This interpretation allows me to circumvent a lot of the inanity and inconsistencies of canon in a way that, in my opinion, is not at all a cop-out -- it's certainly canonically consistent/supported by evidence, and it has lead me to richer character development and interesting worldbuilding. Space fit seamlessly into it, too, making me a lot more confident in my positions.

[ask-will-and-dark]

Character info about my version of Y/N. (She has her own blog @pieces-of-a-fragmented-mind)

Name: Erin

Age: appears to be between 25-30

Appearance: about 5'7 with gray/blue eyes.

Female

Hair: Pre-WKM: Long, black hair, usually kept in a braid or braided bun, especially as the DA.

Post-WKM: After she escaped the mirror, she cut her hair (using a broken piece of mirror) into a jagged almost pixie cut that mirrored her shattered and fragmented memories.

ADWM: She let her hair grow out, some, and shaped it up. Usually worn down, and kept at shoulder-length.

AHWM: Cut to chin-length, and layered. Resembles her post-WKM haircut, but not as jagged.

ISWM: Back to the long braid she had as the DA.

Story: (This is not set in stone, and can be altered depending on what kind of plot you want to do. This is purely how I wrote her, and it is connected to the canon of my Dark and Wilford blog, @ask-will-and-dark. If you want to do a completely fresh plot, that's fine, just let me know).

After breaking out of the mirror, Erin tried to piece together her shattered memories. She stayed at the manor for a while, until she realized no one was coming back for her. Then she wandered around, sleeping wherever she could, searching for someone to help her remember.

Eventually, she learned to quiet the chatter in her head enough to lead a semi-normal life. She still doesn't fully remember who she used to be, or what happened that night. All she knows is that when she's with Mark, the craziness makes sense, in a way. She's in a relationship with (Actor) Mark, who keeps her close so he can manipulate her. She has no idea who he really is, or that he's the cause of everything.

Dark confuses her. The things he says, mix with what Mark's told her, and she's not sure what to believe about him, or how to feel about him. She's not even sure Dark really exists, or if he's just another nightmare. Damien and Erin were together before the events of WKM (which is another reason Mark wants her so badly, to keep Dark from having her). Dark still retains those feelings, left over from Damien, and is fiercely protective of Erin. He hates that she's with Mark, who is only using her, and is doing everything he can to wake her up to Mark's manipulations.

She gets along with Wilford well enough. She senses that he's got some of the answers she desperately needs, but she can never really make sense of anything he says. She still enjoys spending time with him. Wilford is also very protective of Erin, who he considers his sister, and best friend, after Dark. He, too, wants to get her away from Mark and move her safely into the manor where he and Dark live.

Her personality shifts depending on which ego she's around, almost as if she's feeding off the energy they produce, causing her to be more like them. Some of the traits stick around even after the ego leaves, becoming a part of her. She knows she may never fully remember everything, and she's trying to make her peace with that, but she will never stop looking for answers.

[theashofwkm]

AHWM Theory // Actor!Mark is Heist!Mark and what he was hoping to achieve in the Heist...

MASSIVE SPOILERS. This refers to several endings so please don’t read until you’ve seen all of AHWM.

All screenshots are mine and I apologize for the poor quality. My internet tanked last night when I was getting them and I was too lazy to go get the same screenshot, caption it over again, all with better quality.

Also forewarning that this is kind of a mess. It was mostly made late last night.

It starts with the first choice. Sneak out, or guns blazing? Obviously, he wants to go out guns blazing, but if you choose to sneak out, he listens, even though he doesn’t like it.

He’s the one holding the explosives and the gun. If he wants to fight his way out, he could. But he doesn’t. He complains, but listens to you, continuing on to say “but you might be smart.” As soon as you make the choice to sneak out, he drops the gun and pockets the bomb.

Next, you have to choose between the light and dark tunnels. Again, it’s clear that he’d rather go down the light tunnel, but if you choose the dark tunnel his only reaction is \/

And then he goes down it. Trusting you. Again, nothing is stopping him from going down the light path, but he listens to you and goes down the dubbed “tunnel of screaming and death.” He’s a bit (very) passive aggressive, but he doesn’t hesitate in following your choice.

Then, the chain of stick together/split up. In all of them, he’s overly eager to split up, go your separate ways. Every time you split up, he dies.

If you choose to stick together, he gets rather... childish with his disapproval.

In this choice, he could lead you both into the red room (the one he wants to go in), but he doesn’t. You leads you down the other path which ends him dying twice, your meeting with dark or you both making it out. This is where Actor!Mark comes in.

What if he wants to split up because he knows that he dies when you do? In WKM, he was stabbed 37 times, poisoned, beaten, strangled, drowned and shot. He’d died multiple times, but he didn’t stay dead. He had tried to kill himself, having no will to live, but it never stuck. What if he hasn’t given up? For all his grand plans about being the hero, what if it’s just his backup plan to dying?

He wants to die.

