For those of you looking to find the worst of the worst when it comes to these blogs, I hereby refer you to http://slondernoms.wordpress.com/ . It's a fairly humorous take on some of the tripe out there. I don't much like to complain about stories without offering it in a constructive manner, or at the very least, with some reasoned praise. So this blog's kinda nice if you're wanting something to laugh at!
~Sol
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
[A] Please Find Me Hannah
Well; I've been away for a while, but while I was away, I got sent a fairly promising looking submission over at Unforum.
The blog's premise is, at its core, solid. Cam, the protagonist, is searching for his girlfriend Hannah, who has been taken by Slenderman. I personally like this setup, because I've been seeing a trend of protagonists who are disconnected from the people around them, to downright sociopathic. The addition of a simple human relationship just makes it so much more relevant. At least, in my eyes. A lot of these blogs really do seem to be an exercise in pure narcissism; what makes a story interesting is almost invariably the relationships, and the tension between characters. This blog recognizes that.
The blog also recognizes the importance of pacing, and dramatic timing. I'll be perfectly honest, there's not much else I can say beyond that, because it's only just starting out, and I am very tired. But this blog has all the hallmarks of a really intriguing story. It hooked me in from post one, and I feel it is a blog that could really deserve a lot of attention, even if it's only for the craftsmanship of the author's writing. Plotwise, there are some areas which are a bit suspect: How could Hannah POSSIBLY magically find a random blog on the internet? springs to mind, but I'm honestly willing to let that go, simply because it's a damn strong author sitting behind it.
Bad points? The blog uses the typical 'white text, black background' bollocks that I thought died out with Geocities. It's a small point, but that just plain annoys me about a LOT of these blogs. Yeah, I know. Slenderman's scary. You should be able to communicate that through your writing, not through burning your words into my eyelids. This is entirely me just being bitchy, but hey. Don't say it doesn't get old. The blog also utilizes a lot of the Marble Hornets/Tribe Twelve tropes, which isn't bad per-se, but I would love to see some original haunting going on. Just more than bumps in the night and nosebleeds.
Back on positives, one thing I do want to mention is the ARG aspect of this blog. Now, it's only just starting out, but I am pretty much certain that there is a lot more to the blog than meets the eye: there are just some parts of the blog which seem out of place. I haven't spent much time reading too deep into this, but it's quite clear that there is some form of code permeating the blog. I'll leave it to my readers to figure it out for themselves.
In conclusion: You don't need a hugely complicated originating premise to make a damn fine story. A lot of bloggers could take lessons from this guy: start simple, work your way out.
http://pleasefindmehannah.blogspot.com/2010/12/hannah.html
~ Sol
The blog's premise is, at its core, solid. Cam, the protagonist, is searching for his girlfriend Hannah, who has been taken by Slenderman. I personally like this setup, because I've been seeing a trend of protagonists who are disconnected from the people around them, to downright sociopathic. The addition of a simple human relationship just makes it so much more relevant. At least, in my eyes. A lot of these blogs really do seem to be an exercise in pure narcissism; what makes a story interesting is almost invariably the relationships, and the tension between characters. This blog recognizes that.
The blog also recognizes the importance of pacing, and dramatic timing. I'll be perfectly honest, there's not much else I can say beyond that, because it's only just starting out, and I am very tired. But this blog has all the hallmarks of a really intriguing story. It hooked me in from post one, and I feel it is a blog that could really deserve a lot of attention, even if it's only for the craftsmanship of the author's writing. Plotwise, there are some areas which are a bit suspect: How could Hannah POSSIBLY magically find a random blog on the internet? springs to mind, but I'm honestly willing to let that go, simply because it's a damn strong author sitting behind it.
Bad points? The blog uses the typical 'white text, black background' bollocks that I thought died out with Geocities. It's a small point, but that just plain annoys me about a LOT of these blogs. Yeah, I know. Slenderman's scary. You should be able to communicate that through your writing, not through burning your words into my eyelids. This is entirely me just being bitchy, but hey. Don't say it doesn't get old. The blog also utilizes a lot of the Marble Hornets/Tribe Twelve tropes, which isn't bad per-se, but I would love to see some original haunting going on. Just more than bumps in the night and nosebleeds.
Back on positives, one thing I do want to mention is the ARG aspect of this blog. Now, it's only just starting out, but I am pretty much certain that there is a lot more to the blog than meets the eye: there are just some parts of the blog which seem out of place. I haven't spent much time reading too deep into this, but it's quite clear that there is some form of code permeating the blog. I'll leave it to my readers to figure it out for themselves.
In conclusion: You don't need a hugely complicated originating premise to make a damn fine story. A lot of bloggers could take lessons from this guy: start simple, work your way out.
http://pleasefindmehannah.blogspot.com/2010/12/hannah.html
~ Sol
Monday, December 13, 2010
[S] Dreams in Darkness
[WARNING: Spoilers.]
One of the Generation II blogs, Dreams in Darkness is one that is known about but not really talked about to the extent that blogs such as Just Another Fool and Seeking Truth are. It’s popular enough that it gets its own TV Tropes page, but compared to other big name Slender stories, it falls short off the radar of most viewers, or so I feel. This is a shame, because Dreams in Darkness gets so many things right that it’s definitely worth a glance if you haven’t already. A warning, however; it is DEFINITELY not for those with a weak constitution.
One of the Generation II blogs, Dreams in Darkness is one that is known about but not really talked about to the extent that blogs such as Just Another Fool and Seeking Truth are. It’s popular enough that it gets its own TV Tropes page, but compared to other big name Slender stories, it falls short off the radar of most viewers, or so I feel. This is a shame, because Dreams in Darkness gets so many things right that it’s definitely worth a glance if you haven’t already. A warning, however; it is DEFINITELY not for those with a weak constitution.
