#ahwm alternate ending

[hoki-creations]

I (Don’t) Wanna Be Free

Pairing: Yancy x Mute!NB!Reader

Author’s note: Hey guys! This is my entry for the first visitation day gift exchange hosted by the awesome @yancy-support-group​. This gift is for @spontaneoustornadoes​ with the prompt “I missed you”, “I was gone for five hours”. I was originally going to do art for the trade, but this prompt was so cute, and it made me think of an alternate ending scenario for A Heist With Markiplier that I really wanted to write out. So, I hope you enjoy, and @spontaneoustornadoes​ I hope you like it!

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You walked slowly through the woods, slipping out of sight and away from Happy Trails Penitentiary. You would need to stay under cover until you could ditch your prison attire for something more ordinary, but for the moment, being alone in the woods would do. You realized that for the first time since this crazy night had begun, you were truly alone with your thoughts, and could finally begin to process everything that had happened. Your plan to steal the artifact had succeeded, in a roundabout way. But you had never planned on ending up in prison, and doing so had made everything so much more complicated. It had been your fault- and Mark. Oh gosh, Mark… He hadn’t made it. What would be the point of going back to base now, with your partner in crime gone? You shook your head at the thought and kept walking through the undergrowth.

You looked up at the stars through the branches of the forest cover, listening to the sounds of the various animals scuttling about in the night. Then, of course, you thought, there was Yancy. Fate had brought the two of you together. And even though you knew hardly anything about one another, Yancy had helped you without even thinking. Sure, you two had had quite the tussle to start with, but you had a feeling that was just the way things happened in prison. After the fight, the two of you had bonded; he gained feelings of respect for you, and you have to admit, you had gained feelings for him, too. 

And then, after he had helped you, you’d left him.

You couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret in your chest about this. He’d sounded so sad when you’d left him at the gate and had even half-heartedly suggested that you’d meet again on visitations. But, you both know that it could never happen. You’d have to keep your head low for quite some time, and even afterward, you couldn’t show your face at the very prison that you’d broken out of. You lowered your eyes to the ground and let out a sigh. No, it wouldn’t work out. 

Your attention then shifted, your hand beginning to trace the form of the mysterious key from the artifact’s box. All of this, for something so small. You and Mark were planning to use it to get filthy rich; nothing would be out of your reach using it. And, you supposed that you still could use it to do so. But it just didn’t feel right without a partner. No, you didn’t think that losing your friend had been worth it. And even after that, you had left the one person who had continued to help you. You didn’t know for sure if Yancy had considered you a friend, but after the time you spent together, you certainly had thought of him as such. If only he had decided to come with you; maybe the two of you could have worked something out. You two had made a pretty good team as well. But, you had left, and you couldn’t do anything about that now. 

Unless… You thought, running your hand over the key’s smooth surface. Nothing was out of your reach with this key, and you supposed, that included Yancy. You knew that he wanted, and even needed, to stay in prison, so breaking him out wasn’t really an option. But, perhaps, you could go back and stay with him. You had wanted to be free because of your family, and for certain, you still wanted to be able to visit them. But, the key gave you that power. You could go back and stay with Yancy, and use the key to leave if ever you needed to. 

Heck, the more you thought about it, it could actually work! You could even sneak back into the prison using the key; it had only been a few hours since you had left, and it was likely that no one had even noticed that you were gone. You stopped in your tracks, actually beginning to consider this crazy line of thought. You hadn’t known Yancy for long, and things could always go sour. But you knew, if you didn’t go back and give this- give him- a try, that you would always regret it. And even though you hadn’t known him long, you had known him long enough to know that you wanted to give him a chance. 

With that, you made up your mind, turning in your tracks and racing back towards the prison you had left only a few hours earlier. As the brush beneath your feet began to fade, you could first see the prison towers in the distance. The moon was still high in the night sky, which meant you still had time before the night was over.  Perhaps your silly plan would actually work out.  

-----------------------

As you turned the corner of the prison block, the sky outside had just begun to show it’s first rays of twilight. You had been creeping quietly through the halls as not to wake up any of the other inmates, but as you began to approach Yancy’s cell, it was clear that he was already awake. Even though it was still fairly dark, you could see him sitting on the lower bunk, his knees pulled up to his chest. He looked forlorn, gazing down towards the floor. You approached the cell door without a noise, and slid the key into the lock silently.

As the key clicked in the hole softly, Yancy jumped to his feet, reaching instantly for what you imagined was some sort of shiv and going into a defensive position. You put up your hands to show that you mean no harm. Yancy cocked his head to the side a bit in confusion and took a step forward. 

“Buddy?” he asked, his voice uncertain.

You nodded quickly, flashing a bright grin. Then without warning, Yancy sprang forward. You stepped backward in surprise but were caught off guard when his arms wrapped around you in an enormous hug. 

“I missed you’se so much!” Yancy exclaimed warmly. You chuckled, knowing that it had only been a couple of hours since you had seen each other. You smiled and buried your head in his chest, taking a deep breath, and taking in Yancy’s comforting, hearty scent.

Yancy pulled out of the hug, but his hands lingered on your shoulders. “What is you’se doing back in here?! I thought you’se had left, you knows, for good?” 

You shook your head, and then gestured back to Yancy.

“You’se… came back for me?” He smiled softly, but then his expression changed to concern. “You’se didn’t need to do that! I’s fine in here. And besides, I thought you’se was one of those familial types?”

With that, you held up the skeleton key. 

“What’s this?”

You took his hands with a smile and placed the key and the note in them. As he read, his eyes widened.

“Is this what was in that box of you’ses?” Yancy pulled his face back in surprise. “And this is what you’se decided to do with it? I’se knows you’se could get out and see’s you’ses family anytime with it, but I’s can’t say that’s the way I’s would’ve used it; I’s probably would’ve used it to gets some sort of filthy rich, if you knows what I’s means…”

You smirked, punching him lightly on the shoulder. Yancy grinned, putting his hands up in surrender. “Hey, not like I’ses complaining!” 

