dear_mun | On the release of more levels. (Canon is Slender.)

I suppose it depends on what you're afraid of but no locations seems ideal for being around such creatures.

There's lots of things to be scared of now. Trees. The dark. Being alone. ...Men with no faces... [Sound familiar there, Trilby? Remind you of any~~one~~thing?]

It's certainly something I can be familiar with. Less so the trees, the tall man I am familiar with is certainly connected to them however.

[That earns a wide-eyed stare.] Then you've seen him. You know- [Deep breaths. Easy, girl.] ...You know what it looks like. What it's capable of.

Yes although I believe they are two different beings. The Tall Man, as I'll refer to mine if it won't trouble you, didn't face me directly at first. A secondary trouble was my introduction, the spirit or wraith of a boy I dubbed John Defoe.

... [The Tall Man. It sounds a lot like the Faceless Man that stalked her through the woods. She rubs her arms and shivers.] It didn't, either. Always lurking nearby. But it kept getting closer and closer... all the time...

However through my mundane's look into this it's obvious that the Faceless man never uses a secondary party at first. It's only after an encounter with the Faceless man that more human enemies appear.

If it's any comfort from what I've seen through my mundane's research, The Tall Man does not kill, not directly.

I know. It found me. And then- I don't know what happened. All I know is, I woke up in broad daylight right in the middle of the woods. But why didn't It...?

[Why didn't it kill her? It killed whoever wrote the notes she found. It's killed God knows how many others.]

As far as I've seen it actually never kills.

At worst it controls the actions of the person its' stalking or at least I assume it is the one controlling these actions.

You've already blacked out and lost time, correct?

[She nods once, hesitantly.]

...That's bad. That's really bad.

But certainly not something that can't be overcome. It's a matter of finding out what causes his presence or the possessions.

In my situation it was touching a wooden African idol.

[This is the longest pause of all. But then she produces a small stack of notes from her backpack. "Don't look... Or it will take you". "Help me". "Leave me alone". And a sketch of a man as tall as the trees. She mutely holds them out.]

[He looks through them.]

Well the only connection I see is the woods or more importantly the trees. Have you been to those woods before ones like them?

Places worse than the woods huh. Well, sure, it can get so lonely there. So quiet. I'm rather fond of them myself, but after a while it's so boring. But the dark, I love the dark. Let your mun enjoy it.

...Nothing good ever comes of being in the dark. [Flashlight or not. She glances nervously at Mr. Scratch and start chewing on a hangnail.] You see better when it's bright out. But... sometimes... sometimes seeing's just as bad.

You're not afraid of the dark are you? [He smiles. Everyone is afraid of it. Everyone. And they should be.]

I beg to differ. You see, I've always done better in the dark.

The things people can imagine when they can't see what's out there. What monster did they conjure in their head? Does it have claws? Or sharp fangs? What depths are they going to be dragged into? The horror of what it'll do once it gets its grasp on you.

Is there even anything out there at all?

I always get a kick out of watching them squirm. I have the dark at my advantage.

... [She is afraid. Afraid of the dark. Of the forest. Of men in suits and the sound of the wind. She didn't used to be.]

Is there... you don't understand. There is something out there. I've seen it. I've run from it. I've- [Survived being caught by it.]

No. No no no. You're not... you're wrong. It isn't something to be enjoyed. Who are you? What are you?

[He gives off a small laugh. It seems like a joking laugh, but deep down it's full of malice. He's just playing with you. He knows you're afraid. Feeds off it. But what did she see? It wasn't him; it wasn't any of associates either. Something else is out there it seems.]

Just a writer. Perhaps you've heard of me. Alan. Alan Wake.

Or so he poses as such. The real Alan is out there. Somewhere. What you see here is a creature of pure darkness who masked himself in the body of a pour man trapped in a never ending dark. His real name is unspeakable to human mouths, so most just call him Mr. Scratch.]

[It's something old. Probably older than even the Darkness itself. But whatever it is, one thing's for certain. It doesn't like sharing its prey. There are enough stories out there of what happens to those who infringe on Its territory.]

...Never heard of you. S-sorry. Do you write fiction, Mr. Wake?

[Sorry. All she's been reading are old urban rumors and whatever people leave behind before they disappear. Best to know in advance. Knowledge is power, after all.]

[Oh, is that so? Scratch really wants to meet It. He comes from a place that's pretty old too, and even though he himself is fairly new, his boss ain't.

Regardless, he frowns.] Not too many people around here do.

Fiction? Mmm, yeah. [He's read Alan's stuff, not that big of a fan. He was doing great in Cauldron Lake though.] But this new stuff I plan on writing- it's all based on real events. Some pretty scary stuff in there.

[If Scratch wants to encounter it, all he needs to do is follow its trail. It'll find him before too long. Still... The girl hesitates for a moment before she pulls a stack of papers out of her backpack.]

Promise not to tell? ...I plan on writing about something scary, too. But I... I don't know if it's a good idea or not.

[Good. He'll search for It. Continue until he does find It. They have some talking to do.]

Oh, you can tell me. I'm a great judge when it comes to ideas.

[It's an interesting idea. But who would triumph: the Darkness's pet, or the Slender Man?]

...There are rumors. If you go into the woods, you'll see a man. A tall man in a suit. Only it's too tall. It doesn't have a face. And then it... it'll follow you. Hunt you. Until you disappear.

...I've seen it. I know it exists.

[Pet? No. Really? He's more like an employee. An employee who said hell with this and went on to do his own thing. The Darkness wanted Alan for his way with words, Scratch wants his life. Sure they both wanted him dead in the end, but there's a distinct difference. Slightly. And hey, bring on the Slender Man. Scratch can take ol' no face any day.]

Doesn't have a face huh? Interesting. Yes, very, very interesting. I like where you're going with this.

... [ ): Mr. Scratch. Think about your life. Look at your choices, man. ...Plus, you're getting a frowny face from the young lady here. For shaaaame.]

... Here. Just... look at these notes. They're from someone. I think- no, I know that that thing got them.

[It's mostly just crazy rambling. "No no no no", "leave me alone", "don't look or it takes you", stuff like that. But there's also a drawing in there of a tall man with no face.]

There are more levels? o-o

Two! An abandoned building and... some kind of nursing home or hospital.

Oh neat, but this doesn't have to do with the Sanitarium game at all?

Nope. Wasn't made by the guy who did Slender, though, so maybe it's a copycat or something.

Oh I heard it was. Might of been misinformation on my part though

It's damned creepy regardless of who made 'em.

Most certainly xD So do you have a story for her at all?

Still hammering it out. Probably some kid who decided to investigate for a lark and then...

Certainly fits

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dhflxlhd holy crap it's a Mr. Scratch! <3

Ah, you already know of his work. Excellent.

You kidding? I love playing the Alan Wake games!

Me too. It's one of my fav games!

Waiting anxiously for whatever Remedy comes out with next. :D

Oh, me too! Have you been reading that "viral blog?"

...Link me? It sounds awesome! :D

http://thishouseofdreams.blogspot.com/

I see a House of Leaves reference! :) Those sneaky Remedy boys.

Which is an awesome book in its own right.

Still need to read it. Got Poe's album, though, so that's half the battle won.