The story revolves around Damien O’Connor, an arrogant nerd who thinks he’s always right and indulges in self-loathing; in his words, at least. He lives with his roommate Ted, works in retail, and doesn’t have much in the way of a social life, though this starts to change once he starts dating a cute girl that he works with. Then one day, the roommate starts getting addicted to this little-known series called “Marble Hornets” (very original, right?), a series that Damien eventually gets hooked into as well, so much so that he creates his own poor attempt at a Slender blog called Watch this City Burn.
Of course, a Slender story isn’t a Slender story if nothing goes wrong. The really amazing thing of DiD, however, is that it’s eighteen posts- about a month and a half- before anything related to Slender Man even begins to happen to our hero; and even then, it’s all a joke up until the day Ted finally goes missing…and then is brutally murdered. And even THEN, Slender Man doesn’t show up physically until August; three months after the story begins.
One of the things I like about Dreams in Darkness is that it’s the definition of a psychological horror story. While Slender Man rarely makes a physical appearance, it’s that fear of him that fuels the paranoia. It relies a lot on its writing to make it scary, and it succeeds. The writer, whoever he is, knows how to make a story suspenseful without resorting to a lot of scare tactics; and those tactics that he DOES employ, definitely pay off in a big way.
The characters are, for the most part, all fleshed out. Damien goes from an average, angry nerd and then switches between a determined hero and a terrified little boy. His personality goes all over the place, but it’s all written very well, and in such a way that it is believable. Ted is unique in that he is the first known gay character in a Slender Man story, though he’s also a bit of a prankster. Damien’s mother is a certified psycho, but with reason behind her actions, even if that reason is completely deranged. Each character has something to them; they’re not just there for the sake of moving a story along.
What I like especially is the attention to the backstory. Damien plays upon the theory that Zeke Strahm laid out in Seeking Truth and discovers his family had ties to a cult that offered sacrifices to the Slender Man. He finds pictures that show an Uncle Eddie, whose story remains a mystery, and a dog Max that he never remembered owning. He finds accounts of him, Ted, and their friend Emily and how they may have encountered the Slender Man as children. The past plays just as important a role as the present, and it’s put together smoothly, almost effortlessly.
Of course, the main aspect about Dreams in Darkness comes from the other title that DiD stands for: Dissociative identity disorder, or split personality. Damien encounters a personality split around the time of Ted’s death, and his alternate personality, known as “TheArsonist”, takes over the Watch this City Burn blog. Unlike most mysterious figures in the Slender universe, Arsonist does not appear to be a proxy; if anything, he is doing everything in his power working AGAINST Slender Man. His true intentions, however, are never revealed, but it is still an interesting spin on the story, seeing Damien warring with two halves of his mind.
Above all of that, there is one thing that Dreams in Darkness does that very few other blogs can do: It kicks you in the gut. Dreams in Darkness is never afraid to get graphic in its description. Ted is murdered and strung up from a tree by his intestines, his guts stuffed into a bag. Emily and Vincent are brutally torn apart in a motel room. Damien views a tape containing an explicit orgy among cultists and a naked eight-year-old girl tied down to a stone slab. Do I really need to continue?
But probably the post that holds the most significance is “Terror”, the post where Damien goes into the red brick building, looking for clues. The suspense keeps your breath held throughout most of it. The build-up is fantastic. It doesn’t jump into anything; it lets things play out naturally. And when Slender Man DOES appear, it is quite possibly the most shocking encounter ever, possibly only being beaten out by Evan running at him with a bat. If one were watching this in the theater, you would probably hear a pin drop after the scene was done, mainly because you’re trying to figure out if that just happened or if you were imagining it.
It’s not a perfect blog, of course. The big issue is that it stops without explaining things within the plot. What exactly was TheArsonist planning? Is the cult still continuing, but with new, different members? Who was Wilcox’s successor, if it is? And just WHAT was up with that bone-blade-thing? They never explain, nor, do I imagine, we will ever know. They are just more mysteries on an ever growing list of mysteries involving the Slender Man.
The ending is probably the most ambiguous. After a brief paragraph in which Damien seemingly says good-bye, his brother Rick appears in the comments to explain that Damien has died. Which most people come to expect from blogs. His explanation afterwards, however, drops one last bombshell; none of it was true. Amelia had not been with her mother, but had been considering leaving town due to Damien’s paranoia. The kidnapper was found and killed, and one child was saved. The picture Damien found, he supposedly drew himself. Uncle Eddie never existed. The brick building is in a different location and is shut up tight. Most importantly is the subtle but evident suspicion that Damien is the one that killed Ted, Emily, Vincent, and Wilcox.
This is all left to interpretation. Viewers are left to their own beliefs as to whether or not any of the events actually happened. The general consensus though- and it is further backed by the reappearance of Zeke Strahm in the blog’s comments- is that it actually did happen. Again, it is one of those things that will never be fully explained.
Overall, I would go so far as to say that Dreams in Darkness is the most well-written blog out of the archive. It knows how to tell a good story and make the stomach believe that it is true. I would say that it is better than Seeking Truth in terms of believable characters, suspenseful plot, and attention to details, and it is my personal favorite. If you’re looking for something that attempts to do things differently, this may not be the most DIVERSE one to turn to, but it does do attempt couple new approaches that pay off. If you’re just looking for a well-told story, this is definitely where you want to go. Story begins right here: http://dreamsindarkness91.blogspot.com/2010/05/and-life-in-general.html
-SickSlickMan
Sunday, December 12, 2010
[A] The Slenderblog
THE SLENDERBLOG
No, the name is not the most creative part of this series. Today, I'm going to look at The Slenderblog, which is one of those blogs which I've seen around the place, but never actually read. The reason I'm checking this one out is because our latest guest reviewer has been...well, having a little bit of trouble on his own personal blog, and I've been fairly intrigued.