Yancy’s faced softened, “I’se really did miss you’se, you know.” He placed the key back gently in your hand, but then lingered. You could feel how warm his hands were, and as you looked up, you became aware at how close the two of you were. You blushed, and stared up into Yancy’s soft, ember-brown eyes as the first rays of sunlight began to filter through his window. He leaned in slowly, and you closed your eyes, tilting your chin up to meet his. Suddenly, what sounded like an alarm clock echoed loudly over the intercom, causing you to jump and open your eyes. Yancy shrugged slightly, pulling his hands away. 

“Eh, it’s just the morning wake up call, you’ses got nothing to worry about,” he said sheepishly.  

Mr. Murder-Slaughter’s voice chimed in his slightly-chilling yet cheery manner. “Good morning y’all. It’s another bright and lively day here in Happy Trails Penitentiary! Get dressed and head on down to the cafeteria, where our wonderful Chef has made some delicious eggs and bacon for breakfast just for you-” 

Yancy placed a hand on your shoulder as Mr. Murder-Slaughter continued to talk. “You’se better get back to you’ses cell before the guards come back around.”

You nodded, gripping the key tight as you walked out of the cell door and began to dash down the hall towards your own quarters. You glanced back at Yancy as you ran, and he smiled back at you, but he looked slightly downtrodden. You paused in your tracks, and then made up your mind, turning back and running up to Yancy before he could close the door. 

“What is it? You’se forget something?” 

You nodded, then jumped up and kissed him on the cheek. Yancy froze in shock, his cheeks flushing a bright red. As you pulled away, Yancy flashed a bright grin. You turned and ran double time back to your cell, and as you dashed away, you heard him call after you. “I’ll sees you’se at breakfast! I’se can’t wait to tell the rest of the family that you’ses here to stay!”

You grinned as you ran through the hallway and past the cells of your new prison family. 

Yeah, you had made the right choice.

[crazys-art]

Our favorite prison boy realizes something. Individual frames under the cut.

[emilyrox]

Do you have any of your own weird/probably wrong theories about the media you like?

If you do I’d love to hear one.

I have a theory about In Space With Markiplier (and possibly the Markiplier Cinematic Universe as a whole).

This gets LONG (when does it not?)

What spawned my theory is a quote from Mark during his ISWM explanation stream (which only explained like...half of what we wanted explained): "Engineer is not Actor, but Actor may very well be Engineer."

This confused literally everyone. The main theory before Part 2 came out was that Actor Mark (the character, not Markiplier himself) was Engineer Mark, and that he was the cause of the wormhole/paradox, and that this whole show was related to the events of "Who Killed Markiplier?"

But that quote from Mark killed that theory. But there is still a lot that can be taken from it.

In ISWM, we end up in many different alternate/parallel universes. A Noir universe, a universe where everything is narrated by Arin Hansen, a Pokemon universe, a universe where we're puppets, a universe where we're an agent/detective hunting down Heist Mark from "A Heist with Markiplier", and so, so, so many more.

But one universe that we can stumble upon is a universe where the events of ISWM are part of a show. And, yeah, ISWM is a show, but I mean in the show's universe, there is a universe where it is a show. We end up on the set, and see green screens, props used in multiple encounters we've been in, etc. We also see a dressing room with Actor Mark in it, where he's being his usual egotistical, bitchy self towards the rest of the show's crew.

This is what made people believe that Engineer was Actor, and that this was all a performance run by Actor, who has been forcing the viewer, who was the District Attorney in WKM, on many of his fantasy adventures where he's the "hero," even though he tried killed his friends and is anything but a "hero" at this point. "A Date with Markiplier" and AHWM are theorized to be such fantasies/performances the viewer is forced into by Actor. And with this scene in ISWM, people began to believe that it was the same for that.

But since Mark confirmed that Engineer is not Actor, that theory is... half-dead. I think what he means by "Engineer is not Actor, but Actor is Engineer" is that there is a singular universe where the events of ISWM are an act and not real. And that is the universe Actor is in. It is simply an alternate universe like the Noir universe, the narrated universe, and so on. And I think, for the most part, this has been accepted by the fandom.

But I can't just let it be that.

I have a more convoluted theory tied into this.

The paradox/wormhole we deal with throughout the entirety of ISWM was thought to be our fault at first. But it was actually Engineer's, as he is said to have built the warp core, although we never get an answer from Markiplier on when Engineer built it. I theorize that we don't get an answer because it wasn't Engineer that built it, but Actor.

I have a theory that when Actor makes these fantasies/performances where he's the hero, he uses his powers given to him by the House Entity, which corrupted him in WKM and what drove him to act on his bad thoughts. This results in ADWM and AHWM, and initially the same for ISWM. However, when making the Space fantasy, he creates the warp core as the Entity urges him to, claiming it will "strengthen his role as the hero." But something goes wrong, and a paradox is made.

This causes his fantasy/performance universe he wanted to create to actually come into existence as a real universe. All of the "characters" in this fantasy are now real as well. Celci, Burt, Gunther, Allu, etc., were all meant to be characters in Actor's fantasy, but now they are real, and their universe is real.

I also theorize that due to this, Engineer Mark is a copy of Actor, but not a perfect copy. He's a copy of the character Actor played in his fantasy, and that's it. He does not have Actor's vendetta towards anyone in WKM, because he does not have that experience. He is Actor's characterized version of himself come to life.

"Then why is the warp core in that universe if Engineer didn't initially build it?" Because the warp core itself got sent to that universe after the paradox was created. And since Engineer is a copy of Actor, he is, in this universe, the one responsible for the warp core.

Final Part of this theory: The viewer in ISWM is not a copy of the viewer in Actor's universe. I think when Actor causes the paradox, the viewer, along with the warp core, is sent to that universe. I also think that this causes their memory to be messed with. I think that they, at least vaguely, remember the events of WKM in ADWM and AHWM, but being sent to this universe somehow causes them to lose the memory of those events, except for a few details. They remember Yancy and Professor Beauregard from AHWM, and they obviously remember Wilford Warfstache, for instance, but for the most part their memory has been messed with. All they now remember is that they were a District Attorney (and whatever life they had before that) and now suddenly they're a space captain. Change in career plans, obviously.

Totally.

(But hey, that's just a theory. A SPACE THEORY.)