So he tries to get you to leave him behind — by getting super passive aggressive, by pouting, by being super excited every time he brings up the idea, being disappointed every time you don’t go along with him, and then the final time you have to make this choice. He reassures you and tells you everything he can to get you to let him go (literally, now). That he’s a burden, he would rather have you live over him, getting excited when he talks about you making it out, saying that splitting up isn’t what either of you wants (even though previously, he had wanted that, now he’s just trying to play to your emotions)... by telling you that he’s okay with dying, if it saves you.

He does care about whether you live or die. He mainly tries to leave you behind (the crumbled path, the broken bridge) or to get you to leave him. Maybe you die in the one because he can only sense his incoming death and not yours. And that particular talent only extends to the choice you’re about to make, because he really only pushes for a choice when he directly dies in one of them. Like, look at when you’re with the scientist.

He jumps in front of her laser blaster for you. She tries to kill you and instinctively, he jumps to protect you.

He knows that you’ve been bitten by a zombie at that point. As far as he knows, you’re as good as dead, but he gives his life so you can live your last hours. He cares more about your life then he does his and this moment proves it. Because he could have let you get shot and walked away with a relatively guilt-free conscience — you were messing with timelines, you were the reason for the apocalypse, it was for the greater good... but he didn’t. He’d have damned the world, if it meant watching you die.

When put in that position, you don’t do that unless you actually care about that person. Like, you can’t live without them, they’re your only lifeline kind of care. Whoever you are, you’re important to him. He even asks you out on that date in ending 6, referring to ADWM.

He does trust you.

You could play through to an end choosing the opposite of what he wants, and he’ll follow you anyway, insinuating that he cares about your opinion more then he does his own, even if it means not getting what he wants. You don’t do that with people you don’t trust completely. If you’re not convinced, look at the cave.

His fists are clenched and ready to strike, but he’s leaning away from the stranger. He looks more afraid/wary than angry, and straight up asks you what you should do, leaving the choice to you even though he obviously has his own opinion. And if you say to go in the cave?

He immediately relaxes, dropping his arms and asking the stranger if they have food and buddying up to them. All because you gave him a thumbs up. Before, he’d thought that the stranger was dangerous but when you decide to trust him, he does as well, to a fault, later letting himself be strapped to a chair with a hood over his head because — you trust them, so how can they be that bad?

One more example. If you choose the helicopter, he immediately goes, not asking if you knew how to fly the thing since he didn’t. It’d only take a couple of seconds to ask, but he waits until he’s in and you’re standing in the door to do so. Because he trusted that you had a reason for picking the helicopter, and that you had a plan to get you both out.

You might be wondering about Dark, what he said about Mark. “Same snake, different skin.” “Games are more his forte.” The snake thing could just be referring to how we all thought he was a separate ego — Heistiplier. And as for the game comment:

Well, isn’t the Heist kind of a game in itself?

Strip it down and it holds a lot of similarities to Stealing the Diamond. It’s kind of a bare bones version of that, except it starts once you have the thing and it goes until you escape. WKM was a game to him — starring a Clue-style who dun it in his own home, about him. From that, he got his ‘perfect villain’ as he declares in DAMIEN.

His life is a big story, a big game. He has infinite lives, as far as he can tell, and he’s willing to play the long game. In most of the endings that Mark lives for, he’s still buddy-buddy with you, even if your choices aren’t ideal for him. Maybe the Heist was a way to ensure that he gets his next character assigned — you.

There’s one theory that the bloopers are the truth in that they show that the Heist was all a show, a game, a fraud. That theory holds some weight here. It’s by @statictay (hope you don’t mind the tag).

He’s spent years building up the plan, which, in the end, doesn’t exist. So he spent years, with you, molding you to accept his request in heisting with him and for you to be another character in his story. Along the way, he’d grown to care for you in some way, though that probably wasn’t in his plan, and he did have a plan, because out of 31 endings, how many does he die in?

19. That’s 61.29% of the endings. Yes, I did the math, and yes my chart of living/dying is probably wrong. And I should mention a few things about how I accounted to it being a living/dead for either of you.

I counted Zombie you as living. There are four instances of a Time Reset being used, all ending in both of you living, and those are accounted as such. I counted the jail human-shaped hole ending as a death for both. Aliens were counted as a double live. All Illinois/Yancy/Captain endings were a death for Mark. When you’re about to enter the cave, the run away ending counts as a death for you but not him. Now I did this all really quickly and mostly from memory so a few numbers may be off, but roughly, it’s close enough.

Look at the numbers.

You live almost 3/4 of the endings. 36.36% of the both live endings are due to TR (time resets), and the TR endings make up a third of the Mark live endings. You live without him more then he does you. Your live rate is almost double his. All of this supports that Mark wants you alive, that you living is part of his plan, maybe the most essential part.

You live in 23 endings. He dies in 19 of them. So, that’s more important to him. There are only two endings that are the opposite of what he wants (him living, you dying). So, he’s successful in at least half of his mission in 93.55% of the time. That’s a pretty good success rate. He succeeds in both parts of his mission 38.71% of the time. Little over a third.

