| “ | Even the smallest amount of fighting experience earned from beating up children can get you to level 99 if you grind enough. Let's beat up one million children.
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Muse is the spirit possessing Ed Burger's paintbrush. He is incredibly muscular, and has certain physical similarities to a monkey.
Appearance[]
Muse is a very muscular simian with red semi-decorative armored plating around his face, shoulders, neck, wrists and ankles, with the wrist and ankle guards ending in wooden palettes. His head, abs and inner calves are colored a minty green while the rest is a light purple, and he has large black streaks running down his arms and body. A somewhat-unrolled paper scroll is belted around his lower abdomen and reaches his ankle guards. Muse has a voluminous mane of hair that reaches his chest, a goatee, and a long, flexible tail; every tuft is shaped like a brush and ends dipped in black ink. The palms and soles are also black with ink. Muse has white eyes with no pupils or iris, with two black line marks accenting them an inch or two away from the eyes.
Personality[]
Muse is a lively and energetic spirit who takes great pride in his physically impressive physique and often promotes constant exercising in order to hone the mind. However, when the discussion turns to something he barely cares about, he almost never gives his full attention[1].
Paranatural[]
Chapter 5[]
Ed asks for Muse's guidance during the Hitball game, wondering if Isabel Guerra is mad at them for leaving her alone with her grandpa at the end of the Ghost Train mission. Muse mocks Ed's scrawny physique and challenges them to give 50 reps of multiple exercises or risk getting bad advice. After Ed completes the task, Muse tells them that maybe Isabel is upset that Ed gave the impression of staying by her side only to abandon her almost immediately after, or maybe Ed's just mad at themself for ditching her, and concludes by saying he doesn't care while giving a thumbs-up. As Ed wonders if they should have stood up to Master Guerra and asks the spirit if they had taken the wrong course of action the other night, Muse bluntly tells Ed that the old master has a stronger mind, will, and body than Ed and that others would be naive to fault Ed for running away. Ed is noticeably upset by this and blocks Isabel from a hitball she was going to catch; Ed turns to her and gives her a thumbs-up but falters when they see her concerned expression. Muse pulls Ed back into spirit trance for a moment to give a tip: bravery is more of a problem for the weak than a solution, and they should either accept their position in terms of strength or get strong enough to overcome that weakness. As the heightened perception ends, Ed is hit by a ball and knocked out of the game.
Ed later asks Muse if Isabel views Max Puckett as her best friend now instead of Ed themself due to Max blocking a shot in hitball in a "cool, non-embarrassing way" and because of Ed's cowardice. Muse is listening to music on an iPod and looking at baboon pinups, so he doesn't hear Ed's question. Ed decides to ask Isabel if she's mad at them. She gives a confusing response, leaving Ed distraught. When they ask Muse what they're supposed to do now, the simian pats them on the shoulder and instructs them to do 50 push-ups.
Muse briefly talks with Ed as the latter runs down a hallway and explains that they won't leave Isabel behind anymore, but this is soon interrupted with Isabel yelling at them for using Spirit Trance-induced super speed in public.
Ed later engages in a scuffle with Johnny Jhonny and RJ after inciting the bullies to beat them up, telling Johnny and RJ that they (Ed) couldn't tell them anything they wanted to know. At a reluctant Johnny's insistence, Ed fights back in self-defense, resulting in Ed getting a rush from fighting and the spectral defeating the bullies in combat by punching RJ in the face and Johnny in the stomach (after a failed Judo Throw removes his shirt instead of throwing him). As Ed stands triumphantly over the two, Muse congratulates Ed on his victory before suggesting that they beat up more children as a method of training.
Relationships[]
Hosts[]
- Ed Burger - Muse seems to regularly require Ed perform extensive exercise before helping them, although more out of playful prodding than anything else. He is also prone to teasing his spectral, deliberately getting their name wrong and bluntly stating he doesn't care about Ed's problems while grinning at them. Despite his constant mockery about Ed's physical being, Muse does seem to show a bit of concern for Ed's well being, agreeing that knowing when to run is the correct decision.
Abilities[]
Ink Painting[]
Based on how his powers manifest through Ed's tool, Muse has the ability to generate black ink freely and create constructs and weapons from it. He additionally has the ability to decide the consistency of the ink itself; whether it's hard or soft, rubbery or inflexible, its weight or lack thereof, etc. His full limits and powers outside of the paintbrush are unknown.
Quotes[]
- Muse: "Now give me 50 of each exercise or I'll give you bad advice on purpose."
- Ed: "Aw, what? People will see, though!"
- Muse: "THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF EXERCISE, KID!!"
- — Muse and Ed during Hitball (Chapter 5, Page 34
)
- Muse: "Li'l tip, kid. Without power, bravery is no virtue. For the weak and foolish, it's a liability. Accept your place on the food chain or get strong enough to climb higher. Otherwise you'll just keep making a monkey of yourself."
- Muse (as spirit trance is ending): "Get it? 'Cause I'm a monkey"
- — Chapter 5, Page 37
- Ed: "Ohh, what am I supposed to do now?"
- Muse: "Just do what I do, kid: Whatever I want. So fifty push-ups"
- — Muse and Ed (Chapter 5, Page 94)
- Ed: "Muse...I've made up my mind."
- Muse: "That explains why it's so roomy up in here. Make one up with a pool and DVD player next time, yeah?"
- — Chapter 5, Page 99
- Muse: "Good job, Ed. Even the small amount of fighting experience earned from beating up children can get you to level 99 if you grind enough."
- Muse: "Let's beat up one million children."
- — Muse congratulating Ed (Chapter 5, Page 163)
Trivia[]
- Muse's speech balloons turn black at their tips, similar to a pen or brush dipped in ink.
- Muse's impressive physique, supernatural abilities, and partnership with Ed grant him a great similarity to (and takes possible inspiration from) the Stands of the ongoing Jojo's Bizarre Adventure series, most notably the stand Star Platinum, a comparison that author Zack Morrison has confirmed as intentional.[2] It should also be noted that Muse shares his name with the band Muse, a naming convention that the majority of Stands in that series follow.
- Muse teases Ed by constantly getting their name wrong. So far, he has called Ed "Ned"[3] , "Ted", "Nedward", and "Nerdwad"[4] . When being serious, he uses "kid"[5], and uses Ed's name correctly when praising them for winning a fight[6].
Gallery[]
Official Artwork[]
Comic[]
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