[reverseblackholeofwords]

No pressure, but do you think you would write something for in space with markiplier or are you officially retired(tm) from mark egos content? Ik I'd read a new story if you felt like writing it.

I wouldn't be opposed to writing a story if some inspiration sparked! I really enjoyed iswm and all the nuances that make it a very Mark kind of story, I think more than anything I want to get my grubby little english major hands on it and over analyze Mark's writing styles and motifs. There's such an oddly fatalistic sense of hope to his story-telling that I find really distinct and interesting. Actually I might just... do that now... I apologize in advance.

If we think back to the ending of wkm, it wrecked me emotionally. I remember being struck by how depressing it was, this sense that as soon as those characters entered that house there was no hope for them. They were going to be warped into these caricatures of themselves to become plot devices in a larger story that was out of their control. They lost Everything, even themselves. It's not *bad*, it's powerful in a way, but it's pretty hopeless. But, in the context of the greater story, it's a perfect way to begin.

Then there's freaking wmlw where we see how this spiral of nonsense and half-remembered stories has taken its toll on both Wilford and Abe. Will chooses to embrace the madness - as is crucial to his character and something I've always loved about him - and accepts it. It gives him his power and agency, it makes him a reality breaking disco dancing anomaly, and it's great. He's a tragic character who either doesn't know he's tragic or can't be bothered to care because he'd rather be having fun, and I Love that. Abe on the other hand, is genre aware and not only plays into it but is almost a slave to it, but when Will offers an alternative, at least for a while, Abe accepts a chance to step out of his role. It's the beginning of this idea that hope persists even in a world gone mad.

Damien, then, offers a much more... Violent approach to the same concept when Celine yeets an ax at Actor, and I love her for that. I think we all do. Celine tries to spare her brother of the knowledge of what's happened to them, and by doing so, she traps him in a similar way that Abe was trapped in wmlw. It's only when the dam breaks and it all comes flooding back (pun intended) that we see Dark take agency in a grim sort of hopeful(?) vendetta. It's a darker (heh) version of the tone set by wmlw, and it works for telling the story of our would-be villain. I like that it sets a contrast of how these characters respond to the hopelessness of wkm, and they are somewhat of opposing ends of the spectrum that we can measure our own response by later down the road.

Following that, ahwm seems the hardest to pin down. There was less of a solid story arc in that one as Mark was clearly trying to achieve a different goal with that project. It was his first big series backed by YouTube and needed to draw in a larger audience who might not have background knowledge of his prior storytelling projects, so it seems to stand alone as far as tone goes. Of course we get that hallway of all the wkm character portraits and then Dark does his usual monologuing, it introduces the idea of taunting our apparent freedom in the choices we are given, but they're all choices handed to us by Mark. I'll also mention Yancy and this concept of not wanting to be free. Of course it's played mostly as a joke, but I think it's probably one of the more on the nose metaphors for this overarching concept. But at this point, we've fully defined this concept of being relegated to a role within a story we don't have *real* agency in along with the choice of choosing to remain in that role or to break out, and that's the important part.

Because OH BOY iswm flips that on its head. I've watched part of Mark and Amy's watch-through/discussion of iswm (not all, i don't have that kind of time, so if anyone wants to fill me in on any important lore dumps mark gave, feel free), and I like that Mark made the point of forcing us to make our first decision alone. It hits the nail on the proverbial head that this project is about choice more than any other before it. Creating a better stream of storytelling by always driving us forward rather than forcing a restart every time we "die" is Genius, and was executed spectacularly in part one. Our choices are always thrown back at us, whether good or bad, the underlying message of "Don't give up" is beautiful when paired with the foreknowledge of previous stories.

Our role as Captain puts the weight of our decisions into start relief. "The universe is littered with the corpses of your failures" like calm down, edgelord, but also, yes, it is. Our choices matter because they effect the people around us within the story. The way that we meet Lady for the first time at the *end* of our story, the way that we see so harshly how our choices change them, that's forcing us to take responsibility for how we play the game with the role that we've been given. So it's not the "role" itself that's the bad guy, is it? Wilford is at peace with his role in all this, Abe hasn't changed when we run into him briefly, and our small glimpse of Dark sure seems in-character for him. It's not the role that's the problem, it's what you *do* with it.

So here's my big point. The thing that gets me, and most people I would assume, about iswm is the way Mark reacts throughout the story. He's our touchstone. We're used to this nonsense, same way Wilford is when we come across him, but he's accepted it, he's moved on. He offers us a break from the decision-making because he sees that as the kindest thing he can do. We're largely unaffected by the weirdness mostly because we're a viewer, outside of the story and with the ability to walk away at any time. But whether walking away or ignoring the choices, that's not how we save the day. You save the day by choosing to keep going and to hold on. Mark, on the other hand, has been going and going and going and failing all the time, the monotony of failure and loneliness, of being relegated to this fate of repeating this catastrophic loss, that's PAINFUL. It's poignant, and like every other character who has faced a similar issue, he breaks under the pressure.

But unlike wkm, unlike wmlw, unlike Damien, it doesn't *end* with the character breaking, compromising on their morals, or giving in to the madness of it all only to be continually swept along by a story that doesn't care, by choices that only make things worse. It ends with us holding on to Mark, putting an end to the cycle, and giving these characters a truly happy ending. It's so beautifully hopeful, and I haven't been able to get it out of my head since I saw the ending to part two. Genuinely, I cannot say enough about how much I love the storytelling in this project and what it says about the power of the choice to hold on.

TLDR: iswm is very good, and if given the opportunity, I will continue to rant about it. The world is a broken and depressing place, but we are not trapped in the story, we are free (and often chaotic) agents who can choose to keep going and holding on and I have to believe that if we do, something good will come of it.

Also, thank you anon for letting me get this rant off my chest!

[dorriostareyes]

Can't believe I'm getting back into the Markiplier Cinematic Universe (MCU)

Alright so, idea.