We know that when Mark died in WKM, he went to the Upside Down. Maybe that still holds true, now, and he treats it as a home base, a place to plan his games. So maybe he does still want to die, or he goes there and does something that’s beneficial. Maybe it’s a place that Dark can’t enter because he’s not human and doesn’t really have a soul. So it’s a safe house. That’s why him dying is seen as a ‘good’ ending.

And we know that he twisted Damien into becoming Dark to fulfill a Villian role. Maybe you meeting with the new Egos (Captain, Yancy, Illinois) was so he could find them and twist them into a role, much as he did with Damien and it didn’t really matter if you lived/died there (no, I’m not running those numbers. Not now at least). Or maybe he wants you to fill a role, as I mentioned earlier.

Or you could be a scapegoat for him. You make every choice so technically the fallback would land on you instead of him and any death that’s caused because of the choice could be pinned on you. It’s a shaky argument, but for Mark, it’s sound. He’s just following your orders.

As for why would he trust the viewer so much, to allow them to make EVERY choive:

WKM could have scarred him in some way. It was his plan to have William kill him and he succeeded, but he’s still human and they were best friends at one point, even if William betrayed that. Making that choice could have made him not want to make another that leads to death. It could have broken his trust in himself because we know that WKM didn’t go according to plan and maybe it went worse then what he was expecting, making him learn that things spiral sometimes and can’t be predicted. He’s okay with having his death on his hands, but not others and WKM taught him that any small choice could lead to death, so he doesn’t make those choices anymore. Hence, he befriended you.

Or it could his reputation that keeps him from making choices. If he made a choice, say where Ed shoots you, and word got out that you died while in his presence, it could cast doubt over him. They’d question why he didn’t save you. And, well, if you don’t die there, there are two relatively happy endings. Pacifying zombie you or finding a cure for zombies. Both are pretty heroic acts, even if he just stumbled on them, he’d build it up to be more. He cares about his reputation. He wants to be seen as a grand hero and he won’t risk anything getting in the way of that. And he partly succeeds in almost every route, so he built the Heist to his needs quite well.

It could be him working on perfecting his Hero persona (or it could be a side effect of him letting you choose because he trusts you. They could go hand in hand). He lets you choose because it’s the kind thing to do, he wears a suit (heroes always look nice), and in the fifteenth ending, this is his immediate reaction to being outside the museum with the treasure.

Who else would say that, if not Actor Mark? No one we know. So there’s a good bit of evidence suggesting that this is Actor Mark.

So, in summary, Heist!Mark is Actor!Mark, the viewer was a tool to him, in some shape or form; the Heist was a ploy for him to get something else that he wanted, and you were a big part of his plan.

[falseroar]

Silent Watch Part 1: Mr. Jackson

((Hi! A while back I did a monster hunter/werewolf au with Abe and the District Attorney from WKM, called Silver and Peppermint, which I’ve finally put up over on AO3. Speaking of things I should have done a while ago, I’ve had this story sitting in a file on my computer for...longer than I’d like to admit. I’m planning to post one part a day, and hopefully by the time it’s done I will be finished or close to done with this universe’s version of WKM.

This though is a prequel to Silver and Peppermint, taking place before WKM, before Abe met the DA, before Y/N even was a DA. Before a lot of things. This is the story of how Y/N met an actor, but not the one you’re thinking of, and one terrible night that changed both their lives forever.

If you’ve read Silver and Peppermint or are familiar with the character of Jameson Jackson, you might be able to guess where this is going.

Links to Part 2 , Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, and Part 7.))

The lights strung up all around the field and crisscrossing over the partygoers’ heads provided a soft, uneven glow to everything, but as you went around with tray in hand and a poor attempt at a smile plastered on your face, you noticed more than one of the caterers and locals among the crew looking up at the darkening sky with varying degrees of worry. Despite the many, many reassurances from the town elders and the slightly more flippant response from the assistant director that everything would be fine with the proper precautions, you knew many of your temporary coworkers wished the film crew could have just had their wrap party within the familiar boundaries of the town itself.

“And did it have to be so late?” whispered another caterer when you returned to the staging area for another tray full of ridiculously small appetizers. You recognized him from school; actually, most of the locals hired to fill out the cast and crew while they were filming in and around town were around your age or not much older, and you wondered more than once over the past couple of weeks how many of the others were saving up for similar reasons as your own. “Why couldn’t they just wait until tomorrow afternoon?”

“Because there are some party activities you can only really have fun with after dark,” one of the girls answered with a wink that sent her and a couple of nearby caterers into a giggling fit.

“They’re planning on packing everything up and leaving tomorrow,” you added, once they had calmed down a bit. “I think they’d rather use the daylight to get out of here.”

Your fingertips brushed against the silver chain connected to your belt loop, the other end reaching into your pocket, and you felt a familiar calm settle over you as you added, “We’ll be fine as long as we stay out of the woods tonight. You all know that.”

“You working tomorrow?” asked the first caterer, who seemed visibly surprised when you shook your head ‘no.’ “What, really? You’ve been pulling more shifts than any of us, and still working at the bakery every morning before school, how are you not working the last day?”

