Universal Defect

A universal defect, also known simply as a defect, is a "mistake" in the universe created by The Sweep. Some defects are natural occurrences, while others were deliberately formed or influenced by The Sweep for his own purposes. Most commonly, defects occur when one chooses to follow The Sweep as a sort of initiation cost; the follower is not permitted to know of the changing timelines unless they allow The Sweep to change some part of their life.

Natural Defects
These defects are either side effects of the new timeline's creation, or somehow related to beings exclusive to the new timeline. They were completely unintentional, and The Sweep does not necessarily know about them.

Animated Entities
The new timeline came with a new generation totally exclusive to it. Among them are animated objects, such as Kingsley Vogue; shadow births, like Sparky Corsini, and other unusual and impossible life forms. Breath births, Adam & Eve births, and residents of the Opium Province (such as Maddox) also fall under this category. All of these phenomena are living people with full consciences, though their appearances vary in level of anthropomorphism. Many of them - shadow and breath births in particular - may be carrying their own natural or deliberate defects, depending on the state of their birth and the health of their parent.

Powder Snow Casing
Powder Snow Casing is a defect completely unique to Sparky. It is a skin condition that causes his skin to wear away at the touch of another human. Rubbing at his skin will leave a white, powdery residue on one's hands, and bloody marks similar to scrapes or burns on his body. He is not affected by manmade fabrics or any other material, though pig skin is capable of harming him. Kingsley cannot hurt him at all, as his body is made of fabric, nor can anyone who wears gloves or otherwise covers their hands.

Deliberate Defects
These defects are those purposefully created by The Sweep. Most of them were created as the price to be paid when joining him, and they usually represent a flaw or sin that the follower has committed.

Arsonist's Manifesto
The price paid by Theresa Awning in order to follow The Sweep, which represents her felonies. The Arsonist's Manifesto is the hole in Saccharine Sydney's back, which has been present since birth. It constantly expels smoke which, if trapped inside her body, can potentially kill her. Examination of her body proves that the source of said smoke is not inside of her body; rather, it is more than likely that it exists on another plane, dimension, etc. Sydney can use the hole as a sort of hammerspace, or pocket dimension, to store lightweight objects, such as Amour and Dadface Gabe. However, she is the only one who can safely reach into her own back; attempts by others to do this have always resulted in severe burns. The smoke tends to become darker and thicker when Sydney is hurt or ill, which in turn, makes it more deadly if it cannot escape from her body. However, it is harmless to others, and is said to give off the scent of pine needles, suggesting that it may be useful in modern medicine.

Kansas
Unlike other defects granted by The Sweep, Kansas was created not to make the follower's loved one suffer, but rather to make an enemy prosper. Kansas is the left eye of Damaris Rhode, which can be removed and used to forsee the future. It answers yes/no questions, much in the way of a magic 8 ball, except with 100% accuracy. Unfortunately, it only works when the right eye is also taken out, and as Damaris cannot see when her eyes are out of their sockets, she needs someone to read Kansas for her. Kansas was made for an unnamed student of Damaris', who swore revenge on her after having failed her class twice. However, The Sweep sensed that he planned on using his knowledge to commit atrocities against her specifically, and so gave her the Kansas to challenge the student - who then died a few months later of unknown causes. Out of respect for the student's family, Damaris kept his identity secret. Kansas is the only defect applied to a human that is not inherently harmful, nor can it be used for violent purposes.

Clover Sight
Despite its misleading name, Clover Sight is a mouth defect, rather than an eye defect. It belongs to Eve Rossett, and was the price paid by her older cousin for following The Sweep. Clover Sight is the complete deformation of Eve's mouth and neck, giving her several rows of extremely sharp teeth and a very wide mouth, which extends almost to her ears. In addition, Eve's neck can split open to reveal even more teeth, and a void similar to the Arsonist's Manifesto. It also causes her mouth to be coloured bright turquoise, instead of pink, and gives her a long, conical tongue with a barcode pattern on it (which scans as a bag of oranges.) Clover Sight represents Terri's unwillingness to let Eve speak her mind, a mistake that eventually led to Eve lashing out at her and being placed in juvenile prison.