- a theoretical video taking place after ISWM

- same first person, choose-your-own-adventure style

- it's a horror based series that starts w/ y/n (the viewer) and mark getting lost in the woods

- shit progressively gets creepier and more horror-y the longer it goes on

- jumpscares, creepy atmosphere, lighthearted and at times series tones

- has a cast of wacky characters, y'know what we've seen before from markiplier's productions

- like Heist, it would have multiple endings, but unlike Heist, and like In Space there would ultimately be only one "true" ending

-may be only one way to get to this true ending

- ideally: it would be filmed in the same live action first-person as before except for when you get to the "true" ending

- when you click on the video for that the style changes to the one of DAMIEN

- and y/n /the viewer find yourself stepping out onto a very familiar area

- like, it clearly looks like the place from DAMIEN except...something's off about it

- you can't quite put your finger on it, but hadn't everything started to melt at the end of DAMIEN?

- "the transition to spring" as mark put it in his "WHY KILLED MARKIPLIER" video?

- everything had started to melt, yet everything's frozen again

- cue a confrontation with the Actor when we see a figure standing in the middle of the frozen lake

- axe in hand (remember this started out as a horror story) we go to take a look

- and some dialogue: actor talking about how much fun it's been to have someone to play with! And how he's made all these wonderful adventures for you to play a role in! And, "isn't this better than being stuck behind that old, cracked, mirror?"

- for context: i firmly believe the viewer's character from WKM (y/n DA) is the same one we play in ADWM, AHWM, & ISWM

- to me, it makes the most sense that they are all the same character as well as being my personal headcannon

- steadily, as we have this confrontation with the AssholeActor, we can hear the ice start to groan and creak, cracks appearing in it

- but not naturally; it doesn't look like ice actually cracking the way it's supposed to

- more like the cracks are slowly appearing on the ice all at once, like an illusion slowly fading away to reveal what it was covering up

- and periodically, as the conversation goes on, we find ourselves looking down at the ice, a strange green glow coming deep from its depths

- a glow that seems to get brighter every time we look down

- and is that...the silouhette of a figure?

- the conversation comes to head: and we throw the axe at actor

- he disppears from view then reappears as the axe gets buried in the ice behind him

- he laughs at our, "pitiful attempt" (his words) and mocks us

- the Actor says a choice few words before leaving; something omnious, unsettling, and probably condescending knowing him

Two ideas for the way the scene could go from here:

- once actor leaves we hear a loud groan from the ice beneath our feet

- looking down, the green glow is at its brightest and the cracks are spreading while the silouhette seems a bit clearer, yet still just a vague silouhette

- you run, foregoing the axe (or maybe you don't?) But either way you end up trying to run back the way you came before the ice breaks

- while looking around wildly, perhaps for a safer path, or merely as you run by, you see a figure watching on one end of the shore

- who it is is unclear; their outfit seemingly blends in with the snow, but you run toward them just as the ice begins to give way beneath your feet

Alternatively:

- when actor leaves, you are merely left alone

- with a sigh, you walk over to where the axe has imbedded itself in the ice

- and you tear it out (woops)

- the ice groans as cracks spiral out from where the axe was

- you turn, axe in hand, and frantically back the way you came

- if you pause the video at the right moment you can see a figure in white to your left

- you look down periodcally as you run, the green glow getting brighter, and the visage of a silouhette becoming apparent

- but you don't make it and the ice breaks beneath you sending you into the water's depths

(Maybe you saw the figure and started to run towards them, hand reaching out, maybe you didn't)

- as you sink into the depths, ice cold water weighing down your limbs

- you see the lake above you, frozen but covered in cracks, a small opening where you fell in

- for moment the screen glitches and instead of the lake you see the mirror, the mirror you were trapped in

- the mirror you are still trapped in

- the water around you gets darker as everything fades to black

Ultimately, the point would be to confirm who the viewer is (as in whether or not the viewer from WKM, Heist, and In Space are all the same or different) and to show that we are still- technically- in the mirror. In the mirror that is in the house where everything in the Markiplier Cinematic Universe technically takes place.

Recently I've combed through Markiplier's explanation videos for his series. In Damien he mentions how the Viewer is stuck just watching things unfold; they aren't a part of any of it and they can't change any of it.

It occurs to me he may have simply been refering to Damien & Wilford "MOTHERLOVING" Warfstache, as those videos are something we can only watch and that his statement doesn't count for the choose-your-own-adventure videos. But I cannot say for sure.

Regardless, if that is the case, then I imagine it wouldn't be hard for Actor to periodically take us out of the mirror for an adventure or two then plop us back. Or maybe we never leave it and are simply given more wiggle room for what can be done inside of the mirror.

The House is literally its own character where some asshole in a robe can make his own stories and has permanently trapped everyone from the party in it. Wouldn't be surprised if he could manipulate things to allow the viewer a little bit of "freedom" so he can put us in his stories.

Anyway, yeah. Sorry if this seemed disjointed in any way. I'm honestly not the best at translating my thoughts to text.

Who knows, maybe I'll decide to write this as a fic someday.

[verse2wo]

Professor Beauregard, ISWM, and the Crystal

So, space dropped about 3 weeks ago, and everyone probably knows/noticed the crystal on the box in AHWM is the same/similar to the one we get in ISWM. I’m going to build on that.

First things first, time is fucky-wucky in this universe. The only consistent point is that WKM is first, and maybe one ending in AHWM leads to ADWM. Wilford appears as he is in WMLW in ISWM and cross references that make it difficult to make a linear timeline.

I’m not here to do that.

I’m here to talk about Professor B, Ro’s character in Heist.

In Heist, one of the first things that happens before we have to make a choice, is that Mark grabs the box. It instantly splits into three echoes of itself.

That’s when we start making choices, that's when we get pirates and zombies and prison and handsome adventurers.

So we go out guns ablazing, take the car, walk to base, and go to Professor B. She is the only one that seems to be like, hey all this occurring at once is kinda weird. Zombie apocalypses don’t just happen.

The timeline distorts when were with Professor B. We get flashes to the alternate timelines where different things and outcomes occur. We see the map, the prison, the car, the helicopter.

Hell, we get a memory of something that occurs once Professor B fixes the timeline.

We get accused of being the anomaly, when its really the box (or the crystal).

We get the whole map, and it disappears to just this timeline.

We meet shoot back to the beginning, and Mark doesn't remember anything, so hey lets go on that date, and the universe doesn’t reset!

