Theory: Survivor/Killers aren't "Real", they're abstractions made by the Entity
You know how in a dream, you see someone you know, but of course they aren't actually them, they're merely your mind's representation of them? I think that's what it's like for the Entity. The Survivors and Killers are not truly present in some strange dimension: nobody's soul that has been taken. The characters we play as are merely the daydreams of some individual (The Entity = The Dreamer) who imagines what it would be like for people like (emphasis on the word "LIKE") the Survivors and Killers to go through these hypothetical trials.
That's why the trials are so shallow and unrealistic but terrifying and attention-grabbing: They're like a Nightmare. The Entity's realm is the Dreamer's Dream. And like any Dream/Nightmare, they don't make sense rationally once you wake up, but when you're in them they're real enough to make you feel something real. The Dreamer is entertained by the trials, and so they think about them some more.
The survivors (and killers) are works of fiction. Not only to us, but also to in-universe DBD fiction. Everything we see is the imagination of the Dreamer/Entity, inventing fictional characters to run through trials with their vivid imagination.
Thank you for coming to my TEDtalk. I don't do drugs.
Comments
-
Nope.
I don't believe this is true, because you're assuming that nobody is real and I hate ideas that nothing is real, if this theory is correct, I will be greatly disappointed.
The fact that there is information of people entering a fog and reports of missing people indicates that the Entity realm is real. I prefer the idea that the Entity do this for survival rather than entertainment because it shows an more interesting concept.
the concept of 'nothing is real' is pretty much a good conclusion to things that doesn't make any sense, and you want to believe that what doesn't make sense isn't real, but unfortunately they are and you just don't know what it is till you look more into it.
4 -
I must ask a different question: Butter, is that you?
0 -
A theory is not me "assuming", it's a theory. The rest of your comment is super weird and seems more focused on trying to figure out why I think the way I do rather than discussing the theory. That's not how you have a reasonable discussion!
You did say one thing that discussed the theory which was "The fact that there is information of people entering a fog and reports of missing people indicates that the Entity realm is real" No, according to this theory, that's just the Entity imagining their backgrounds. There is no "outside world", everything you see in-game DBD is merely a dream. What you said doesn't disprove the theory. Maybe the theory isn't falsifiable though, I can't think of how it could be?
Another thing for this theory; There can multiple clone Survivors in the same trial. What's with that? It's almost like they aren't individuals, and merely just another representation of an imagined character the Entity dreams up. I see no other way to explain that (lorewise, gameplay wise it's easy to explain that but we're not talking about gameplay) so I think that further supports this theory. Really, if they're souls are dragged into the trial, how can there be more than one of them? Is the duplicate a creation of the entity modeled after the real thing? If they are, who is to say they aren't all duplicates (Like the Temple of Purgation, built from parts of Adiris' memory, it's clearly not the real thing, just a representation of it. The characters may not be the real thing either)
0 -
In regards the clone thing, I think someone said that the devs didn’t want to limit anyone on which Survivor they prefer.
Though, doesn’t mean it can’t be related to the lore.
Anyways, this is an interesting theory no doubt, it can explain why some of the lore has been retconned or whatnot, (Entity going off everything based on inaccurate memories) but what about the Void?
1 -
The void is the subconscious! Forgotten memories. No longer interesting, the Dreamer no longer thinks of these creations. They're relegated to the back of their mind: the subconscious. The Entity's main realm is their active imagination, while the Void is the faded memory of things that used to interest it but no longer do. Only the possibility of a new idea (like Putrid Serum) can reignite interest in anything there.
1 -
hypothesis is the word you're looking for.
0 -
Thank you, I tend to wrongfully use those words interchangeably.
0 -
The entity watch movies too?
0 -
Reading this, it brought up ideas of solipsism (the belief that one's mind is the only thing that can be sure to exist, and everything experienced is all in the mind).
That makes it an extremely lonely existence. The Entity, were this theory to be real, would effectively be insane; creating partnerships, scenarios and characters, for which there is no narrative, other than what exists within a trial.
It's quite a frightening prospect! Certainly darker than the eldritch nightmare currently believed. Madness is a scary prospect for anyone to live with.
0 -
It's interesting but it has been stated multiple and multiple times by a lot of different devs that survivors and killers aren't part of the Entity.
They're actually the only thing that isn't the Entity.
Also on the "there can be more than 1 of the same survivors" I clearly remember Mathieu Cote saying in a live stream that it's purely a gameplay mechanic that is completely saperated from the lore. Lore in which there are no clones of the same survivor.
2 -
It’s a cool theory but it just doesn’t line up. In some of the killers lore, the killer and entity have a way of almost communicating. Also In the archives, the narrator implies that they’ve been with the entity for a very long time. They also state that the entity most likely does these trials so it can survive, the pain and torture is essentially its food. Also, in blight and spirits backstory, they actually meet the entity while not being in the realms. Even if the lore is just made up in someone’s mind, it doesn’t seem very likely. So while it is a really cool theory, it would make more sense to assume that the entity is just a powerful being that tortures people in its own twisted version of reality, than to assume all of this is just in someone’s mind.
0 -
Spoilers (ish) but that’s what you’re here for
One of the lore entries confirms that at this point multiple versions of the same character exist. Also it’s a theory but one that’s impossible to prove. Or you could imagine it like this. There’s a theory that you are the entity just watching through the killer’s eyes directly and the survivors not directly inside them but still nearby. The survivor part is important here. Even if it was a dream and it is fake it would make no sense to not be inside. Plus the entity isn’t a god, it needs sustenance as intangible as hope may be.
1