You shrug at the sarcasm in his voice, not wanting to admit that you had asked only to be told you needed to choose between working tomorrow or tonight. Apparently, the crew director didn’t believe anyone would show up the next morning after a night shift, and working the party offered the chance for more hours and more pay.

And you needed all the help you could get.

“Do you ever stop and actually have time for, I don’t know, fun Y/N?” asked one of the girls.

“Have you ever even been to a party before?” asked another. “You could always leave your tray with one of us and maybe get to know some of the stars—”

“I’m good,” you interrupted, trying your best to ignore the new round of giggling as you grabbed a ready tray and turned back to face the party.

Most of the people here were part of the crew, faces you had come to know over the past month or so with the occasional name to go with them, but as you threaded your way through the laughing, chatting partyers, you did pass more than one actor or actress who until recently had only existed on a big screen or in a washed out picture in the newspaper. They seemed occupied enough with the drinks and recounting stories to keep the inevitable crowd around them entertained, but the star of the show, of this whole production, was nowhere to be seen among all of the festivities.

That is, until you turned at a call for a new glass and ran straight into him.

Spinach and mushroom puffs tumbled to the grass below and it was all you could do to keep the whole tray from spilling, his hands reaching to help you regain balance.

“Sorry, sorry!”

You were surprised to hear him saying it too, and once sure you were okay his face broke into an open, easy smile.

“Sorry, I can be a bit clumsy. Works out well on the screen, not so much in real life.”

“It was my fault, Mr. Jackson, I wasn’t—”

Your apology, more out of reflex from too much time spent dealing with angry customers in your other job than anything else, was quickly cut short.

“Please, you can call me Jameson, or—”

“Excuse me, Mr. Jackson?”

Jameson Jackson paused, his smile slipping as he glanced at the interrupter. While most if not everyone here that wasn’t working were dressed in comfortable clothes or, like Jameson in his white shirtsleeves and bright blue vest and bowler hat, whatever they had been wearing in the last scenes to be filmed, this guy was dressed up in a suit and tie, as though expecting a more formal party. He also wasn’t anyone you had seen around before, either on set or in town, although Jameson seemed to recognize him.

“I don’t remember inviting you to the party,” Jameson said, his smile more forced now.

“I just need a minute to ask some questions,” the stranger said, his own smile too wide and yet failing to reach his eyes. “Alone, if we can, unless you want to talk here. Although, knowing how rumors spread…”

Jameson narrowed his eyes, not even pretending at a smile anymore. “Especially when they get help from muckrakers.”

The stranger put a hand to his chest with a mocking gasp. “You wound me, Mr. Jackson. My paper only reports the truth, and I just wanted to give you a chance to present your side of things before certain uncomfortable truths hit the page.”

Uncomfortable truths? You look from Jameson to the reporter, wondering if you should say something or back out of this conversation, but before you could make a move either way, Jameson rolled his eyes and spoke.

“Oh, and I’m sure you won’t twist everything around. Again. I’ll give you five minutes, which is five more than you deserve by this point.”

The reporter smiled and followed Jameson’s gesture with a snide, “So kind of you, Mr. Jackson.”

You were curious, of course, but you couldn’t exactly follow them to the edge of the party, away from the music and crowd and just within the circle of lights. Instead, you could only get back to doing your job and serving the other partygoers while trying to avoid running into anyone else who might be less friendly than Jameson.

You were just trying to fake a smile while waiting for the crew director and one of the actresses to choose from the identical puffs on the tray when you heard the gasps and shock ripple out from the other side of the field. The three of you turned in time to see the reporter stumble back, one hand raised to his bloody nose, while Jameson stalked away from the party with shoulders hunched, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

“I wonder what that was about,” the actress beside you said as she took a spinach puff from the tray before taking a delicate bite. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jameson that mad, not even when we had to scrap and reshoot a week’s worth of scenes.”

“Is that the guy from The Morrow Gazette? What is he doing here?” asked the crew director, narrowing her eyes as she watched the reporter stumble away in the direction of town. “I told security to keep him away from the set and crew, what are they even doing?”

Drinking a few beers somewhere between here and town, not that you thought you should mention that. Instead, you asked, “Where is Jameson going?”

“Ah, he’ll be fine, he just needs to cool off,” the crew director said, then muttered something under her breath about wishing he’d punched that reporter harder.

The actress glanced at you and lowered her voice, even though you could still clearly hear her ask, “Is it true what they’ve been saying? About the studio being broke?”

“You’re still getting paid, if that’s what you’re worried about,” the crew director answered. “We’ve hit a few snags here and there, but—”

“It didn’t look like he was going toward town,” you interrupted. “Jameson, he has a ward on him, right?”

The worry steadily growing inside you immediately skyrocketed when you saw the blank expressions on their faces, even before the actress asked, “A what?”

She was too stunned for a moment to do anything but take the tray you shoved toward her, her surprised exclamation following behind the crew director’s shout as you turned and took off running.

You bit your lip but kept on running in the direction you last saw Jameson. After all, it was your last night on the job. What were they going to do, fire you?

((Thank you for reading! If you want to be tagged in this, or don’t want to be tagged, just let me know.

Link to Part 2.