Now In Space, the resets are tied to our deaths. I think Heist might just be another convergence point. We die in Heist, back to the beginning. We survive, well, we live out our lives, reset. Dark even sends us back to that convergence point.

There are three of these points in Space. Us waking up in the cryo chamber, us waking up in cryo with Mark tagging along/post go into the light, and the ending with old Mark. We don’t know we can loop time right away, not until we fair to fix O2, and we realize hey, we can keep resetting. We don’t get to fix it from the outside until we’re with Mark again, because we’ve already died once at that point. The timeline is trying to be stable or the wrap core is trying to fix paradoxes or something like that.

We need to break the crystal. That's our box in this run. That’s how well fix the timeline. Nothing matters as long as we can keep resetting.

Tags: @madhare0512 @fischyplier (I think you'd like this)

[jackaycola]

HOLY SHIT CHAOTIC THEORY SORRY BUT What if we get like new shots in AHWM? Like, we go BACK to some scenes but with knowledge of our Space selves?

Alternative scenes like Space Mark and Y/N travelling through the portal and ending up in scenes where we are for example with Illinois or Dark in the same room?

This probably will not happen at all because that will be a lot of effort and idk if they would go through that effort but it's something-

ALSO, WE MIGHT GET FOOTAGE HOW WE GET ON THE SPACESHIP OR WE WAKE UP IN THE CRYPTO SLEEP THING AND THEN GET GREETED BY MARK MAYBE?

Idk who the granny(seeming) character is but maybe we need more shots of them. ALSO ETHAN WAS INVOLVED IN ISWM TOO, WE HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING OF HIS CHARACTER YET. Their character might be a smaller role but WHO KNOWS LIKE- Yancy at the time when the AHWM trailer was going on wasn't announced much. The most who was quoted was Illinois and Yancy got a full out musical number.

Who knows, maybe we will get something BIGGER from this too?

ALSO I HAVE AN OLD THEORY VIDEO WHEN THE PREVIEW CAME OUT ON THE STREAMY AWARDS AND I PREDICTED WE WERE SOME KIND OF AUTHORITY FIGURE AND AHHH-

I ALSO STATED THAT WE MIGHT HELP OUT DARK GET REVENGE ON *THE* ACTOR OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

ALSO ALSO PLEASE, ILLINOIS- I AM BEGGING. HE HAS TO BE THERE- THIS IS NOT FUNNY OR A JOKE ANYMORE. /hj

[crackedegotheories]

In honor of it being the 3rd Sunday of the month, here’s a theory about our favorite musically-inclined jailbird!

In AHWM, your choices might end up bringing you to a nicely-decorated jail cell. Seriously, this place has curtains, a cozy little table and flowers, fluffy rug + pillows, all nice things to help make your stay at Happy Trails Penitentiary a little more homelike.

There’s even a picture frame already on the nightstand, visible as you climb into bed, of two very familiar people:

This picture actually comes from Mark’s instagram, where you can see it’s a photo of Mark and Amy.

While probably just a cute Easter egg, it’s entirely possible this picture belongs to you as the POV character for the series, because it is right next to the bed you’re seen lying down on. It’s a little strange that, from our perspective, this photograph got there before we did, although that could be written off as another side effect of the strange time skips/missing moments that are referenced throughout AHWM.

Another alternative is that it belongs to the person you’re sharing the room with. If the bottom bunk belongs to you, then it’s likely the top bunk should have belonged to Mark, before he took a one-way trip through a brick wall. Which again would explain the photo’s presence, but not how it got there. But there’s someone else the top bunk could belong to, someone else we see in the very same scene:

Yancy.

After all, he literally has multiple tattoos that reference people/things he reasonably shouldn’t know about (”Mark” and “Dark” on his knuckles, Tiny Box Tim on his neck), and he has a full layout of the timeline right there on his forearm. Is it that much of a stretch that he’d have this photo too?

Especially considering how much Amy defended Yancy and his stans in the days following the release of AHWM from Mark in particular, he’s probably more a fan of her than anyone. Of course he’d have a photo of his Queen by his bedside, even if there is some other dork there with her.

[astudyingreer]

Every AHWM ending mapped and explained!

1 - While trying to escape the cave, you are chased down by a sentient boulder and crushed.

2 - Looking into the eyes of a cursed statue, you succumb to the monkey curse and kill Mark.

3 - You go to Monkey Heaven. Yuuuup.

4 - Fully transformed into a zombie, you join your new Zombiends Zombethan and Zombyler for such zombasttimes as zombowling, zombolfing, zomcamping and so much zommore.

5 - After the scientist realizes you’re the source of the strange dimension collapse, she tries to kill you and you run. Her gun explodes and kills her and traps Mark. Fully transformed into a zombie, you devour Mark. Sad.

6 - Mark gets shot by Rosanna’s laser and he explains to her about the box. She realizes that it is the source of anomaly is actually the box and not you. Destroying it, she resets every timeline and fixes the dimensional warp. The heist never happens. (TRUE ENDING)

7 - Your zombie-ness is revealed and you are shot point blank.

8 - Eating an ancient tuna sandwich with your old pal Mark, you singlehandedly fix the zombie apocalypse.

9 - I can't possibly provide enough context, but after opening the box and finding a nice picnic basket, you eat a very pacifying PB&J and live out your days as Mark’s eccentric zombie friend.

10 - You decide to stay with Yancy and live out your days with the boys. Nothing wrong or shady here.

11 - After disrespecting Yancy, he literally dances at you until you die.

12 - After dueling Yancy deciding freedom, you two make a break for it and Yancy gives you your freedom and decides to stay in his new home. Opening the box, you get a key that can open any lock.

13 - Opening the box, you reveal a very noise fairy that lands you in solitary confinement.

14 - Same outcome as 13.

15 - Opening the box to save yourself, you rewind time and meet up with past Mark before the heist. You both go in for round two.

16 - Rewinding time, you find yourself having an interview with a familiar mustached face. (WILFORD ENDING)

17 - After winning over a very emotional prison guard with maybe too much information about your dying grandmother, you steal his phone and call your backup. Backup turns out to be Bob, whom you shoot. Several mindfucks later, you realize Mark was Bob, and you were Wade. Don’t ask me to elaborate.

