ULTRAMagic Archive - Entry 12
Previous | First | Next
Master Post - Patreon
Master Post - Patreon
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford is an anomalous bounty hunter who appears as an inkblot cartoon character (or rather, that is what she is described as). She is noteworthy for being an unofficial member of The Magic Anomaly Investigation Group (M.A.I.G.) and an informant for The Liger Brigade. Mary has been active since the 1920s, having first shown up in New York, U.S.A. The tale behind Mary is a strange one, with the primary source of information coming from the lead scientist of M.A.I.G., Dr. Reynard Woodall. Making this even stranger is that Dr. Reynard adopted Mary and views her as a legitimate daughter. Just who is Mary Pickford?
Starting with Mary’s anomalous properties, they are as follows:
Mary Pickford is widely regarded as an incredibly dangerous entity, despite her friendly disposition, with her aberrant ability making her borderline invincible. Fortunately her ethics and psychopomps (dullahans, reapers, shinigami, etc.) keep her in check (why she fears the latter is unclear). Leading the research into the nature of her existence is Dr. Reynard Woodall, given that he is arguably responsible for her existence in the first place. Reynard was attending a party at a speakeasy in the late twenties where they were playing a black and white cartoon. Mary just stepped out from behind the projector and started drinking with the partygoers. Only Reynard noticed the discrepancy.
Reynard promptly bought the film off of its original owner and has been preserving it ever since then. He has been keeping the reel in good condition, making copies with higher quality film, and has digitally recreated the film. The film is an anomaly in and of itself. When watched, the film plays out as normal, but events happen without a specific character. Despite this, average people do not notice anything abnormal. People that can see Mary’s anomalous properties see the issue and report feeling unnerved, akin to observing liminal spaces. Mary has expressed a desire to return to her film, but it is unclear if she can.
Erika Storm (lead scientist of the Liger Brigade) has taken great interest in Mary. Extensive studies have revealed that she is a rare instance of a 2D entity existing within the 3rd dimension. It has been discovered that the 2nd dimension does exist as its own plane of reality, but it is radically different from the 3rd dimension. It follows a strict path with no deviation and its laws are set in stone. This makes sense as higher dimensions need it to function properly. It can be observed, but only through things like art and media.
Things become complicated when dimensional disruptions occur. 2D entities have entered the 3rd dimension before, but it is incredibly rare. Most of the time this is observed as real life stick figures. Even fewer stay around, vanishing into the Unlight or 0D space. Entities as complex as Mary are so rare that she is the only known instance of this happening (keyword being known). Erika has speculated that Reynard’s presence at that party is what brought Mary into existence (Reynard is a former primordial, The Sulfur of Old. Likewise, Erika was The Mercury of Old). This has led to Mary being seen as Reynard and Erika’s daughter.
In regards to Mary’s profession, an explanation of what bounty hunters are is necessary. These are vastly different from the pop culture perception. They are mercenaries, not second-hand cops with no standards. They can be hired for any job as long as enough money is offered. Typically they will check bulletin boards (or similar forums) and take whatever job suits their fancy. Hunters (shorthand for Bounty Hunters) will not advertise their services publicly, preferring to let word of mouth get their name out there.
Another key difference is that the majority of hunters have standards and limits. They still prioritize profit, but will refuse to take certain jobs. Any work that goes after innocent civilians, destabilizes society at large, and/or would disrupt the world’s economy are right out. Hunters may be profiteers, but they are not stupid. Clients who scam or anger hunters are usually ratted out to the authorities. Most of the time these mercenaries will have the money to afford bribes, helped by their low profile.
Lastly, hunters are not proud of their work. It is a dirty job after all. It pays the bills and that is what matters to the sensible ones. Mary is a bit of an anomaly in that regard as she is easily angered by pop culture. Her biggest pet peeve is when “Bounty Hunters” appear on reality television shows. Portrayals in movies, shows, video games, and books do not help either. Mary has gone on record saying that actual hunters would never work out in the open, would not work as second hand cops, and would not sign “hollywood deals” for reality TV. Plus she does not want children aspiring to be hunters given how bad the profession can get at times.
Mary had issues fitting into society at first. She could not find a job she was good at, and the ones that worked ended with her driving her employers mad from her anomalous properties. It also did not help that it was the twenties going into the thirties, but she found something that worked: hunting criminals. She liked this as it felt like she was doing good and she made money from it. It was a win-win situation for her. Eventually Mary started taking slightly more unsavory jobs due to better payouts and the ever changing attitude of society as a whole.