This blog starts off with a similar purpose to my own; informative. Andy, our scholar, goes through the genre in a rounded look at where Slender Man has come from, and where it's going. If you're confused as to any part of the community, then...well, this is pretty much a one-stop shop. This blog informed me about Core Theory, which is an entire subsection of the Slenderblogs which I haven't gone into yet. (I will proceed to do so eventually, to review them, though. For Science!) It's a very self-aware, and quite well written look at the genre from an informative point of view.
Then, come December, things appear to be...going south for our good scholar.
I've got to say, I was all but prepared to post my first [C] today, but reading this blog, I reckon it's very cleverly done. Andy has blurred the line between a scholarly account of the urban legend's process, and becoming part of the urban legend himself. I find it very cool that a blog that's, well, kind of like my own, has made the translation from informative to...story driven quite this easily. The Tulpa Effect can account for so much these days. And, it doesn't even look like he made the decision to change styles on the spur of the moment; it appears to have been planned a couple of months in advance. I believe he foreshadowed it when he mentioned...Was it Lack of Lexicon?
(I probably won't be making that transition myself. Just an FYI.)
On the downside, a lot of his vlogging could use some work. This isn't a problem restricted to this blog, either; a lot of the vlogs seem to fall into the trap of just being talking heads, and just delivering a whole load of exposition for five minutes. Vlogging should utilize the medium, I feel, and not just be a spoken blog. Even a lot of the Youtube channels which ARE just a dude talking at a camera for 5 minutes, use jumpcut editing to keep the audience involved. And they generally involve far more expressive, over the top and comedic actions than a horror theme would allow for. Once more, this blog has fallen into the trap of allowing the character to be defined by what happens to him. Which was perfectly fine when this was just an informative blog, but now he's gone down this route, it would be nice to be able to empathize a little more.
That said? It's a very creative blog/vlog. I suggest you follow it for its story, and keep referring back to it if you don't understand a concept that's being thrown around a lot in these stories.
http://slenderbloggins.wordpress.com/
~Sol
No, the name is not the most creative part of this series. Today, I'm going to look at The Slenderblog, which is one of those blogs which I've seen around the place, but never actually read. The reason I'm checking this one out is because our latest guest reviewer has been...well, having a little bit of trouble on his own personal blog, and I've been fairly intrigued.
This blog starts off with a similar purpose to my own; informative. Andy, our scholar, goes through the genre in a rounded look at where Slender Man has come from, and where it's going. If you're confused as to any part of the community, then...well, this is pretty much a one-stop shop. This blog informed me about Core Theory, which is an entire subsection of the Slenderblogs which I haven't gone into yet. (I will proceed to do so eventually, to review them, though. For Science!) It's a very self-aware, and quite well written look at the genre from an informative point of view.
Then, come December, things appear to be...going south for our good scholar.
I've got to say, I was all but prepared to post my first [C] today, but reading this blog, I reckon it's very cleverly done. Andy has blurred the line between a scholarly account of the urban legend's process, and becoming part of the urban legend himself. I find it very cool that a blog that's, well, kind of like my own, has made the translation from informative to...story driven quite this easily. The Tulpa Effect can account for so much these days. And, it doesn't even look like he made the decision to change styles on the spur of the moment; it appears to have been planned a couple of months in advance. I believe he foreshadowed it when he mentioned...Was it Lack of Lexicon?
(I probably won't be making that transition myself. Just an FYI.)
On the downside, a lot of his vlogging could use some work. This isn't a problem restricted to this blog, either; a lot of the vlogs seem to fall into the trap of just being talking heads, and just delivering a whole load of exposition for five minutes. Vlogging should utilize the medium, I feel, and not just be a spoken blog. Even a lot of the Youtube channels which ARE just a dude talking at a camera for 5 minutes, use jumpcut editing to keep the audience involved. And they generally involve far more expressive, over the top and comedic actions than a horror theme would allow for. Once more, this blog has fallen into the trap of allowing the character to be defined by what happens to him. Which was perfectly fine when this was just an informative blog, but now he's gone down this route, it would be nice to be able to empathize a little more.
That said? It's a very creative blog/vlog. I suggest you follow it for its story, and keep referring back to it if you don't understand a concept that's being thrown around a lot in these stories.
http://slenderbloggins.wordpress.com/
~Sol
Saturday, December 11, 2010
[OT] Editor's Note
Our latest guest reviewer referenced his own blog in his latest post, which I cut out, because I didn't feel it was right letting a blog go past without being reviewed. Makes this blog look messy. That said, it is what I believe to be a fairly well known blog. It looks interesting, and I will be posting my thoughts on it later today.
~ Sol
~ Sol
[A] A Blog That's Not Mine
Today, we’re looking at a new blog that’s not mine. Or rather -
A New Blog That’s Not Mine
- since that’s actually the title of the blog. A New Blog (that’s what we’ll call it for short) is more or less a parody of Slenderblogs in general, the largest and most obvious parody being the title. If you’re one of the few peope who doesn’t get it, allow me to completely ruin the joke by explaining it: it’s poking fun at people who “find” a blog that’s “totally not theirs” and they “just thought this forum (usually the Unfiction forums) would be interested in it.” Now I have to admit that I shamelessly plugged my blog that way, but hey, at least I promoted another blog as well.