18 - Same outcome as 17, except Bob and Wade are switched. Cuz that isn’t more confusing.

19 - Going through the human sized hole, you and Mark literally go into the light. This is the The Enigma Of Happy Trails Penitentiary.

20 - You try to assert dominance by saying that you know exactly whats on the box scroll, and pirate Mark yeets you out of a cannon.

21 - In an effort to find the treasure, pirate Mark goes Thanos on your ass and tosses you down a hole.

22 - You and pirate Mark find the treasured gold and live out your crusty pirate days marauding on the open sea.

23 - You decide to go find supplies to make a sign and Mark gets abducted. The box turns out to be an alien artifact but Mark’s ego dooms humanity… which is kinda predictable when you think about it.

24 - Mark sits in the Dining Throne and you make one last effort to save him and yourself—you open the box, find a device with a button, and press it. All of you are promptly vaporized by a space LAZARRR!

25 - You take a seat in the Dining Throne, and are greeted with a delicious spread of all manner of food. You and Mark live out your days with Cave Dude eating like kings… don’t worry about where the food comes from.

26 - Because the creepy cave dude definitely seems shady, you make a break for it but fall into the ocean and ironically, get eaten anyway.

27 - Splitting up, you hear Mark get devoured by the same monster that devoured the last guy. Oops.

28 - You decide to split up, and are promptly devoured by a large worm creature.

29 - As you two dangle over a precipice, you decide to cut Mark loose and he falls heroically to his death.

30 - After refusing to split up with Mark, you two have no choice but to open the box, taking out a device that sends you across alternate timelines until you arrive at the beginning. Mark walks off in a huff of frustration.

31 - After splitting up with Mark, he disappears and you are left to wander the Sewer Cult by yourself. Coming upon a strange hallway full of paintings, you are confronted by Dark who monologues about the monotony of this “game”, and informs you that there are codes hidden throughout that you should find. (DARK ENDING)

[artist-in-space]

Time in AHWM

Something that I haven’t seen discussed is how time moves in AHWM, and it really intrigues me.

Sure, we could chalk up that-- for scenes like us going to the soldier’s base through a bush was editing, but that transition was intentional. We understand that it’s there to shorten the travel time.

But there are moments where we just go: “well, that was fast”. Those moments are the following, just on the top of my head:

Your adventure with Illinois, where you just literally walk towards the stone to put the cursed monkey. 

Your promotion from helpers in the kitchen to cleaners in the Penitentiary. We’re just handed the apron/outfit easily.

Your interaction with Yancy in the end, where he talks with you through the bars, and he’s not there in the end anymore.

What piqued my interest is how attached Yancy was with you-- like you really showed the guy that family/loved ones first was your motto and you have to go back. He says “might consider parole” where he just sang not wanting to two videos back! He was curious, yeah, and respected you when you beat him in a fight. But notice something: a transition of you going back to your jail cell and having these stuff in it, yeah, but Yancy is there again.

Who, prior to you walking to the jail cell, was put in solitary. The Warden actually yells it out to bring him to solitary and you see Yancy go slack as he’s pulled away. Then he’s suddenly in your cell, under the bed.

There was a time jump, or what constitutes as a time glitch.

And sure, it might be a transition, but his attitude is different already. He has his speech (and our hearts break) but he seems to consider it, really, and for you. There was a period that we didn’t see how we became friends and all. 

But there’s also another character who displays this: Illinois, who, at first, is intrigued why you’ve got the monkey statue that he had needed before. As someone who nonchalantly told Y/N that his partners die but you’re just calmly walking and evading everything with him, in the end he acknowledges you as a partner he had a fun adventure with (and cheekily says “sorry if you fell in love with me, they always do”. You also both get to monkey heaven too. 

Again, it must be a stretch, but there’s someone who affirms this: Rosanna’s character, the Scientist. She tells you that the abnormalities about time and sudden things happening was due to the anomaly. She confirms that alternate timelines isn’t what we’re just experiencing-- it’s also time glitches.

So while we might laugh about why Illinois really liked us as a partner, or how we’re just handed aprons and uniforms to be promoted “without doing anything” (and actually have our reputation to be known by the Warden), or maybe wonder why Yancy was ready to take parole for us... consider that there was an amount of time we spent with them that we didn’t see.

[insanityvirus13]

A Question for Dark

[Spoilers Ahead. Don’t read if you haven’t seen all the endings yet]

Why is Dark so disgusted that we wanted answers? 

He specifically said; “People like you want only one thing... [Dark screaming] ...and it’s disgusting. You want answers.” (Along with “well... games were always his forte.”)

He knows us well at this point. In his perspective, he’s technically known us for years. Going ‘round & ‘round in this little loop both him, Mark, and us keep getting stuck in. ADWM, WKM, the lil videos in between, and now AHWM. He even said how he thought we might be able to see past this Mark’s little... facade, games, and lies in a way. That while he felt we were always stuck & trapped in his games, going down the rabbit hole... in his text, he thought we’d see through. After all... same snake, different skin~

To go on a lil tangent, I only realized how much Mark started to be like asshole!Mark in the lead-up to Dark’s ending when he called us out on it. We all saw how Mark wanted to keep splitting up. Anytime we did, he’d die. He was almost completely set on it, and always extremely disappointed when we didn’t. Hell in the one where we fall down the hole together, he’s relieved if you finally split up, but panicky when you fall down with him - like he doesn’t want to drag you down the rabbit hole. For most of the split-ups, he may not have known it’d lead to his death... but in a way, he almost looked as suicidal as “Asshole!Mark.’ He just resonated all to well with that counterpart of his, in the end. (Especially with the “True End” being inviting you on a date, which just loops back to ADWM XD)

So now, we’re even more confused. Is this Asshole!Mark again, in another stolen body? Is it just the timelines and universes glitching out and overlapping with each other - y’know, before the True End takes place? Are we really the same MC from previous events... or are we just alternate version, and share the memories that we shouldn’t have because of all the overlapping & glitches and anomalies? 