There was a period of time where Mary was basically an assassin. She would be tasked with going after politicians, despots, dictators, CEOs, and other noteworthy figures. Eventually she grew jaded and tired, which led her to stop taking these jobs. Being 2D seemed to allow her to disassociate from the 3rd dimension, but even she grew weary of the mindless killing. Plus she did not want this to be her life. Mary did not want to abandon her profession, but she was going to be a lot more selective of what jobs she took.
Approaching the 1990s, Mary realized that clientele were becoming more bloodthirsty. So many crime lords, mafias, and gangs wanted people dead. They were even threatening the hunters themselves, hiring other hunters to kill them if they did not take a job. Naturally these people vanished due to strange circumstances as time went on, with most hunters not giving a fig. Mary would adopt a new standard to combat this epidemic: she demanded 50% upfront and would feign failure if the target was innocent. If the client went after her, she would simply change her target to the client and take as much money as she pleased afterwards.
Mary Pickford is an anomalous bounty hunter who appears as an inkblot cartoon character (or rather, that is what she is described as). She is noteworthy for being an unofficial member of The Magic Anomaly Investigation Group (M.A.I.G.) and an informant for The Liger Brigade. Mary has been active since the 1920s, having first shown up in New York, U.S.A. The tale behind Mary is a strange one, with the primary source of information coming from the lead scientist of M.A.I.G., Dr. Reynard Woodall. Making this even stranger is that Dr. Reynard adopted Mary and views her as a legitimate daughter. Just who is Mary Pickford?
Starting with Mary’s anomalous properties, they are as follows:
- Strength levels of humans in Universe-23 tend to vary, but typically men and women are on equal footing. Mary exceeds this. She is not as strong as someone like Aoife Crawford, but there have been a few noteworthy incidents.
- Mary’s appearance can be best described as a real life, inkblot character. Her proportions are normal and physiology, but she looks as if she is animated and has the most popular inkblot style of eyes.
- Very few can actually see her anomalous properties. These are people of great intelligence, higher dimensional level, and the magically inclined. Looking at Mary for prolonged periods of time can distort reality for the individual. This seems to be mitigated in the mentally unstable/irregular for some reason.
Mary Pickford is widely regarded as an incredibly dangerous entity, despite her friendly disposition, with her aberrant ability making her borderline invincible. Fortunately her ethics and psychopomps (dullahans, reapers, shinigami, etc.) keep her in check (why she fears the latter is unclear). Leading the research into the nature of her existence is Dr. Reynard Woodall, given that he is arguably responsible for her existence in the first place. Reynard was attending a party at a speakeasy in the late twenties where they were playing a black and white cartoon. Mary just stepped out from behind the projector and started drinking with the partygoers. Only Reynard noticed the discrepancy.
Reynard promptly bought the film off of its original owner and has been preserving it ever since then. He has been keeping the reel in good condition, making copies with higher quality film, and has digitally recreated the film. The film is an anomaly in and of itself. When watched, the film plays out as normal, but events happen without a specific character. Despite this, average people do not notice anything abnormal. People that can see Mary’s anomalous properties see the issue and report feeling unnerved, akin to observing liminal spaces. Mary has expressed a desire to return to her film, but it is unclear if she can.
Erika Storm (lead scientist of the Liger Brigade) has taken great interest in Mary. Extensive studies have revealed that she is a rare instance of a 2D entity existing within the 3rd dimension. It has been discovered that the 2nd dimension does exist as its own plane of reality, but it is radically different from the 3rd dimension. It follows a strict path with no deviation and its laws are set in stone. This makes sense as higher dimensions need it to function properly. It can be observed, but only through things like art and media.
Things become complicated when dimensional disruptions occur. 2D entities have entered the 3rd dimension before, but it is incredibly rare. Most of the time this is observed as real life stick figures. Even fewer stay around, vanishing into the Unlight or 0D space. Entities as complex as Mary are so rare that she is the only known instance of this happening (keyword being known). Erika has speculated that Reynard’s presence at that party is what brought Mary into existence (Reynard is a former primordial, The Sulfur of Old. Likewise, Erika was The Mercury of Old). This has led to Mary being seen as Reynard and Erika’s daughter.
In regards to Mary’s profession, an explanation of what bounty hunters are is necessary. These are vastly different from the pop culture perception. They are mercenaries, not second-hand cops with no standards. They can be hired for any job as long as enough money is offered. Typically they will check bulletin boards (or similar forums) and take whatever job suits their fancy. Hunters (shorthand for Bounty Hunters) will not advertise their services publicly, preferring to let word of mouth get their name out there.