Tagging: @silver-owl413 @skyewardlight @withjust-a-bite @blackaquokat @catgirlwarrior @neverisadork @luna1350 @oh-so-creepy @weirdfoxalley @95fangirl @lilalovesinternet-l @thepoolofthedead @a-bit-dapper @randomartdudette @geekymushroom @cactipresident @hotcocoachia @purple-anxiety-blog @shyinspiredartist @avispate))

[aro-as-in-straight-as-a]

Look, IDK if any of my followers give a shit about this particular topic, but since I've been hyperfixating on Youtubers lately, I’m just going to go ahead.

So. Who Killed Markiplier. 

I was rewatching it lately to get more of a context on all of the Egos that exist within the lore that exists, and I have had a revelation. So Mark and Thomas Sanders are about the same age, right? (which is wild because they do not seem like it, but let’s just go with it). That would lead me to believe that they have a relatively similar background in movies and TV shows and the like. 

SO, since they’re both 30 years old, that would mean they were born in about 1989. This is sort of relevant, because it is shortly after the making of the movie Clue.

To those who have not seen this movie, please do. It is fucking hilarious, and remains one of my favorite movies of all time. 

Basically, it’s like the game it’s named after. There are all of the characters: Mrs. Peacock, Mrs. White, Professor Plum, Mr. Green, Colonel Mustard, Miss Scarlet and Wadsworth the Butler, as well as the victim of the main murder (spoilers, I guess), Mr. Boddy. Boddy dies under mysterious circumstances, and they need to figure out who the killer is, and they all have motive to do it. 

So what does this have to do with Who Killed Markiplier? Well, outside of them both being hilarious murder mysteries with people trapped together in an old manor, I have a strong belief that this movie was an inspiration for Mark’s series. Why? Both the time period, and the fact that Thomas even made reference to the movie in one of his blooper videos for his Sander Sides channel (I don’t remember which one exactly, but I know he did. “Flames-flames-coming out-side of my head-flames-”). And like I said, them being about the same age and given when the movie came out, I have reason to believe that Mark has, in fact, seen this movie. 

(If anyone has definite proof of this theory, hmu). 

Anyway. Markiplier. 

So, the reason I believe this theory so heartily is that his characters align very closely with the characters in the movie (and not the game, because I've never played a version of the game that has Wadsworth or Boddy as legitimate characters, or even the Cook). 

Allow me to show you my theory: 

Mark, the main character, is the victim of the murder that the story revolves around. Him being an asshole and as much a perpetrator as a victim only aids in the idea of him being Mr. Boddy, because in the movie Mr. Boddy is, indeed, an asshole who probably had this coming. (We are not taking that alternate ending into account at this moment, to those of you who have seen this movie before and know exactly what I’m talking about.)

I think that characters like Wadsworth and the Cook are just played by the Butler and Chef, so that that is pretty straightforward. I also believe that the Groundskeeper is Mr. Green because. Well. Greenery. (idk that’s just what kind of worked out, as you will see, this isn’t a perfect theory)

William is, obviously, Colonel Mustard. He may later be associated with pink as Wilford, but in the beginning he’s associated with Yellow, which Colonel Mustard is typically associated with (also, why even have a Colonel in a murder mystery unless you’re referencing Clue? but that's just me), and as a mysterious gun-toting man with a suspicious sexual past that ties him to Miss Scarlet, it fits him pretty well. 

Now, as to the Miss Scarlet in question: Celine. Now, I am of the opinion that Celine is both Miss Scarlet AND Mrs. White, because she is a widow (technically bc Mark is dead and i’m not sure they were actually divorced), she is implicated in something sexual with the Colonel, and she is associated with both the colors of Red and Black (because Mrs. White might be associated with white in the game, but in the movie she’s very much associated with black and the gothic aesthetic that Celine rocks in WKM). 

Abe and the DA are a bit trickier, because strictly speaking, the Detective is far more of a minor character in Clue than Abe is, but I just take that as an extremely well done remodeling of the character and it doesn't concern me too much. The DA, however, is a serious pain in the ass, but I believe them to be Professor Plum for two reasons:

1) They’re the only character that even remotely fits the role of an academic like Plum / Plum is the only character left

2) Red+Blue = Purple, which is Plum’s typical color

Yeah. Feel free to drag me, but this is what I got. 

As for Damien? Our sweet Mayor is none other than a genderbent Mrs. Peacock. I believe this not only because Peacock is typically associated with the color blue, but in the movie she is a corrupt politician’s wife, and Damien is mentioned briefly to be a part of a political scandal (I believe it’s in the room of evidence, but feel free to correct that) even though we are all of the belief that he is a perfect sweet cinnamon roll. He still is, but that doesn’t make him totally flawless, especially since his future involvement in whatever the hell Dark is means that he can’t be. 

Now on to different thoughts!

(What, you thought that was it? You fool. You absolute g-ddamn fool.)

The Manor. 

I admit, the Manor and the various reality bending things that happen with all of the characters (with the Egoes and WKM) kind of befuddled me in terms of what they meant. I don’t claim to know what does through Mark’s head. Not to mention the bastard seems to be better at keeping his plans secret than every single person employed by Marvel combined, so everything that I have come to the conclusion about is entirely up to debate. 

