Curate, connect, and discover
okay so. the “tmagp fears are actually desires” theory is very popular, and while i think there is something to it, i don’t think it is,, accurate?
we know from Needles that fear is what is being sought after, and i have a slightly different theory on this.
i think that the Fears are a relatively new to this world, or don’t have as much of a foothold yet (i do think they are present throughout this worlds timeline due to time-fuckery but they aren’t as firm as in tma, and will get firmer as the series goes on) and as a consequence they can’t prey on any random person they want to, but instead they must seek out people already inclined to them, be it as an avatar or a victim.
this, combined with the lack of survivors bias that was present in tma (only those who survived got to make a statement vs in tmagp where the incident reports are found online, uploaded in whatever form documenting incidents as they happen rather than after the fact (with a few exceptions)) creates the sense that the fears are fuelled by desire, because the victims and avatars were inclined to the fears before they were ever touched by them.
artefacts act as a catalyst (in chemistry something that speeds up the rate of reaction without being used up in it) for someone becoming an avatar, and might be one way that the fears can seek out someone to “turn” into an avatar. (this connects to what i think the magnus institute was doing but ill expand on that more in the future)