Now, before we launch into the blog itself, a bit of semi-off-topic advice. Plugging your blog on Unfiction isn’t exactly the best way to get your Slenderblog views. The best way is to go to Unfiction and read the other blogs being plugged. Read those blogs, and then comment on them. Let me just say that I’ve gotten way more views from people reading my comments on other blogs than I have from Unfiction. This is a mistake the uninitiated make—and the mistake that Aaron, our author, is parodying.
So, onto the blog itself. One of the most amusing features of this blog is how much the author plays dumb. He has “never heard of ‘EMH’ or ‘Marblehornets,’” so he clearly has no idea what’s going on. Certainly no one else has experienced this before!
Aaron covers, in his first few points, the major Slenderblog clichés. He’s obviously starting off too fast, mentioning the Slender Man in the first post (of course, he has absolutely no idea who that is, naturally). On top of that, he has weird dreams, experiences static, visits a playground, emphasizes trees, finds notes with cryptic poetry/“code,” and types out a post he doesn’t remember typing, all within just three updates. He backs off a bit after that, not introducing a totheark clone (strangely, no one seems to think too hard about that mask he’s wearing, or the Operator Symbols he’s filled a crossword puzzle with) until the sixth post. This mysterious masked man also seems to have taken some sort of interest in Aaron’s girlfriend…hmm…. Anyway, the only thing he’s really missed so far is the name. “Aaron” just doesn’t sound like the name of a Slenderblogger. Something pretentious would be way better.
Overall, the blog is quite entertaining, though it does suffer from a few problems. The main one is pacing. While he manages to work in so many clichés so soon, that’s also part of the problem—he works them in too soon. It’s already fairly evident that he’s almost out of material. On the other hand, many blogs do everything Aaron did, and seriously, too. If it’s those types of blogs he’s parodying, he’ll either have a bunch of filler and keep upping the scales (that’s probably how the super-powered blogs started in the first place) or just burn out with nothing else to do, either throwing together a hurried “oh god hes after me” or just not updating anymore. Since everyone loves a good parody, I’m hoping it’s the former.
The comedy is actually probably the biggest strength and weakness of this blog. It’s really a make-or-break thing. People have different tastes when it comes to comedy. For example, I personally don’t understand why so many people love Family Guy when I personally find it crass, repetitive, preachy, and bland (with, admittedly, an occasional comedic gem). Anyway, the blog’s comedy. It consists mostly of him faking being oblivious to everything that’s going on and boasting about how he’s totally not scared. It’s all quite silly, and silly just isn’t what some people are looking for in humor. However, it’s still short right now, so it’s definitely worth at least checking out. If you don’t like it, no big loss of time. If you do, well, you’ve got a new blog to watch.
Friday, December 10, 2010
[A] Hiking Fiend
HIKING FIEND
Here's another written blog that I feel deserves a little more attention than it's getting. Before I begin: A note on vlogs. We WILL do reviews on them. However, vlogs generally involve a bit more of a time investment to watch, and frankly? A lot of them end up boring me, so I've been steering clear of them for the most part. I will, however, attempt to find the best of the best.
Without further ado, though, here's what I feel is probably the most up and coming written blog for a long while.
Eric Jameson is a hiker, who's just moved out into the countryside; a picturesque location outside of a typically cosy American small town.. His passion for hiking takes him to beautiful locations around his new home. Things are going great, until he starts to find animal carcasses, torn apart and left to bleed out. And then, when he starts to hear folk stories of a Wicked Gentleman, things really start to go downhill.
Before I get onto anything else, I just want to talk about the characterization in this. Personally? I feel this is where the blog has short-suited itself. Eric's character is pretty much described in the URL of the blog, and none of the side characters are particularly memorable; each of them working off some very stock character traits. That was the reason that I've been a little reluctant to look at this blog; the characters never really drew me in.
However, that failure is more than made up for by the writing style. It's not often that a gruesome scene can be described in words, but the author manages to have a perfect grasp on his medium. I can overlook a little bit of characterization issues for that.
The multimedia aspect of the blog is quite nice, too; the pictures are stunning, and any sense of distortion in them is subtle. It really sets this blog apart from the rest, I feel; gives it its own unique flavor.
If you haven't checked it out already, I very much suggest that you do. However, the characters themselves don't particularly strike me as entertaining. This is a fault shared by many of the blogs and vlogs; I mean, look at Marble Hornets. For this work to become even better, I kind of feel it should allow us to empathize a little more with its main character.
http://hikingfiend.tumblr.com
~ Sol
Here's another written blog that I feel deserves a little more attention than it's getting. Before I begin: A note on vlogs. We WILL do reviews on them. However, vlogs generally involve a bit more of a time investment to watch, and frankly? A lot of them end up boring me, so I've been steering clear of them for the most part. I will, however, attempt to find the best of the best.
Without further ado, though, here's what I feel is probably the most up and coming written blog for a long while.
Eric Jameson is a hiker, who's just moved out into the countryside; a picturesque location outside of a typically cosy American small town.. His passion for hiking takes him to beautiful locations around his new home. Things are going great, until he starts to find animal carcasses, torn apart and left to bleed out. And then, when he starts to hear folk stories of a Wicked Gentleman, things really start to go downhill.
Before I get onto anything else, I just want to talk about the characterization in this. Personally? I feel this is where the blog has short-suited itself. Eric's character is pretty much described in the URL of the blog, and none of the side characters are particularly memorable; each of them working off some very stock character traits. That was the reason that I've been a little reluctant to look at this blog; the characters never really drew me in.
However, that failure is more than made up for by the writing style. It's not often that a gruesome scene can be described in words, but the author manages to have a perfect grasp on his medium. I can overlook a little bit of characterization issues for that.