However, I have come to this conclusion: 

The Manor is like a genie. It grants wishes, but in an asshole way. 

Mark is a sad, bitter asshole. In WKM, it is strongly implied that he is rich and successful, but in his cameo in the Meta Ending of A Date with Markiplier, he references being on parole, says “I used to be somebody”, implying that he’s lost whatever success he once had, and has no respect from anyone, being just a grumpy bastard. (also, he references having kids. who are these kids. are they relevant. I need answers.) What this means is one of two things. 

1) One of the Mark’s is not actually Mark

2) Reality bending house 

Obviously, I go with #2. 

Mark wants to be successful. He wants to be the star of the show, he’s a total narcissist, and he feels like the victim of a horrible betrayal by his friends. So what does the Genie House do? Constructs a world where Mark is rich and successful, and he dies in a “murder” by one of his friends who has betrayed him. He is a martyr, essentially. Of course it warps him and leaves him without a body unless he steals one, bc reasons (I still don’t understand the Body-Musical-Chairs, somebody feel free to add on or explain it to me), but it fulfills his wish.

William doesn’t seem to be focused enough at the beginning to have a real goal for the Manor to exploit (unless he having an affair with Celine counts), so his only goal appears at the end, when he has his mental breakdown. He desperately wants to believe that everything was just a joke and that no one actually was hurt by his actions, and his wish is granted by him becoming totally dissociated from his own actions, and everything that he does, no matter how terrible, is framed as a joke or as something funny. That’s what the audience sees, because that’s what reality is framed to us as. 

Celine just wants to know more about the Manor, and thus is exposed to all of the Darkness of it and the world. She gets introduced to what is (presumably, based on the reactions of those around her) the darker side of the occult, and it pulls her deeper into the Manor and its power until she is overwhelmed by it, literally. 

Damien just wants to be with his family and friends, and he wants everyone to be alive and well. Well, he more or less gets his wish - he is trapped in a body with Celine (and Mark? I think? Idk like I said i’m not real clear on the who’s-in-who’s-body sitch) and maybe the DA, and both the Colonel and the Detective can’t seem to die, given that the Detective survived a shot to the heart, and the Colonel has suffered similarly fatal wounds and has come out on the other side. (Related question: has Damien accidentally made himself and his friends immortal? TBD, I guess). Being trapped in a body is a pretty good way to stay close to someone, I guess.

Abe’s wants are simple. He wants to be a film noir detective, masculine and strong and mysterious and successful, always beating the bad guy and saving the day. His wish is simple to fulfill, because all it requires is that he stays locked in his own fantasy world. This succeeds until he actually runs into who he blames as the bad guy, William - or Wilford, as he is at the time. Wilford manages to shatter the illusion for Abe, by pointing out that so much of what he thinks is real is actually not, and that their very existence can’t possibly be real because their connections to reality are so slim. The repercussions of that will remain unknown, I assume at least until Heist  finally comes out. 

As for the DA? They just want to watch everything that’s going on. And that’s exactly what they - and we - get. 

So, to sum it all up:

Mark: Red, “Mr. Boddy”, wants to be seen as a good successful person but also wants to be seen as the victims to his friends’ betrayals.

Damien: Blue, “Mrs. Peacock”, wants to be with his friends and family and wants everyone to be safe and alive.

William/Wilford: Yellow/Pink, “Colonel Mustard”, wants to forget the trauma that he’s suffered and think that everything is just a joke.

Abe: Brown, “The Detective”, wants to solve murders and be seen as a big tough guy while he tracks down the bad guys

Celine: Red/Black, “Ms. Scarlet/Mrs. White”, wants to know more about the dark forces that control the world and the Manor in particular

DA: Red + Blue, “Professor Plum(?)”, just wants to be along for the ride and watch everything unfold

Butler: Wadsworth, Groundskeeper: Mr. Green, Chef: The Cook.

But that’s just my theory! Let me know what y’all think if you have an opinion on this subject, and if you know something I don’t, let me know. 

[sketchy-scribs-n-doods]

YOU BET YOUR ASS I DO

BUCKLE THE FUCKLE UP

(sorry this is a bit late, school’s been a bit of a busy mess lately, ahhh)

The ‘cotton candy cutie Damien’ referred to here is from an AU I did some doodles for a while ago wherein Damien is the one who lost his mind in WKM instead of Will, while Celine and William came together to form a different version of Dark (generally called the Colonel or some variation thereof by most who drabble in this AU).

