#but I think that avatars can be really varied (like with Elias vs. Jon-- two very different powersets/ways of feeding

[unexpectedgeese]

Smirke’s taxonomy is good, actually. Fight me.

No ok but like I WILL go to bat for the Smirke Taxonomy of fears you guys have no fuckin clue what’s up. Neither did Smirke but like

OK SO. The Smirke taxonomy makes no fucking sense if you’re using it as a straight-on categorization of fears. Control and spiders? How are those the same thing? Why is FIRE its own damn category? Yadda yadda BUT THAT’S NOT THE POINT.

Because yeah, Smirke was trying to categorize fears– But what he actually did is categorize HOW THEY MANIFEST.

Like;;; human fear is infinitely varied and complex. You’re never going to be able to slot it into simple categories. We’re afraid of EVERYTHING– the unknown and the known and the concrete and the abstract and the truth and the untruth and spiders and heights and being forgotten and it’s like!! A nuanced outlook on how the fears manifest in avatars and the like is crucial for any actual study but it’s a NIGHTMARE for filing systems. Could you imagine running an archive and having to pinpoint the exact fear for every single statement? “Ooh, is this story where a man is killed by spiders driven by a fear of spiders themselves, oor more what spiders imply?” You’d never get anything done!

But What you CAN do. Is categorize the fears not by what they’re fears of, but by how they manifest in the real world. Because! The manifestations of the fears are driven by the way we as a society talk about our fear! And so grouping fear manifestations and avatars into categories based on how we talk about them is a GENIUS way to circumvent the complicated-ass fear identity question in favor of a more pragmatic, top-down approach to the varied dreads that stalk our everyday lives.

Like, when you’re addicted to something? You’re ‘caught in your own web’. When you don’t know what’s going on? You’re ‘being kept in the dark’. Having a mental health crisis, well, I think you might be ‘spiraling’, my friend! 

Are the everyday struggles of life getting you down? You’re ‘under a lot of pressure,’ seems like. ET CETERA ET CETERA! I could go on! But the POINT is– the language we use to talk about and understand out fear can be used to group said fear into categories based on how it manifests, and SMIRKE’S TAXONOMY IS PERFECT FOR THAT.

And not because that’s how it was intended– No, Robert Smirke is STILL a fucking hack, I’m not disputing that. His whole ‘balance’ schtick was stupid as hell. BUT ALSO! 

Because his taxonomy is so popular among avatars and such, the very EXISTENCE of ‘the entities’ as a concept has skewed the cultural zeitgeist in such a way that Smirke’s taxonomy is more correct now than it was when it was created.

Which!! Is so cool!! Like. Yes, the Smirke taxonomy is objectively a really shit way to classify fear. Most individual ‘entities’ have conflicting fears associated (being watched and watching yourself? C’mon, Eye. You can do better), and there’s some odd overlap too (there are SO MANY fears that incorporate ‘the unknown’ in some way). But when attempting to classify the  physical traits and such of a manifestation/avatar? Smirke’s got you covered, baby!

To summarize: While Smirke’s taxonomy sucks ASS when you try to apply it to the psychological specifics of any given avatar, or fear, or what have you, it’s great for classifying the physical. The cut-and-dry 14 entities give a really good intro to the world of fears, work great for any kind of filing system, and give a good big-picture view of avatar politics. 

#tma #the magnus archives #should i tag this as spoilers? I'm not sure so lmk if I should #but like. Smirke was a dumb old white man #but his work had some merit #Robert Smirke #I'm a little divided on whether or not the Smirke system works well when applied to inter-avatar power dynamics tho.. #like. In some cases the physical symbols justify the power dynamics really nicely #like w/ the Desolation and the Web-- you CAN burn spiderwebs. that checks out #but I think that avatars can be really varied (like with Elias vs. Jon-- two very different powersets/ways of feeding #Bc they serve different aspects of the Eye! Elias serves the mortifying ordeal of being known #whereas Jon serves like.. the fear of an impassive and almost malicious watcher #trying to pry you open just so it can watch you suffer) #and like.. In order to actually understand WHY the power dynamics break down like they do #you need to actually grasp the psychological root of the issue #Idk man. Just goes to show that both understandings of the fears are needed I guess