Damsel

Damsel's self-proclaimed 'job' is to clean up after MX's rampages, a general reason as why you'd barely see her in the game. In reality, this excuse is to hoard the decapitated heads of Toads, intending to turn them into super mushrooms as a rather optimistic plan to try and defeat MX for good. She tries to 'play the game' in her own way, keeping herself hidden and subtly attempting to prevent MX from becoming bored, as if the entity becomes bored, she could be the next target.To blend her into the Mario '85 universe, Damsel would likely be considered a minor character. Maybe if she was lucky, the deuteragonist or tritagonist. (With Lucas being the Protagonist and MX being the antagonist. Keep in mind that Lucas' Uncle Mark would probably play an important role as well.) At the end of the day this is Lucas' story, so if she was canon, she wouldn't appear often. Damsel would only talk to the player if she was interacted with, and even if spoken to, she would likely be sarcastic and try to deter the player from going forward. Repetitive interactions would make her continue with sarcastic comments.If you tried to walk past her, her sprite would silently turn to look at you as you went to the next part of the stage, and you'd swear you'd see something lurking in the shadows as you continue onwards. Afterwards, she would appear in her 'Distress' form and stalk the player. Unlike Pipe Crawler, talking to Distress will not kill you, and will only shove the Player back as she approaches you as she gets desperate to try and turn you around. Of course, you can find a way to jump over her and avoid her. In this stage, Distress will take a different tactic, deliberately playing up the creepy and edgy act to scare the player.Her behaviour would be incredibly sinister, and if the player continues going forward, going towards the goal would make her turn into her 'True Form' and go berserk. Continuous yells while she chases you would likely be common ' would likely be what she would yell at you, and it would be constant in order to keep the player on edge.Anyone unaware of what you are supposed to do in the game would probably freak out and turn the other direction to run, ironically putting them straight back to the start. Anyone with context could find a way to avoid her and run past. Anyone exposed to this and deciding to run back to the start would likely hate her for it. If Damsel killed the player, you'd see her expression transform into a shocked and horrified one at your death animation. She'd feel guilty. Very guilty.In summary, Damsel is tedious to deal with, but deep down she is trying to protect you. Powerup creation - While stuck in MX's game, Damsel realized the absence of powerups in the game and has perfected the ability to make powerups of her own. She can only create super mushrooms as of right now and it has been done with trial and error. It's unknown how she can do it. Maybe it's due to her role as the Princess, maybe it's a special ability. The first time she attempted to make a super mushroom, she ate it to test it and she puked it right back up due to the stench. She basically ate the equivalent of uncooked rotting flesh. Ew. Paused aging - Damsel is permanently stuck at 24 years of age due to inhabiting a pixelated body. To a certain extent, you could consider her capable of some form of immortality, as it’s not like a lesser being would be able to kill her. However, superior entities such as MX are capable of killing her permanently. Gliding - When falling from a long height, Damsel can use her dress as a parasol and will glide and float while making a landing. Shapeshifting - Damsel can morph into a variety of three forms, granted to her as a spirit as the result of consuming a super mushroom. However, she is restricted to these forms only. Superhuman strength - Though not as powerful as MX, Damsel in her Duffy form is capable of destroying any physical resistance in the game, whether it be living or inanimate. However, she does not have unlimited strength and will show physical signs of injury, especially if inflicted upon by MX. Master manipulator - Due to the effects of trauma while dealing with MX, Damsel is able to manipulate superior entities to a certain extent. You could consider her a great actress, as she can put on a variety of personalities with the intent of intimidating or pacifying an opponent depending on the individual.

In January of 2024, Duffy started up a YouTube channel intending to upload Let’s Plays featuring ‘haunted gaming.’ Mario ‘85 caught her interest after she heard about the rumours of a demon inhabiting the game. Simply dismissing it as fearmongering and a marketing attempt, Duffy obtained the game herself after pirating it off of a mysterious website. As far as she knew, the game was annoyingly difficult but normal; at least normal as it could be for a 'haunted game.' The recording was a success, and after uploading it to YouTube, she obtained a fair amount of views that would be considered pretty decent for a video game. In the early hours of 11th February 2024, a few weeks after her upload, MX observed Duffy enjoying her time online. With the pirated Mario ‘85 file still on her computer, the entity hijacked her laptop and tripped the wires, electrocuting the young woman to death. Duffy’s body would be found burned and crumpled on her bedroom floor next to her desk. With his new victim attained, MX ripped her soul out of her body and forced it into the pixelated body of Princess Toadstool, giving her the role of the Damsel in his game