OKAY SO-

He goes by Dames, generally speaking, call him Damien to his face and your safety is forfeit

Only the Colonel can call him Damien, sometimes (the terrifying man is soft on the cotton candy murderer and everyone can tell even if saying so outright would probably guarantee them some form painful punishment)

Dames loves confectionery cake treats, things like cupcakes and cheesecake and chocolate cake and brownies, and things like marshmallows and cotton candy and milkshakes are all his favorite kinds of sweets

Less of a happy-go-lucky/what-the-fuck-is-death attitude like Wilford’s, more of a I’m-soft-and-I-care-a-lot-about-everyone/If-you-even-look-at-my-loved-ones-wrong-I’ll-bash-your-head-in/wait-no-please-what’s-happened-I’m-sorry-I-didn’t-mean-to-please kinda terrifying whiplash attitude

Everything in shades of soft blue and creamy yellow, he’s v into pastel aesthetics (dark and intense colors make him anxious and he doesn’t know why)

Guns and loud booming sounds scare him half to death, they’re a very big trigger sometimes

When he’s scared, he clutches his cane close, and god help you if you even think about trying to grab it away from him then

Sometimes you catch him wandering the halls of the egos’ shared home, looking for someone he can’t remember

Sometimes you have to gently pry his cane away from his shaking hands in order to wash away the red staining it in the moments in between

He’s so sweet and thoughtful that it honestly physically hurts

A Good Boi who just wants to make sure everyone is having a Good Time

Honestly gives really good advice (he likes to make everyone feel listened to as much as he can)

He focuses so much on the tiny details of life, the little things that make life worth while, that sometimes you have to pull him out of his little introspective trances

Very sweet but also very anxious boi

Seriously he gets so fuckn frazzled sometimes he can barely talk (he has own little quiet space in his room he can squirrel away into most of the time, thankfully)

He really doesn’t know what’s going on or where he is or what he’s doing in this existence sometimes and it’s really very fucking tragic-

Five minutes ago he was smiling at the bumble bees outside and now he sobbing in the hallway and nobody knows what to do please send help

Several of the egos suspect some type of personality/mood disorder was triggered by his mysterious but very clear trauma and they’re probably not far wrong

Suspicious lapses in memory are suspicious (and also very sad and indicative of his metal state tbh)

If Wilford is sex incarnate then Dames is soft and cuddly pillow talk come to life

(Y'all can pry gay Damien from my cold dead hands but if that ain’t ya headcanon of choice feel free to ignore this one of mine: Dames’ mind is so cracked that internalized homophobia is least important thing in his life rn tbh so he’s more or less unconsciously elected to stop giving a shit about that; he comes home every now and again with different men, all rugged and strong but with bright, charming smiles that remind Dames terribly of someone he can’t quite grasp in his mind-)

Despite the veritable cinnamon role aura around him, no one really worries about him, at least not physically speaking. Dames’ has proven many times over he doesn’t much need to be looked after, if the blood puddles staining in his studio floor are any indication

I’m very much convinced that Dames would try something in entertainment, similarly to Wilford, like being a talk show host, something like Dr. Phil or maybe Oprah, a show where he’s a sweet, charming host that talks to people about life and their problems and generally gives very good advice-

-except when things go a lil bit awry and someone has to be called in to clean the blood spills and other various unfortunate gross bits.

Dames’ perception of death is less ‘lmao-isn’t-this-fun-oh-he’ll-be-fine-lol-a-lil-stabbing-never-hurt-anyone’ and more like ‘oh-oh-shit-wait-no-what-happened-I-swear-we-were-just-having-a-good-time-but-then-he-started-screaming-and-I-don’t-know-what-to-do’ along with a painful dose of 'he’ll-be-okay-right-they’re-always-okay-yeah-we-can-come-back-when-he’s-feeling-better-it’s-okay-I-know-it-is’

Damien never fucking lets go of that damn cane of his own free will (usually it can only be gently taken away when he’s not in his right mind and, subsequently, the cane needs to be cleaned of it’s unsavory stains)

He’s so clingy and emotionally unstable on top of everything it’s really sad tbh

If you even fucking look at Damien wrong, the Colonel will have your damn head and you’ll never be heard from ever again-

AAAANDDD THAT’S ALL I HAVE FOR NOW YEAA

Seriously, I love this AU so much, I really gotta doodle something else for it when I get the chance to. Thanks a bunch for the ask, anon! ♡

[ravishingrogers]

Winter

Here's the deal, ever since I first saw the "Go Back To Sleep" video something hasn't left my brain and that is the snowy clips in it. For those new to my blog or those who don't follow me, I'm a writer and I've created MANY and I mean MAAANYYY original characters in the last 15 years of my life. Obviously the moment I realize that the viewer is so important to the WKM story and continuation I made my own version, one that could represent me, since the district attorney can be anyone that's what I followed. So allow me to explain what I did.

I molded her around myself, female, blonde hair, hazel eyes, that sort of thing, but they die, they are trapped inside a mirror, in a "shadow world" so I thought about it, what would happen if I was trapped inside a mirror for the rest of my existence? Will I remain as naive and trusting after being betrayed by my best friend? The answer was always no. I will have so much time for myself, my brain will consume itself, the negativity of the house will fuel my dark emotions, my heart will turn cold, my skin will turn cold, I will become the one thing I hate the most, a cold *literally* heartless banshee, angry, out to get back at does Who left me behind.