The multimedia aspect of the blog is quite nice, too; the pictures are stunning, and any sense of distortion in them is subtle. It really sets this blog apart from the rest, I feel; gives it its own unique flavor.
If you haven't checked it out already, I very much suggest that you do. However, the characters themselves don't particularly strike me as entertaining. This is a fault shared by many of the blogs and vlogs; I mean, look at Marble Hornets. For this work to become even better, I kind of feel it should allow us to empathize a little more with its main character.
http://hikingfiend.tumblr.com
~ Sol
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
[OT] You've seen the good...
Now, we're moving into the bad. We'll still provide recommended new blogs, and even good old ones, but I'm not going to hold anyone back from posting an unfavorable review anymore. I suggest you check the first blog post once more, to familiarize yourself with the classification system for posts.
If you'd like to be a contributor, you are more than welcome! Get in contact with me (SolDL) at either the Unfiction forums, or drop us a comment with your e-mail details in response to this post.
~ Sol
If you'd like to be a contributor, you are more than welcome! Get in contact with me (SolDL) at either the Unfiction forums, or drop us a comment with your e-mail details in response to this post.
~ Sol
Thursday, November 25, 2010
[OT] Slenderblog Bingo!
For those of you playing at home.
LINK:http://i.imgur.com/EV103.png
All credits go to Compulsory Basket, of Unfiction Forums, for this work of art.
And now, the Slenderblog Drinking game!
FOR EVERY BOX YOU CROSS: 1 shot.
FOR EVERY ROW/COLUMN YOU GET: Shout BINGO, and down another two shots, along with the shot from the last box you get. This must occur with Ron Browz "Gimme 20 Dollas" playing in the background.
I suggest playing with friends while staging a vlog marathon.
FOR PEOPLE WHO REALLY WANT TO PASS OUT: New update = new round. You drink again for every example, even if it's been crossed out.
~ Sol
[A] Testing 1,2,3
Testing 1,2,3
http://beinghunted.blogspot.com/
Content:
Testing is one of the "Runner blogs" as I shall call them for now. Our protagonist (Shaun) "met" Slendy when he was 17. He knew about him from before, and when he finally couldn't deny Slender Man being real, he decided to run away. First, to not let Slender Man ruin and eventually end his life, and second, to protect his girlfriend and family.
At the beginning, he mostly describes "experiments" he made. Like, testing if Slendy prefers night or day, lit or dark rooms and the like. Of course many of these experiments require exposition to Slendy, which makes this story pretty exciting. Shaun keeps interacting with the protagonists of other blogs (for example, he regularily talks to M from "The Tutorial" http://getuphigh.blogspot.com/), so reading the comments is very important on this one.
Around September, Shaun gets in contact with Robert Sage (http://fighthimuntiltheend.blogspot.com/) and Jay (http://anomalousdata.blogspot.com/). I had a look at both blogs; Jay seems to start with a quite scientific perspective on Slendy, while Robert is more on the 'mythical' side. Shaun starts to interact with both of them, soon adapting Roberts idea of there being different "roles" in the Slenderverse for the people who have to deal with Slendy.
This blog is definitely well-written, and Shaun as the main character is very believable and fleshed out. The only thing that bugs me (but thats only my personal taste), is the constant 'cross-blogging'. I don't want to be forced to read 4 different blogs, to be able to follow the storyline of one of them. And I tried reading Testing without looking at Roberts and Jays blog. I was absolutely confused. If you're the type for connected blogs, this one will surely entertain you, even if Shaun recently pulls back from the other blogs, and is more focused on his own thing.
Conclusion:
Very interesting sidestory, believable character, neat descriptions of Slender Man's influence on a person and an intriguing writing style.
Jm2c
~ Snippet
http://beinghunted.blogspot.com/
Content:
Testing is one of the "Runner blogs" as I shall call them for now. Our protagonist (Shaun) "met" Slendy when he was 17. He knew about him from before, and when he finally couldn't deny Slender Man being real, he decided to run away. First, to not let Slender Man ruin and eventually end his life, and second, to protect his girlfriend and family.
At the beginning, he mostly describes "experiments" he made. Like, testing if Slendy prefers night or day, lit or dark rooms and the like. Of course many of these experiments require exposition to Slendy, which makes this story pretty exciting. Shaun keeps interacting with the protagonists of other blogs (for example, he regularily talks to M from "The Tutorial" http://getuphigh.blogspot.com/), so reading the comments is very important on this one.
Around September, Shaun gets in contact with Robert Sage (http://fighthimuntiltheend.blogspot.com/) and Jay (http://anomalousdata.blogspot.com/). I had a look at both blogs; Jay seems to start with a quite scientific perspective on Slendy, while Robert is more on the 'mythical' side. Shaun starts to interact with both of them, soon adapting Roberts idea of there being different "roles" in the Slenderverse for the people who have to deal with Slendy.
This blog is definitely well-written, and Shaun as the main character is very believable and fleshed out. The only thing that bugs me (but thats only my personal taste), is the constant 'cross-blogging'. I don't want to be forced to read 4 different blogs, to be able to follow the storyline of one of them. And I tried reading Testing without looking at Roberts and Jays blog. I was absolutely confused. If you're the type for connected blogs, this one will surely entertain you, even if Shaun recently pulls back from the other blogs, and is more focused on his own thing.
Conclusion:
Very interesting sidestory, believable character, neat descriptions of Slender Man's influence on a person and an intriguing writing style.
Jm2c
~ Snippet
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
[A] Observe and Terminate
A short one today. This is one of those blogs that just needs to be read to be believed. I won't spoil too much of its beauty. A warning before you get into it, though: This blog is not for the serious horror fan. Anything but.