Another key difference is that the majority of hunters have standards and limits. They still prioritize profit, but will refuse to take certain jobs. Any work that goes after innocent civilians, destabilizes society at large, and/or would disrupt the world’s economy are right out. Hunters may be profiteers, but they are not stupid. Clients who scam or anger hunters are usually ratted out to the authorities. Most of the time these mercenaries will have the money to afford bribes, helped by their low profile.
Lastly, hunters are not proud of their work. It is a dirty job after all. It pays the bills and that is what matters to the sensible ones. Mary is a bit of an anomaly in that regard as she is easily angered by pop culture. Her biggest pet peeve is when “Bounty Hunters” appear on reality television shows. Portrayals in movies, shows, video games, and books do not help either. Mary has gone on record saying that actual hunters would never work out in the open, would not work as second hand cops, and would not sign “hollywood deals” for reality TV. Plus she does not want children aspiring to be hunters given how bad the profession can get at times.
Mary had issues fitting into society at first. She could not find a job she was good at, and the ones that worked ended with her driving her employers mad from her anomalous properties. It also did not help that it was the twenties going into the thirties, but she found something that worked: hunting criminals. She liked this as it felt like she was doing good and she made money from it. It was a win-win situation for her. Eventually Mary started taking slightly more unsavory jobs due to better payouts and the ever changing attitude of society as a whole.
There was a period of time where Mary was basically an assassin. She would be tasked with going after politicians, despots, dictators, CEOs, and other noteworthy figures. Eventually she grew jaded and tired, which led her to stop taking these jobs. Being 2D seemed to allow her to disassociate from the 3rd dimension, but even she grew weary of the mindless killing. Plus she did not want this to be her life. Mary did not want to abandon her profession, but she was going to be a lot more selective of what jobs she took.
Approaching the 1990s, Mary realized that clientele were becoming more bloodthirsty. So many crime lords, mafias, and gangs wanted people dead. They were even threatening the hunters themselves, hiring other hunters to kill them if they did not take a job. Naturally these people vanished due to strange circumstances as time went on, with most hunters not giving a fig. Mary would adopt a new standard to combat this epidemic: she demanded 50% upfront and would feign failure if the target was innocent. If the client went after her, she would simply change her target to the client and take as much money as she pleased afterwards.
Jobs and bounties in the 21st century have been interesting for Mary. Of course there were the typical criminals and crime lords that wanted everyone under the sun taken out, with Hunters having to remind them that their actions would create chain reactions that would backfire on them. In Mary’s case, a mysterious shadow organization known as The ACF has been hiring her on a consistent basis. They have been asking her to retrieve certain individuals and seem to have an unlimited amount of money. Even if Mary fails, she still gets paid a good portion of the initial bounty. And sometimes they just need her to engage with the target in question. Mary has been working to find out who these people are.
This unknown organization seems to work with The Liger Brigade, M.A.I.G., The League, The Devil’s Brew Coven, and The Red Order. Of course getting information on them has been tricky for Mary as The ACF maintains a low profile. Dr. Reynard and Erika have promised to tell Mary about them, but they are slow to reveal information out of an interest of security and secrecy. Some of the people of interest for The ACF have been: Ellen the Wayward, Mazatl Nakahara (Adrien Irons), Dr. Reynard Woodall himself, Erika Storm herself, William Ford II, Valentin Karppinen, Trumna Wintergate, Antares Briggs, Bethany Briggs, Morana Dracul, Vlastimir Dracul, and Dr. Ethan Luminate.
Next: Witch's Covens
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
This unknown organization seems to work with The Liger Brigade, M.A.I.G., The League, The Devil’s Brew Coven, and The Red Order. Of course getting information on them has been tricky for Mary as The ACF maintains a low profile. Dr. Reynard and Erika have promised to tell Mary about them, but they are slow to reveal information out of an interest of security and secrecy. Some of the people of interest for The ACF have been: Ellen the Wayward, Mazatl Nakahara (Adrien Irons), Dr. Reynard Woodall himself, Erika Storm herself, William Ford II, Valentin Karppinen, Trumna Wintergate, Antares Briggs, Bethany Briggs, Morana Dracul, Vlastimir Dracul, and Dr. Ethan Luminate.
Next: Witch's Covens
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Comments
Post a Comment