unforum

[Demongel]

[THEORY] The Operator Symbol

[DillonHunter]

It's a good theory, but I'm still on the boat of it being a protection or a ward, from Slender Man.

[Not!Doctor]

SHIT JUST GOT TIMEY-WIMEY.

Seriously though, that actually makes a lot of sense. All assuming the Operator symbol is a homing device. I personally think it's basically Slendy's signature, a more vague "Kilroy was here", y'know? I also think that if it acts a ward of sorts it's because people who mark themselves with it are basically saying they belong to old Tall, Dark, and Slender. It's like getting your girlfriend's name tattooed on your arm. Incidentally, they're both probably bad ideas.

My apologies if I'm a bit incoherent, it's 2 AM and I'm supposed to be finishing a paper. Can't sleep, teacher will kill me...

[kiriou]

The warding theory sort of makes sense.
To give an admittedly childish explanation, the circle can be taken to represent his "face" (or lack thereof).
The X over the circle can therefore be taken as a sort of sloppy circle-slash, "no slendy allowed" symbol.

[BanishedZaber]

I'm really digging this theory. It's not something I've seen discussed anywhere previously, and depending on what comes next in MH, it could definitely be plausible. Unfortunately, I doubt I can see this catching on anywhere else, which is a shame. The "Operator symbol as ward" line of thinking has been used and abused by the blog community since The Tutorial first suggested, and now it's just kind of cheap for characters to throw up a net of symbols and be safe.

[SickSlickMan]

Ooooh....ooooh, I like this a lot. Seeking Truth kind of touched on it a little bit, but again, that was more linear. Dude, that's such a paradox fuck, that he went to them as adults first and THEN went and stalked them as children. That's like changing the rules of the timeline in the middle of the game right there.

[awakeasaurusrex]

I don't think it's sensible to try and work out an overarching meaning for the Operator symbol simply because different series have different canons and use it in different contexts. There's no one meaning to it because every vlogger/blogger decides what it means on their own.

[Demongel]

That's true, Awakeasarus. Still, I like having an overarching theory that makes sense across the board.

Coincidentally, to the people using the "ward" theory...
Ever notice how drawing the Operator Symbol never stops the stalking? It might slow down, but it doesn't stop. In fact in the grand scheme of things it gets worse. People start running, thinking they'll be safe with the "ward" in play for them. But they're still being stalked. Maybe not harmed, but definitely followed. Why? If the symbol WAS a protective ward, shouldn't Slender Man be recoiling from it like Dracula from a cross?

It's not a ward at that point, it's advertisement. People will see your "ward" and wonder what it is. They'll start asking questions and searching Google. Then they see Him. And then they're screwed too.

[BrochachoNacho]

[Demongel]

That it is, Brochacho. I could even extend my advertisement statement to the real world.

Every single person claiming the Operator Symbol is a ward is being used by The Slender Man and are carriers, whether they realize it or not. Their sole purpose in life now is to spread the word to as many people as possible, telling them they'll be ok because they have the single thing, a circle with an x through it, that will keep them safe even while they pursue the various myths, legends, and sightings of Slender Man. And as we all know, the more you know of Him the worse the inevitable shit will be when it hits the fan.

Because we all know that we're all telling all of our friends, family members, distant relatives, loose acquaintances, ex-friends, and even that co-worker who stole your jelly donut about Slender Man. And the Operator Symbol.

[Lookbehindyou]

I also like this theory, but think each storyteller has a right to use it in either way, something completely different, or not at all.

For some weird reason, this theory made me think of the movie Skeleton Key. Nothing is as it seems and something seemingly designed for protection might in fact be malicious, so you should be careful of who you trust when obtaining information.

[JudyGoldman]

Hmm, you know, you mentioned Slendy manipulating time and then the theory that Alex was stalked in his adult life and then in his childhood and it reminded me of a book series that I once read.

If you've ever read Hyperion and/or its sequels, by Dan Simmons, there's a character in it called the Shrike. The Shrike is a tall, black creature covered with spikes, who travels through time and collects people, impaling them on a huge spiked tower thing where they flail around unable to die.

Also in the series are these large artifacts, buildings and statues, that are from the distant future and, within the timeline of the story, travel backwards through time.

Just an interesting note. The Shrike, to me, is sort of Slendy-ish.
Here's the book cover with the Shrike in the foreground: http://blogs.kcls.org/booktalk//Hyperion.jpg

And another interpretation of it that reminds me a lot of Slendy: http://th03.deviantart.net/fs14/150/i/2006/362/9/9/The_Shrike_by_vuics.jpg

[Chronicler]

I freaking hope so.

[Glass]

I like to think of Time travel as predefined. In a LOST sense. Whatever happens in the past, happened in the past. Objectives accomplished while time traveling always were accomplished.

This is honestly the only way I can see of getting rid of Butterfly effect paradoxes that movies like BTTF are plagued with.

It isn't certain if Slendy was always stalking alex, or if that Video is just making a point that Alex is a prime target. Maybe since Slendy can time travel he pre-selects children that will be interesting later in life. Perhaps intervening to make certain futures happen. Like the Corenthal children. He could have warped them through time to where they were destined to be, him being able to time travel, is able to see these destinies.

Why is he doing this? One cannot say. My statements may have made him seem more good than evil. But I see him as Chaotic Neutral in most senses... though, if he is fulfilling things, perhaps he is a true neutral force.

(X)

a nothingness. The circle that is everything is crossed out, perhaps implying neutrality. Slenderman's goal could very well be to bring about an end to everything. Just to end it. No good, no evil. Just nothing.

I say goal, but if he truely has time traveling self fulfilling abilities, then he is just nudging us towards the inevitable.

[Agnol117]

As far as Marble Hornets canon goes, this idea could have something to it. I like the idea of using it to "weaponize" Slender Man, although I'm sure anyone using it for that purpose would inevitably have it come back to bite them in the ass somehow.