Observe and Terminate
This is currently, what I would call the biggest leap from the hallmarks of the genre. It has completely done away with the whole Lovecraftian cosmic horror that most blogs go with, in favor of an expanded premise, unbelievable technology, and unfitting dialogue. All in all, it feels like it should be a videogame rather than a blog, but I, personally, forgive it these 'flaws', just because it manages to pull them off so goddamn WELL. I guess if I was to define it, this would unmistakably be an action blog; combining its solid core concept with a certain amount of wit and charm that you really wouldn't expect from a bunch of army dudes who sit around playing Fallout: New Vegas all day.
PLOT: The core concept of this was what drew me to it in the first place: It originally revolved around the character Nightcrawler, who was the commanding officer of an elite cadre of...I believe freelance soldiers, who are trying to eliminate the Slender Man threat once and for all. While this premise seems a little far-fetched, it has some decent grounding in many of the original SomethingAwful short-stories on Slender Man; Victor Surge wrote about an "Anti-S Walker" unit in some of his early posts, way before Slendy had his...considerable mythos fleshed out.
The method by which Nightcrawler's unit eliminates Slender Man (at the start of the story, that is) was very clever; due to him being created entirely by thought processes (through the Tulpa effect), the way to 'stop him feeding', so to speak, would be to kill off all the people who believe in him (who they call Runners). In addition to the Runners, there are also the Indoctrinated, who are an analogy for the Slenderpuppets of the other blogs/vlogs.
There have been multiple new characters introduced, and Nightcrawler has taken a bit of a backseat; however, I won't spoil much more of this fantastic series for you. I suggest you all do take a look at it; particularly if you're the videogaming, 16-28 year old male demographic which these guys seem to be catering to. Even if you're not, however, I suggest you check it out; it's a fresh new take on the series. Don't expect to be scared, but damn, it is VERY entertaining.
http://nightcrawler-observeandterminate.blogspot.com/
~ Sol
Observe and Terminate
This is currently, what I would call the biggest leap from the hallmarks of the genre. It has completely done away with the whole Lovecraftian cosmic horror that most blogs go with, in favor of an expanded premise, unbelievable technology, and unfitting dialogue. All in all, it feels like it should be a videogame rather than a blog, but I, personally, forgive it these 'flaws', just because it manages to pull them off so goddamn WELL. I guess if I was to define it, this would unmistakably be an action blog; combining its solid core concept with a certain amount of wit and charm that you really wouldn't expect from a bunch of army dudes who sit around playing Fallout: New Vegas all day.
PLOT: The core concept of this was what drew me to it in the first place: It originally revolved around the character Nightcrawler, who was the commanding officer of an elite cadre of...I believe freelance soldiers, who are trying to eliminate the Slender Man threat once and for all. While this premise seems a little far-fetched, it has some decent grounding in many of the original SomethingAwful short-stories on Slender Man; Victor Surge wrote about an "Anti-S Walker" unit in some of his early posts, way before Slendy had his...considerable mythos fleshed out.
The method by which Nightcrawler's unit eliminates Slender Man (at the start of the story, that is) was very clever; due to him being created entirely by thought processes (through the Tulpa effect), the way to 'stop him feeding', so to speak, would be to kill off all the people who believe in him (who they call Runners). In addition to the Runners, there are also the Indoctrinated, who are an analogy for the Slenderpuppets of the other blogs/vlogs.
There have been multiple new characters introduced, and Nightcrawler has taken a bit of a backseat; however, I won't spoil much more of this fantastic series for you. I suggest you all do take a look at it; particularly if you're the videogaming, 16-28 year old male demographic which these guys seem to be catering to. Even if you're not, however, I suggest you check it out; it's a fresh new take on the series. Don't expect to be scared, but damn, it is VERY entertaining.
http://nightcrawler-observeandterminate.blogspot.com/
~ Sol
Monday, November 22, 2010
[A] SEESME
Well; I'm finally actually submitting a review, despite making this like a week ago. Today, I'll draw your attention to a particularly interesting story I've been following, that's just starting out. Before I start with the good, I'll just quickly rant about a trend I think we've all been noticing.
As a prospective Slenderblogger/Slendervlogger...There is pretty much NOTHING as annoying as seeing a guest account on Unfiction coming up and saying "HEY LOOK I JUST HEARD A RUMOR ABOUT THIS NEW STORY AND IT DOESN'T HAVE SLENDERMAN IN IT YET BUT I THINK IT WILL SOON." It's not a subtle way to get your story viewers. It's not a way to generate goodwill for your story from the getgo. All you're doing, is throwing your story into the masses, without any way to distinguish them. And really, it's getting to the stage where people just aren't checking these blogs anymore. I know I haven't been checking them all. Please, think of a more creative way to do it. There are ways.
Anyhow, onto our feature presentation.
SEESME
This particular story introduced itself into the mainstream by the method described above, and to be perfectly honest; if the title wasn't in all caps, I would've ignored it. Yeah, I fell prey to one of the most obvious advertising techniques; having your products name in BIGGER LETTERS COMPARED TO EVERYONE ELSE.
That said? I was pleasantly surprised when I read this blog, even though it's only starting out. The biggest reason, is its FORMAT. Instead of presenting itself as a blog, it is a series of MSN chatlogs, and responses to e-mails. I found this a new and refreshing take on the whole 'watching' thing a lot of Slenderstories have in common; one of the key creepy things about our antagonist seems to be the stalking. Having the format of the story be in such a voyeuristic manner just really suits it.
