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One of my biggest gripes about blogs, particularly Slenderblogs, is those people who make Proxies and Fear Servants do stuff that either they have no business doing, or that their master could do for themselves. Sorry, no, you don't need a Proxy for watching someone or killing someone when Slendy can do both of those himself. Now let me make this very clear: I do NOT hate Proxies or Fear Servants. What I *do* hate is people adding shit for no other reason than it to be one more level of abstraction, or because it's a common trope and they are under the misconception that they have to use it. I hate mindless drone characters that don't have personalities, and most often people write Proxies like that when they aren't being used in a story focused on them. If you're using those characters, think about why you are using them, and give them at least some sort of minor back story or personality. And keep these things in mind:List of reasons a Servant/Proxy should be used in a story:
- To do things Slendy/the Fear in question could not do for themselves, for good reason. Good reasons include things like: Slendy flat out cannot do it in your universe, Slendy needs another set of eyes on someone, Slendy is unable to talk, etc. Think about why the Proxy would need to be there, not about how cool/scary it would be with them there.
- To interact with humans in ways that only humans can do. Eldritch beings have trouble working with humans in ways that don't involve sanity loss and severe trauma to the human in question. Therefore, they might need a human servant to interface with humans they intend to communicate with.
- To break the target by turning a friend or trusted ally into an enemy. If the protag doesn't notice until it's too late, take bonus special points. For an example of how this is done to great effect (albeit not with a Proxy), see how HABIT influences Evan in EverymanHYBRID, and for one more specifically tailored to "friend suddenly becomes enemy that is slowly revealed to be untrustworthy or dangerous", try Marble Hornets' Alex Krailie.
- To amass forces against a credible threat to Slendy/the Fear in question. Credible threats include other Fears, beings more powerful than the being in question, and severe world-destroying RAPTURE-level shit. Not the entire damn army, not a bunch of ragtag Runners, and sure as hell not one person.
- To tell a story about the life of a Proxy/Servant and their misadventures. This has been done to the point of becoming a cliche though (and even parodies of this like CoyoteIsAwesome are getting overdone), so I'd try to get more creative with it.
- Because your story seriously, really could not adequately function as you intend it to without a Proxy/Servant being there. If you really, really think this is the case and you absolutely can't go on without a Proxy, then use one. But if you can rewrite it in such a way that it works without the Proxy character, without compromising the core of the story too much, then you do not need to add said Proxy character.
- To be cool or scary. Sorry, but Proxies are not cool anymore, nor are they even considered that scary much these days. What they are is overdone, especially if you write them like mindless drones without personalities. Fear Servants can get the same way if you're not careful. It's not cool, and not unique. Be different and use the monsters in interesting ways; that's what makes a story cool.
- To have redshirts you can kill off shamelessly. No point to this, unless your story involves a war or battle of some sort. And as an aside, remember to be realistic about a battle; casualties should occur on both sides, NOT just one. Remember what I said about murdering your darlings in the last post? Yeah, that can and should apply here too.
- To do something for Slendy/a Fear that said being is just too lazy to do themselves. For example, a Proxy mentally taunting someone by stalking them when the Slenderman already does exactly this. You don't need a Lillim there just to have a cool snake monster that taunts the protagonist with their inner hatred, especially when the Mother of Snakes does that already... you get the idea.
- Because everyone else is doing it. Think outside the box, you get nowhere by repeating the same formula ad nauseam. That's how we get stagnant blogs, and that's why the Slenderblogverse seemed so intimidating to newcomers - not enough openness and freshness, and too much of the same damn thing crossing over with the same damn thing in a horrible incestuous ourobouros of continuity lockout.
- Because all the good Slenderblogs/Fearblogs have servants... which isn't even true anyway, so seriously, find a better excuse for your Proxy to be there.
- Because a blog you're crossing over with has Proxies/Servants. You don't need to adopt the mold of the universe you're crossing over with, just the rules of that universe. Follow the rules, but not so much that you forget and completely forgo what makes your story unique. And also, don't cross over with things that don't fall in line with parts of your universe - if the other blog has pew-pew laser beams, and your blog is more down to earth, then stay out of that segment of the plot continuum, and find another blog to cross over with. Or, better yet, write your own story that stands alone without the need for any sort of crossover.
- As an army to use against an army of humans. Come on, that's not even a fair fight, plus it's a recipe for making your human protags into super-powered creatures. It's not realistic and not a good story unless you're specifically going for that.
- To have another credible threat besides the main one. No. Your main being is powerful enough to serve as the main threat. Get creative and stop ripping off the Observer and Redlight. Proxies should not have that much power, and they should not overshadow the Main Man himself. Same for most Fear Servants - Timberwolves do not overshadow or have greater power than the Archangel, for example, but in cases of hiveminds like EAT (who uses people as a way of continuing to spread her influence) this might be permissible.