So... who wouldn’t want answers? Why would he be so disgusted by people like us for wanting answers? Answers to why all these events have taken place. Answers to the anomalies. Answers to - quoting the scientist here - why we have memories of things that haven’t even happened yet//haven’t taken place here. Answers to why all the timelines, memories - even universes - are overlapping in the first place! Answers to why we seem to be almost stuck in a loop of games with Mark! Answers to why we keep meeting with and repeating the same lines with the likes of Dark & Wilford in the first place.

Answers to why we can’t escape the games - the rabbit hole - the “Mark” keeps dragging us down into!

Answers to why “Mark” & all the others have always been so... “enamored,” to say the least, with us in the first place.

...Who wouldn’t want answers? So why would he be so disgusted with us for wanting them?

We’re not like his Mark, wanting answers for why he couldn’t die in that house, and slowly but surely becoming more corrupted and losing himself... Is he afraid that we might become like his Mark? Have we - already, in a way - become like him? Do we just remind him so much of his Mark, and all the pain and torment Asshole!Mark caused him? Is it because he sees us as still wrapped around Mark’s finger, and Mark is still “stealing us from him,” as he put it in ADWM?

...Or is it for a different reason? ...Why is he so disgusted by us for wanting answers?

[crankgayplays]

Now, take this whole little theory with a grain of salt because at the end of the day all these are just fun stories mark created to have memories and adventures with his fans. even if I'm right there’s no need to look super deep into everything when you can just sit back and enjoy it. not everything needs an answer but as a storyteller, it’s fun to imagine them anyway. 

This line from a date with Markiplier always confused me “He promised he would let me in again.” ?? even in the context of a date with markiplier, Dark has his own body so he can’t possibly be talking about possession or anything like that. I offer this alternative, he doesn’t mean Mark promised to let him back into the body, he promised to let him back into the STORY. 

My theory states that Actor Mark has some kind of ability, allowing him to bend and warp reality into these different stories that allow him to play the hero however he likes. I think, after the confrontation Mark and Damien and Celine had in DAMIEN Mark decided they needed to be sectioned off, maybe even messed with so much like he did to Wilford and Abe Mark put Dark into his own story to mess with him. The universe that a heist with markiplier and a date with markiplier take place in ( the two being connected is a pretty canon idea ) 

Dark was never intended to be there and doesn’t serve some grander purpose, he just kinda showed up one day in the script almost like an outside source put him there. In this world, Mark crafted a version of himself and a version of y/n. This version of himself is kind, cool, funny, always taking care of y/n and their needs and wants. Making sure they’re safe, happy and make it out alive. This version of y/n ( or possibly the actual y/n ) is receptive to Mark’s kindness and the mild flirtation and “romance” between the two. This is concocted to drive Dark absolutely mad. 

To see his old friend ( flame? ) be so close and affectionate and close with Mark is infuriating to Damien and for Celine to see a version of Mark so kind and loving and open is meant to leave her with doubt and fear and confusion.

AHWM AND ADWM ARE ONE GIANT GASLIGHTING UNIVERSE ACTOR MARK CREATED TO FUCK WITH CELINE AND DAMIEN. MAKE THEM REALLY GO OFF THE DEEP END SO THEY COULD BE THE INARGUABLE BAD GUYS HE WANTS THEM TO BE

[oc-character-development]

A Heist With Markiplier Theory: every video on Mark’s Channel or at least WKM, AHWM and ADWM is set in a different parallel universe:

Spoilers for WKM, ADWM and AHWM. (Also it’s a little messy and all over the place so sorry in advance):

Okay, so I’ve been watching AHWM all of yesterday afternoon and spent all night last night compiling a theory and finding evidence for said theory . This might be the most obvious theory and I might come up with another theory as well (seriously, my WKM theory was like 17 pages long by the end of it so I didn’t post it so I pay attention to details) but, the theory is, all of Mark’s videos are part of a Multiverse and that there are multiple versions of Mark, and this split in universe was caused by what happened in Who Killed Markiplier and is somehow linked to the artefact you stole in the heist (but I haven’t really figured out that part yet so if anyone has any suggestions id appreciate and be grateful for the help 😊):

Evidence:

In the ‘scientist’ path, it is discovered that time is different, something has happened to time, and the possible futures, and pasts, and parallel universes are colliding (which honestly reminded me of Doctor Who series 4 😂) which also links into WKM and Wilford Motherloving Warfstache with the whole things not being quite what they seem and the cause of that is seemingly you.

The ending to the scientist ‘for the greater good’ path it is discovered that you aren’t the source of the shift in parallel universes but the box is. It gets destroyed, and you get sent back to your original timeline to before the heist was even committed with a nicer Mark than the one we had during the heist (but he clearly wasn’t too bad since, he was clearly upset if you tell him the truth of your zombie encounter and that you’ve been bitten by zombie Tyler)

Now what completely took me off guard, was this Mark then turns to you and says ‘now, how about we go on that date?’ Which was clearly a reference to ADWM, therefore placing the events of AHWM before ADWM if you want a timeline. and this is what set my theory off.

Also, just on a different note, as we are talking of timelines and different Marks, literally just before I got that ending, I found ending number 31, the last ending, the one with the link to WKM. And you of course have a chat with our friend, Darkiplier, who we know is Damien after the events of well, ‘Damien’ (sporting a white suit, instead of his dark suit) and he mentions something about different faces of Mark but being the same man and he advised you not to trust Mark. So he clearly knows something is going on especially through the text messages you get sent:

He also questions our ability to remember whether we have met dark before. Canonically, the last time we saw Dark (or Damien and Celine at that point) was when we were in Markiplier Manor. If we are from alternate timelines and they are merging together, that means that we likely wouldn’t remember WKM because that potentially was not our original timeline. (IDK what this point is really).

Wilford also makes an appearance and gets shouted at by Katherine again for almost shooting us 😂 (call back to Markiplier TV) after we are transported to the ‘timeline’ involving an Interview with Markiplier (callback to the video where Warfstache interviews Mark) however he knows about the Artefact, so either we steal it in that timeline or Warstache can jump through timelines and knows we did it through that, which is feasible and likely because of his abilities in MLW and WKM.

