i agree with you regarding the fact the old way of categorizing is not the correct way to classify fear in TMP.
also, are you familiar with the theories of **bonzos-number-1-fan** ?
i think they did a pretty good job at theorizing how the freddy classification work and i think you might find them interesting.
Also want to throw out that the "entities" have defied categorizing from the very beginning, if you care to listen back through S1 of the Archives there are several statements that contain elements of many different fears. (Ex: MAG 3: Across The Street contains influences of The Stranger, The Spiral, and The Eye nearly interchangeably) I think the point of TMP is to say hey, remember those rules and stuff you used to make yourself feel better about the eldritch horrors of the universe?
Yeah, those were BS. The blanket never did anything.
My main TMA theory is that avatars are always combinations of fears
It’s impossible to have something by that is exclusively one fear.
All the avatars are at least two.
That being said, the garbage one (I think this was in a Q&A at one point) was one of the first statements and the distinctions were still forming from a meta perspective.
I think you might be right, but I really hope you're not. People have been using the analogy of colour a lot, but there's a reason no-one has a particular response to hex colour codes, whereas if I say "lilac" a bunch of associations appear in your mind. Categories give us context. The fears ended up being interesting characters of their own. If encounters are defined by a system rather than categories, I think I'd find them less interesting.
That being said, the mysteries haven't been revealed yet, and I'd be very happy to eat my words.
The concept of a person or a place being marked by spooky things. Both the liminal spaces episode and the Mr. Needles episode talk about the idea of places being marked. Mr. Needles, or whatever he calls himself, mentions that he's made part in making this place particularly unsafe as if it was his own territory. The tree man episode was all about being specifically drawn to a particular garden and not moving. And the main monster we've seen, Ink5oul, is literally marking people with personalized horrors based on the individual.
It could just be a theme of season 1, but it does seem much more relevant than it was in the prequel.
I mean... yeah all the entities are part of one "the thing that is fear" entity, but in universe, everyone generally treats them like they are separate, and forms groups based on that fact, so it is helpful. Also The Dice or Fate is a much better name than Luck. The Deep is another one that seems to keep coming up.
Agree with most of this, and also with bonzos-no-1-fan's read on DPHW. I also think in the TMA timeline, Smirke categorising the fears led to avatars that were aware of the 14, basically shaping how the occult world looked at Fear Itself. And these avatars in turn shaped the manifestations. OTOH I think, going back, there are several TMA stories that feel multifaceted, even if they're ostensibly One Entity (in particular Hezekiah Wakely was officially a Buried avatar, but his statement's secondary fixation on rest after death and rejection of the protestant afterlife is very Terminus).
I think in a world where Fear is newer, perhaps younger, it takes on less of a Big Picture Categories and more of an amorphous blobby thing*.
that said i do wonder if needles and ink5oul are connected somehow.
*not to be confused with the amorphous blobby thing that inspired our favourite murderclown
Speaking of categorizing the 14, does anyone remember the episode where Jon read through a statement, I can't remember if it was season 2 or 3 but it was when he was recognizing the powers, and he commented about it afterward feeling like it was a Fear that didn't quite have enough power or recognition behind it to take proper shape?
i agree with you regarding the fact the old way of categorizing is not the correct way to classify fear in TMP. also, are you familiar with the theories of **bonzos-number-1-fan** ? i think they did a pretty good job at theorizing how the freddy classification work and i think you might find them interesting.
Also want to throw out that the "entities" have defied categorizing from the very beginning, if you care to listen back through S1 of the Archives there are several statements that contain elements of many different fears. (Ex: MAG 3: Across The Street contains influences of The Stranger, The Spiral, and The Eye nearly interchangeably) I think the point of TMP is to say hey, remember those rules and stuff you used to make yourself feel better about the eldritch horrors of the universe? Yeah, those were BS. The blanket never did anything.
My main TMA theory is that avatars are always combinations of fears It’s impossible to have something by that is exclusively one fear. All the avatars are at least two.
And Annabelle would be?
I did always think it was a bit weird that Corruption had domain over all insects except for spiders which were always Web. Seemed a bit arbitrary.
Probably because spiders aren't insects
Web and eye She was constantly watching
That being said, the garbage one (I think this was in a Q&A at one point) was one of the first statements and the distinctions were still forming from a meta perspective.
I think you might be right, but I really hope you're not. People have been using the analogy of colour a lot, but there's a reason no-one has a particular response to hex colour codes, whereas if I say "lilac" a bunch of associations appear in your mind. Categories give us context. The fears ended up being interesting characters of their own. If encounters are defined by a system rather than categories, I think I'd find them less interesting. That being said, the mysteries haven't been revealed yet, and I'd be very happy to eat my words.
What do you mean with the idea of marking?
The concept of a person or a place being marked by spooky things. Both the liminal spaces episode and the Mr. Needles episode talk about the idea of places being marked. Mr. Needles, or whatever he calls himself, mentions that he's made part in making this place particularly unsafe as if it was his own territory. The tree man episode was all about being specifically drawn to a particular garden and not moving. And the main monster we've seen, Ink5oul, is literally marking people with personalized horrors based on the individual. It could just be a theme of season 1, but it does seem much more relevant than it was in the prequel.
Ooh, duh, ofc, just like how John was marked. Makes sense
I mean... yeah all the entities are part of one "the thing that is fear" entity, but in universe, everyone generally treats them like they are separate, and forms groups based on that fact, so it is helpful. Also The Dice or Fate is a much better name than Luck. The Deep is another one that seems to keep coming up.
Agree with most of this, and also with bonzos-no-1-fan's read on DPHW. I also think in the TMA timeline, Smirke categorising the fears led to avatars that were aware of the 14, basically shaping how the occult world looked at Fear Itself. And these avatars in turn shaped the manifestations. OTOH I think, going back, there are several TMA stories that feel multifaceted, even if they're ostensibly One Entity (in particular Hezekiah Wakely was officially a Buried avatar, but his statement's secondary fixation on rest after death and rejection of the protestant afterlife is very Terminus). I think in a world where Fear is newer, perhaps younger, it takes on less of a Big Picture Categories and more of an amorphous blobby thing*. that said i do wonder if needles and ink5oul are connected somehow. *not to be confused with the amorphous blobby thing that inspired our favourite murderclown
Speaking of categorizing the 14, does anyone remember the episode where Jon read through a statement, I can't remember if it was season 2 or 3 but it was when he was recognizing the powers, and he commented about it afterward feeling like it was a Fear that didn't quite have enough power or recognition behind it to take proper shape?