The ARG ASPECT of the story is minimal at the moment, though still, apparently, present; messages sent into the blog appear to be responded to by the main character.
SUMMARY: A college student, Sam, is suffering from altered sleeping patterns and sickness. The story comes from the various people in his life checking in on him over MSN, but something is strange; Sam doesn't appear to be the one who is posting these chat excerpts to the blog. Messages sent to the blog only generate a response along the lines of "Who are you, and why do you keep e-mailing me? ~Sam" So, in the words of one Unfiction poster..."THEN WHO WAS TUMBLR?"
CHARACTERS:
Sam is our main character, and is the target of this apparent e-stalking. We don't get much character information apart from what we're told in the chats; he's apparently being haunted by...something. Spends long periods of time just staring out his window at night, doesn't feel like seeing his friends, so on and so forth. He's a very believable character (as are most of the characters in this story, which I feel is a great strength), and you really get a sense of something big and bad happening to him, even if you don't know the details yet.
Alex is his girlfriend, who is described by most of Sam's friends as (how can I describe this while still maintaining the integrity of my review? Aaah!) of a particularly sexual nature (Yeah, that'll work.) She is the witness to a lot of Sam's...problems, firsthand.
Along with these two main characters, are two other people Sam talks to: BennyWise and DOCKTA. They both question Sam's strange personality changes. (I particularly like Benny's character; they sound EXACTLY like some of my friends over MSN, which ups the believability for me.)
There have also been several people sending in e-mails, but it's generally thought that they are just followers, not actually part of the story.
SLENDERMAN:
Not yet present in a visible sense. All we're getting is like, after-effects of a haunting. Symptoms, so to speak. It has an interesting effect, by focusing less on the monster, and more on the human interaction beneath it. It is widely assumed that Slenderman is somehow updating this Tumblr, however; though probably not by sneaking onto Sam's computer and blogging.
All in all, it looks like a very promising new story, that I highly suggest you all check out. Read from the bottom post to the top.
http://seesme.tumblr.com/
~ Sol
As a prospective Slenderblogger/Slendervlogger...There is pretty much NOTHING as annoying as seeing a guest account on Unfiction coming up and saying "HEY LOOK I JUST HEARD A RUMOR ABOUT THIS NEW STORY AND IT DOESN'T HAVE SLENDERMAN IN IT YET BUT I THINK IT WILL SOON." It's not a subtle way to get your story viewers. It's not a way to generate goodwill for your story from the getgo. All you're doing, is throwing your story into the masses, without any way to distinguish them. And really, it's getting to the stage where people just aren't checking these blogs anymore. I know I haven't been checking them all. Please, think of a more creative way to do it. There are ways.
Anyhow, onto our feature presentation.
SEESME
This particular story introduced itself into the mainstream by the method described above, and to be perfectly honest; if the title wasn't in all caps, I would've ignored it. Yeah, I fell prey to one of the most obvious advertising techniques; having your products name in BIGGER LETTERS COMPARED TO EVERYONE ELSE.
That said? I was pleasantly surprised when I read this blog, even though it's only starting out. The biggest reason, is its FORMAT. Instead of presenting itself as a blog, it is a series of MSN chatlogs, and responses to e-mails. I found this a new and refreshing take on the whole 'watching' thing a lot of Slenderstories have in common; one of the key creepy things about our antagonist seems to be the stalking. Having the format of the story be in such a voyeuristic manner just really suits it.
The ARG ASPECT of the story is minimal at the moment, though still, apparently, present; messages sent into the blog appear to be responded to by the main character.
SUMMARY: A college student, Sam, is suffering from altered sleeping patterns and sickness. The story comes from the various people in his life checking in on him over MSN, but something is strange; Sam doesn't appear to be the one who is posting these chat excerpts to the blog. Messages sent to the blog only generate a response along the lines of "Who are you, and why do you keep e-mailing me? ~Sam" So, in the words of one Unfiction poster..."THEN WHO WAS TUMBLR?"
CHARACTERS:
Sam is our main character, and is the target of this apparent e-stalking. We don't get much character information apart from what we're told in the chats; he's apparently being haunted by...something. Spends long periods of time just staring out his window at night, doesn't feel like seeing his friends, so on and so forth. He's a very believable character (as are most of the characters in this story, which I feel is a great strength), and you really get a sense of something big and bad happening to him, even if you don't know the details yet.
Alex is his girlfriend, who is described by most of Sam's friends as (how can I describe this while still maintaining the integrity of my review? Aaah!) of a particularly sexual nature (Yeah, that'll work.) She is the witness to a lot of Sam's...problems, firsthand.
Along with these two main characters, are two other people Sam talks to: BennyWise and DOCKTA. They both question Sam's strange personality changes. (I particularly like Benny's character; they sound EXACTLY like some of my friends over MSN, which ups the believability for me.)
There have also been several people sending in e-mails, but it's generally thought that they are just followers, not actually part of the story.
SLENDERMAN:
Not yet present in a visible sense. All we're getting is like, after-effects of a haunting. Symptoms, so to speak. It has an interesting effect, by focusing less on the monster, and more on the human interaction beneath it. It is widely assumed that Slenderman is somehow updating this Tumblr, however; though probably not by sneaking onto Sam's computer and blogging.
All in all, it looks like a very promising new story, that I highly suggest you all check out. Read from the bottom post to the top.
http://seesme.tumblr.com/
~ Sol
Sunday, November 21, 2010
[A] Make It Count
Welcome to the Slendy Review! I, your current host (I am not sure is "Boss" wants us to say who we are...... what? Maybe he likes privacy. D: ), am here to bring us our first Review. This little gem is possibly overlooked, as it does not seem to be getting a lot of attention on the UnForums. Now whether that is because no one really has anything to say or whether people just don't give it a chance because of other lesser blogs, I don't really know. However, I am here to give my completely unbiased review of....
