#Hezekiah seemed pretty chill about it tbh he's an exception

[hemi-demi]

I'm sure someone's already said this better, but I think the secret sauce that makes someone a good candidate to be an Avatar of a Fear is to be afraid of it first.

There's this quote from Hideo Kojima I think about a lot:

"I get scared very easily," said Kojima. "Actually, this is true of Alfred Hitchcock as well as Steven Spielberg. Because they scare easily, because I scare easily, it's actually easy for us to make something that is scary, because we understand what is scary." Link to article

Junji Ito talks about this too. That boy is scared of everything and he makes horror about everything.

I think an Avatar works the same way. It's not a full requirement, but I believe you can't be an effective Avatar of your patron unless you fully understand why it terrifies someone.

Jane Prentiss had the wasps nest. Annabelle claimed to be arachnophobic. Agnes Montague feared her own lost potential. Trevor faced his own mortality being hunted by vampires. Oliver tried to escape death. Helen and Michael were completely shaken from their experience in the Spiral. Martin was terrified of being left alone.

And Jon is scared of literally everything, making him a perfect vessel for the Fears.

I don't think all Avatars have to fear their patrons, especially those that were created rather than transformed, but it seems to be a common link.

Makes me wonder if Peter actually enjoyed the Lonely as a child as much as he claimed, considering how chatty he could be with like minded people. Or if Simon ever felt the lurch in his stomach as he stared at the ground below. If Jonah ever resented prying eyes on him and wanted to turn them around and make them feel it back.

It seems like a lot of them faced their greatest fear, and when they made it to the other side they were granted the power to turn it onto others to ensure their survival. Like someone trauma bonding to their abuser. Maybe it feels safer.