So I gave her a new name, Winter, a Killer Frost wannabe if you will, an Ice Queen *not Elsa, what Elsa originally was*, cold, calculating, clever, manipulative, user, conniving, tenacious/Determined, vengeful, evil. How she got out of that mirror? The same way Dark did of course but she believes she had a right to do that, it's only fair of course, she was left there to rot, doesn't matter who she hurts as long as she's out. Does she remember who she was? Of course she does, but she thinks this person she used to be, the DA, whom I've named Freya Montgomery (mind you this is my own AU) was weak, the only reason she got involved in all this mess was because she was weak for caring and trusting these people, that her heart was her downfall and demise.

Her number one target is obviously Dark, who she thinks is still Damian, she wants revenge for the lies, the betrayal, for leaving her behind and stealing her body. Doesn't matter who gets in her way, doesn't matter who else gets hurt, doesn't matter who else dies as long as she gets her revenge, she is blinded by anger and vengeance, and she has a justified list of reasons to get that revenge. Is she stronger or weaker than Dark? She doesn't care, she will do anything in her power and more just to make him regret what he did to her.

Now you might be wondering "well wtf does that have to do with the 33 second video?" Or "does she think that's what's going to happen?" No I don't think the idea Mark has for the viewer is for them to become evil, or at least not the only path. I believe we will have many choices, one of them is that one, do you want revenge? Right this way, do you want to reason with Dark? Here's the path you should pick. This is only one theory of the many theories I have in my head for the viewer, and these are very special to me, what Mark has created he did it making sure that we, as part of the community, where also included in the projects, that we had a part in his creations. The community created Dark, the community will always be involved with anything Dark related, good or bad, we always go hand and hand. I wanted to speak about Winter because she means a lot to me, all my OC's do, I wanted everyone to know her before anything else happened, no I don't believe Winter will be the canon of the DA, she's mine, my AU, she belongs to me and me only, but I would absolutely love to know what everyone else thinks, do you have your own AU? What are your theories for the viewer? My ask box is always open and so are my DM, so come ramble with me!.

[pink-ink-goblin]

Markiplier Ego Headcanons: Mayor Damien

IMPORTANT NOTE: Okay, so @endlcss-possibilities and I had been talking about these since “Who Killed Markiplier - Chapter 2″, and these formed before the canon came to light, but damn it I love what we made and I don’t want it to die, so welcome to the beginnings of an AU.

For frame of reference, Dark is an entirely separate character from Damien, and in my head, both exist in different parallels where in one timeline WKM happened, and in another, it did not. Enjoy!

-Damien is an angel. No, not metaphorically, but an actual, literal to life angel. And not just any old kind, but an archangel to boot. His position as Mayor is no accident and he uses it as a means to be able to watch over everyone without being placed under scrutiny. 

-He can hide his wings, but unnatural shadows such as from lightning or UV light will show them, not physically, but as a part of his cast shadow. The sun doesn’t do diddly, so he’s free to walk around as a human, unlike Dark who could get caught for having no shadow.

-Also they’re soft. Very very soft. And glow with whatever the cast light is (i.e. silver in the moonlight, golden in the sun). It’s almost ethereal.

-The cane he carries serves two purposes. First and foremost, it’s his archangel sword in disguise. Woe be to you if you actually manage to piss him off because he’s not afraid to use it (though generally as a last resort). Second, he will, every now and again, use it as an actual cane since he’s used to walking with a little more weight hanging off his back. It’s posh, and casual posture correction.

-He’s an empath who’s super in tune with his own emotions and everyone’s around him. Unlike Dark who is basically a bottle of rage and lust for power, Damien has genuine emotions for everything and everyone around him, and he’s absolutely not afraid to express it.

-100% a manipulator, but not in the way you’re thinking. Where Dark will use his influence to gain power and will use people until they have nothing left, Damien uses his as a means of gaining his own following of people who are willing to do his bidding. He is the benevolent king and people love him, which is beneficial not only to his position, but also as a means of protection.

-Both he and William are like bizarro versions of Dark and Wilford, where William is the dark, and Damien is the light. 

-The more Damien uses his power, the more his form starts to break apart. A la Howl’s Moving Castle, Damien’s hands sprout feathers and claws, while small soft feathers sprout along his cheeks. When it gets to be too much, his form starts to crack, much like Dark’s does, but instead of shadows leaking out, Damien’s show pure blinding light like a lit magnesium strip. It’s also very, very hot and will absolutely burn you.

-While Dark’s true form - and heck, even when just his shell cracks - is very difficult to look at, Damien’s true form will straight blind you unless you are a being akin to Wilford or Dark. 

-He also exudes an aura much like Dark does, however, instead of manifesting as dread and sharp ringing, Damien’s gives peace and sounds like wind-chimes in a gentle breeze. It’s hypnotic, lulling, and makes the target malleable to his control. 

-Also like Dark, he is very concerned with his appearance and prone to unconscious preening, such a suit straightening or adjusting his cuffs and collar.

-And also, because he is hiding in a human shell too, he’s prone to stretching his neck or rolling his shoulders because hiding his wings tends to be uncomfortable, and even makes him agitated after long periods of time. When asked if he’s alright he explains it away as a back injury when he was younger.