Make It Count
Blog(s): http://countingitup.blogspot.com/
Twitter(s):
-Main Character: http://twitter.com/CelieMcL
-Main Character's Friend: http://twitter.com/ViggityViolet
Summary:
Make It Count is a Slenderblog that I believe is very well-written (it better be, the main character is a journalist!). It follows the life of Celeste McLachlan, a young up-and-coming journalist, with appearances by her two friends, Rose and Violet. That's right, dear readers, our protagonists are -GASP- female!!!! Actually, many of you have been complaining that there aren't enough female main characters, and so, months before people complained, this blog drove into Slender territory.
Characters:
Our main character is Celeste McLachlan, or Celie (SEELY) for short. A journalist from Baltimore, Maryland, she notices that her friend has been acting... odd, lately...
That friend is Rose, her "hetero soulmate" she has known for six years. Lately, she seems distracted..
And there is Violet, "artistic" one who is always there to help!
Okay, I'm no good at character descriptions.. However, each character does seem very believable and you actually want to care about them!
Slendy:
Their SlenderMan isn't seen much, except for a couple of times. However, you definitely see the effects that he has on Celie and everyone around her, even culminating in..... well, I don't want to reveal the story. However, I do think that Make It Count is definitely worth a read with, as I said, believable characters and well-written posts. Start with the first post, here: http://countingitup.blogspot.com/2010/09/me-introduction.html
Make It Count
Blog(s): http://countingitup.blogspot.com/
Twitter(s):
-Main Character: http://twitter.com/CelieMcL
-Main Character's Friend: http://twitter.com/ViggityViolet
Summary:
Make It Count is a Slenderblog that I believe is very well-written (it better be, the main character is a journalist!). It follows the life of Celeste McLachlan, a young up-and-coming journalist, with appearances by her two friends, Rose and Violet. That's right, dear readers, our protagonists are -GASP- female!!!! Actually, many of you have been complaining that there aren't enough female main characters, and so, months before people complained, this blog drove into Slender territory.
Characters:
Our main character is Celeste McLachlan, or Celie (SEELY) for short. A journalist from Baltimore, Maryland, she notices that her friend has been acting... odd, lately...
That friend is Rose, her "hetero soulmate" she has known for six years. Lately, she seems distracted..
And there is Violet, "artistic" one who is always there to help!
Okay, I'm no good at character descriptions.. However, each character does seem very believable and you actually want to care about them!
Slendy:
Their SlenderMan isn't seen much, except for a couple of times. However, you definitely see the effects that he has on Celie and everyone around her, even culminating in..... well, I don't want to reveal the story. However, I do think that Make It Count is definitely worth a read with, as I said, believable characters and well-written posts. Start with the first post, here: http://countingitup.blogspot.com/2010/09/me-introduction.html
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
[OT] The Premise + TAGS
Okay, I had a huge post typed up, but then I realized: I really don't have the authority to toot my own horn so much when it comes to writing. So I'm going to summarize a little.
There's a whole load of Slendy Stories going around.
We're going to try and objectively rate them. Why? Because it's getting bloody ridiculous sifting through them all.
I can't do this alone, because, as a firm believer in democracy, or at the very least, a dictatorship of peers, I don't think my words should be so heavily weighted, so I'm calling on anyone who reckons they'd make a decent enough reviewer to come give me a hand. Preferably fun people, who can criticize without being absolutely heartless. Well, maybe a bit heartless if it's REALLY bad.
Anyhow, hello, and stay tuned!
~ Sol
EDIT: 9.12.10
We have now decided to not only review the good blogs, but also, the less good. I don't want to make this just a bitch-fest, because that's not enjoyable, so we will still be looking at what is done right as much as possible.
However, to make it easier for you to read reviews about what you want, I will be implementing a title tagging system. So if you want more reccomendations, just go for that. If you want to read about the godawful blogs...well, they're here.
Anyhow, the system:
[OT] = Off Topic. Not a review at all.
[A] = Reccomended. Read these blogs.
[S] = Classic. You probably HAVE read these blogs.
[C] = Not reccomended. Possibly some good points, but needs improvement.
[F] = Awful. Really bad. No redeeming factors. Read if you lost a bet, or have a sick fascination with failure.
There's a whole load of Slendy Stories going around.
We're going to try and objectively rate them. Why? Because it's getting bloody ridiculous sifting through them all.
I can't do this alone, because, as a firm believer in democracy, or at the very least, a dictatorship of peers, I don't think my words should be so heavily weighted, so I'm calling on anyone who reckons they'd make a decent enough reviewer to come give me a hand. Preferably fun people, who can criticize without being absolutely heartless. Well, maybe a bit heartless if it's REALLY bad.
Anyhow, hello, and stay tuned!
~ Sol
EDIT: 9.12.10
We have now decided to not only review the good blogs, but also, the less good. I don't want to make this just a bitch-fest, because that's not enjoyable, so we will still be looking at what is done right as much as possible.
However, to make it easier for you to read reviews about what you want, I will be implementing a title tagging system. So if you want more reccomendations, just go for that. If you want to read about the godawful blogs...well, they're here.
Anyhow, the system:
[OT] = Off Topic. Not a review at all.
[A] = Reccomended. Read these blogs.
[S] = Classic. You probably HAVE read these blogs.
[C] = Not reccomended. Possibly some good points, but needs improvement.
[F] = Awful. Really bad. No redeeming factors. Read if you lost a bet, or have a sick fascination with failure.
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