Anyway back to more concrete evidence. It would explain why we don’t see Benjamin, The Chef or Abe but we have endings with Dark and Wilford and get characters played by the actors (Mick playing Warden Murder-Slaughter, Robert playing multiple characters but mainly the police guard who’s actually nice but also scary like the chief in WKM and Tyler is a zombie in the zombie outbreak ‘timeline’) and they actually have some characteristics of their characters in WKM but are different people. (Warden Murder Slaughter has Abe’s tendency to say things that can also mean something inappropriate, or strict temper/can’t trust anyone mentality and the police guard is obviously scary like all of Roberts previous characters but is actually quite nice like the chef in WKM).

Also, just a theory inside a theory, it was stated in another ending (the ending where you don’t split up when Mark is dangling from the hole and you fall and he uses the parallel timeline watch thing to escape) there is a ‘timeline’ where AHWM is a movie or TV show (just like ADWM) as we get a glimpse of actor Mark again although not as dramatic as ADWM but it is definitely him which (most likely) makes that parallel timeline we landed in the WKM timeline. Which also might explain how Dark knows those events happen because of Damien being friends with Mark (and probably watched his films) and he must have figured out from Damien’s memory that there had to be a parallel universe where all this is true.

Also, there are numerous mentions of parallel timelines in different routes to the scientist endings (most noticibly the route were you don’t let go of Mark in the cult ending and you end up falling down a hole).

So where am I going with this?

There are at least 4 main actual Marks in the MCU (Markiplier Cinematic Universe hehe, Thanks MatPat for that name, he was brilliant in the video and actually creeped me out a little 😂). And I propose that they are:

Actor/Asshole Mark

AHWM Mark

ADWM Mark

Markiplier

And so each of those videos each exist in their own parallel timeline or universe. But have the same Y/N because time is being weird. But what caused this, or at least where it all started was is the House in WKM in 1920s/30s (according to Tyler’s Benjamin The Butler Stream on Twitch, which also could be explained how they exist in the modern day, time and the state of reality is a mess), maybe Actor Mark used the artefact to help him with the ritual to enable his plan in WKM.

Also, just briefly jumping back to Dark. He fits in this theory. Because, through the fact that he hates Mark and he obviously thinks that Mark is the same in each timeline or body he’s in. So he’s going from each timeline to stop Mark/take over his channel. Also just bringing in ‘Damien’ here, but actor Mark made Damien the villain of the story, and Damien willingly gave into this and he knows what Mark is really like. The reason why I’m bringing all this up is because I think, Dark is just one person, there is one dark and one Wilford, unlike Mick and Robert’s characters (see evidence above) and is travelling through parallel timelines to stop each Mark and trying to save the viewer from him but because this is Mark’s ‘story’ he is the villain.

Anyway that’s my really messy theory that doesn’t make too much sense when writing it down (I’m terrible at explaining things and making sense when I write stuff down) but I hope people liked the theory! And it’s just a theory....and I’m probably wrong 😂... also is it just me that wants MatPat to do a theory on AHWM now... I mean, he was in it after all.

And now I’m going to focus on the fact that JJ might be making a return in Jack’s video tonight as it is his birthday (also, perhaps Anti as well... it is Halloween after all so anything can happen) being part of both Jack and Mark’s community really is tough at this time of year, where we are constantly being set on fire 😂😂

[chicabear15]

An ending that I want in AHWM that probably won’t happen

We encounter Dark and we freeze, Mark’s trying to pull us away but we won’t move. We get flashes of WKM and then options come up, one of them is to leave with Mark. Another is titled ‘Damien?’, I think Dark would be taken aback at first but then tries to keep his composure. I don’t really know how the rest would go, but if this were to be one of the ending videos it would be tilted ‘old friends’ or something like that.

Is this because I love Damien and really want to see Dark’s canonical reaction to being called Damien, other than the alternate ending to DAMIEN because it has a different feel to it? Yes, 100%. Do I think this will actually happen? Sadly, no.

Also if you get inspired by this and want to write it, be my guest. And please tag me if you do, I’d love to read it.

[xshatteredreflectionsx]

Alright, alright, alright, ALRIGHT.

It is midnight in my time zone, so I am lifting the spoiler lockdown. It is a little early, but everyone has found pretty much all the secrets by now. Dark’s code was cracked in, like, three hours. That said,

⚠️MINOR SPOILERS. AVERT YOUR EYES CHILDREN. AVERT THEM. ⚠️

So AHWM wasn’t as lore heavy as I was hoping like Damien or Motherlovin’ was, but I kind of appreciate that. We’ve been asking for a follow-up to ADWM for a while now, and Heist delivered in spades. Even if my first ending I did get eaten by a shark.

Our one and only interaction with Dark (lookin mighty spiffy in that white suit) did give me some ideas tho. It all but spelled out that in the context of the universe, We’re The District Attorney. Since the entire theme of the show is that time is really just a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff, it isn’t out of the question to guess that We’re the DA from a modern, alternate timeline. And since the timelines are converging and bleeding into each other, our memories from WKM are starting to trickle in.

Now Dark’s texts interested me. He seemed to imply that we’ve been playing these games for much longer than we think. (“Maybe you’re just tired of having this conversation over, and over, and over, and OVER!!”) He’s tried to get out out of this timeloop because he is Damien, and we’re, at the very least, an alternate version of a beloved friend. So who put us in this timeloop? Not Wilford, he’s just living his best pantsless life. Dark implies that it’s Actor Mark who trapped us in this timeloop. In these games; these rabbit holes as he calls them. But why? Actor Mark is trying to pigeonhole everyone into roles.

Actor!Mark is the endearing hero.

Dark is the villain

We’re the best friend/side kick/ love interest for the Hero. And we can, and possibly have, gone in circles for years playing this role. Furthermore, what better way to further twist the knife than by dragging the DA along on fun adventures and endearing himself to Us? Actor!Mark is super petty. Is it really out of character to flaunt us like,

“See this person you left to rot? Your old college friend? Well, they’re MY friend now; and they don’t trust you at all.”

That said, I am still on the fence about whether Our Mark is Actor!Mark. But maybe he’s just that good at what he does. He’s had an eternity to master his craft, after all.

[mermaid-nebula]

I feel like these are just alternative endings to AHWM