White Smile Character in When the Curtain has fallen | World Anvil

White Smile

Not everything that looks dangerous is in reality. Some things that lurk in the dark just want to mind their own business and once in a while, they might even be friendly. This goes for some Spirits too, and White Smile is one of the examples.  

Terrifying appearance

When not manifested, White Smile is completely indistinguishable from the darkness surrounding it. It has a nasty habit of manifesting close to people without warning them, while also not understanding why that would be scary. And paired with its appearance it tends to be really scary.   When it shows up, White Smile takes a form of a pair of eyes with white irises suspended in the dark. Beneath them, there's a set of long, blunt teeth, an obvious reason for its name. White Smile doesn't have any other body parts and trying to touch anything else than its teeth will only result in waving one's hand in the empty space. Its teeth are smooth and weirdly nice to the touch, though the spirit doesn't really like it when someone touches them. While they might look dangerous, White Smile doesn't have enough strength to hurt someone with them, just to grab them.  

Selling information

White Smile travels a lot and likes to hide in dark places. It is no wonder then that it manages to see and hear a lot. And since some of the things it learns might be valuable to others, it started to sell the information to those who might be interested. Sometimes what it knows is completely useless to others (like the habits of the local nocturnal fauna) and sometimes one can hit a real gold mine when talking to it. Of course, for a price...  

...for a small price

There are two ways to pay White Smile for its information. One is to share something new with it. Though, one needs to watch out for what they share, as White Smile will obviously sell it to another potential buyer. The other way to pay it is to destroy a light. Any light that currently shines in the area or a possible light source. Someone with a box of lightbulbs can learn quite a lot by just smashing one after another. But once in a while, White Smile might consider some information to be really valuable. In that case, it might ask someone to destroy a generator or a light switch that powers up multiple lights or get rid of the fuse. In those cases, one needs to watch out as doing so might bring other consequences (lack of power) when White Smile cared only for the light.
Species
Children
Taboo
As a spirit of darkness, White Smile can only manifest in darkness. Any light directed at it banishes it instantly and should it be ever stuck in a room that fills completely with light, without any place to hide, it would completely destroy it.   Voice
Despite its appearance, White Smile has a very soft, calm, and whispery voice. It is very pleasant to hear. When speaking, it sounds polite and curious
"I am the White Smile, the bringer of darkness, the unseen whisper, the snuffer of the light. What? What does it mean? I don't know, someone sold me those titles for information about some fruits."
— White Smile

Comments

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Aug 9, 2023 12:56

Creepy, but in an incredibly cool way. "Some things that lurk in the dark just want to mind their own business" caught my attention immediately with a chuckle -- too true, and so important to remember that nothing is a monolith, even the creatures that live in the dark! If there's any other spirits of darkness, though, I'm not so sure I'd be one of the ones willing to pay the price of turning out the light. White Smile is a unique and interesting character! Great article! <3

Aug 9, 2023 15:28

Thank you, I'm happy you liked reading about this little silly spirit. :D

Dec 3, 2023 16:08 by Reanna R

Ooh, this is so cool and creepy! White Smile seems quite interesting to talk to, but its appearance would probably throw me off haha. I can only imagine the wealth of information it knows, though.

May your worldbuilding hammer always fall true! Also, check out the world of the Skydwellers for lots of aerial adventures.
Dec 3, 2023 22:27

I'm happy to hear you liked the article!