Tear Jerker / Tribe Twelve

Videos/Social Media

• The fact that Noah is completely powerless, and can do nothing but watch as the Collective destroy his life and hurt the ones he loves. This seemingly has changed since Noah was taught severance.
• "Catharsis". Noah completely breaks down and accepts his mortality, guessing he's going to die or be permanently brainwashed on the 11th. All the while, he's apologizing to his friends and family, but most importantly, Milo, for not being there enough for him.
  • Just the description for the video does it:
    Whatever they have planned for me on the 11th, I just hope it doesn't hurt. Comment if you want, I don't care anymore. I'm so sorry for everything guys. I'm so fucking sorry.
  • Noah confessing that he was the one who killed Kat.
    "I was being controlled somehow, and, I—I killed her. [sobs] I don't know how they made me do it, but, they, they made me do it. In cold blood. [laughs] Like it was nothing. Like I'm some kind of goddamn puppet. That blood on my shirt? In the video? That was Kat's. She must have put up some fight."
  • "See you soon, Milo." God.
• Firebrand interrupting the Observer during Interception. The sheer relief when you realize that after all this time, someone cares about Noah and is fighting on his side is enough to bring on the waterworks.
• "The Live Stream Incident". Five minutes before midnight, Noah has a breakdown and finally admits that for all his posturing, he is terrified to die.
  Noah: (tearful) I'm really fucking scared, guys. I don't wanna die. (begins to cry) I want- I have my whole life ahead of me! I want to live! I don't care about any of this supernatural bullshit anymore. I want to...I just want to live!
  • Noah's final words to Firebrand, spoken in private after he ends the stream:
    Noah: (tearing up) Firebrand...me... Thank you. Thank you. (Turns off camera as he begins to sob.)
• DEUS EX MACHINA gives us a hint at how Firebrand broke free of the Collective: it involves some kind of deal with HABIT. It is heart-ripping to imagine a situation so dire that making that kind of Deal with the Devil is the better option.
  • Furthermore, Firebrand explains that he's had the journal the Collective are after ever since he broke free from their control. The journal is what has been protecting them from their wrath, and possibly from being controlled again. He intends to give the journal to Noah, therefore sacrificing himself, "For you, for us, for all of us." As he says this last part, it shows various people in a city, meaning he's giving himself up to save humanity.
• In Obituary, there is the way that Noah talks about inevitably becoming Firebrand, and how the video reveals that Mr. Scars is Milo and he killed Mary.
• Milo's letter to Noah in Extraordinary Circumstances.
  Dear Noah,
  May this case full of my old belongings somehow aid you in fighting whatever is plaguing us. Unfortunately, by the time you receive this, I'll surely be dead. I am sorry that I cannot explain more, because I think it may jeopardize my life under the recent extraordinary circumstances of my current existence, but I think you'll be able to figure it out in the end. I trust, you, old friend.
  Love,
  Milo Asher
  • This is especially poignant considering that until now, Noah has harbored a lot of guilt over Milo's death — both for not being there when Milo needed him, and for being unable to avenge his death. The note effectively shows that despite everything, not only does Milo not blame Noah for his current circumstances, but he still trusts him implicitly — and that despite no longer being human, he still loves him like a brother.
  • It also makes the previous entry a bit more heartrending: that was Milo's hand pressed against the glass. His own cousin — the living, human version he'd known in childhood, the one who was once like a brother to him — was right there on the other side of the glass, just a few feet away. And he couldn't even say a word.
• Mr. Scars kills Mary Asher in Milo's Tape. The sad part? Mr. Scars is Milo, and he killed his own mother. Observer, you DICK!
  Mr. Scars/Milo: It still hurts.
  • Even worse, it's hinted that Milo literally had no control over his actions in that moment, any more than Noah did when he killed Kat. After he realizes what he's done, he breaks down completely.
  • Mary's reaction to seeing Milo alive. She may have been a crazy, selfish bitch, but he was still her son.
    "Milo! My baby!"
    • On the flipside, however, there's the heartbreaking revelation that Mary only had Milo so she could sacrifice him to the Collective, in the vain hope that she could "buy off" the Administrator and end his malign influence on their family. Small wonder her Collective title is "The Selfish".
• While Evan/HABIT threatens Noah on the bridge in "Bridge to Nowhere," he asks him, "So, what are we gonna do, Noah? Are we gonna fight, or are we gonna die screaming?". Noah simply responds, "I just wanna go home," like a child would if they were in a situation like that. It's a tad subtle, but it's so sad considering how scared Noah is.
• "Fortunes". The Heroic Bluescreen Of Death Noah goes through in "Catharsis" is nothing compared to this. His sanity (and spirit) are so utterly broken that he's almost unrecognizable. He has no job (living off the money from the briefcase), no hope, and spends most of his days drinking heavily. He can't find relief in sleep, as the Collective have begun filling his dreams with horrific, mocking visions of the Boardwalk and Milo. And, as if all that wasn't bad enough, Milo's journal has literally begun speaking to him, taunting him with constant reminders of his failure. Damn.
  Noah: Milo, if you're out there...somehow, somewhere....
  Journal: Milo hates you.
• "Crawlspace". After trying to pick the lock and break the binding on the Journal, he decides to try burning it. Ultimately though, he can't bring himself to do it, leaving us with this heartbreaking quote.
  Noah: I'm sorry, Milo. I can't do it. I can't burn you. Not again.
  • What makes this even more hearbreaking is that Noah eventually opens the Journal, which appears to have killed it. As Noah describes on Ask.fm, Milo essentially died once more, and it's because of Noah. Again.
• "Pitfall". After the Observer pushes Noah off the top of the boardwalk's tower, what is one of the things Noah says on the way down?
  Noah: THIS IS IT! I'M FUCKIN' DEAD! I'M FREE!
  • The episode ends on one hell of a Hope Spot: Kevin returns, seemingly free from the Observer's influence, and takes Noah to a hospital to recover from his fall off the observation tower. However, Noah discovers that he's actually in the Museum of Medical History, and, in fact, never left the boardwalk at all. Jesus Christ, Observer.
• Though not a video on the main channel, Stan Frederick's ''Unsatisfied Customers'' really gives a good insight into Noah's current state.
  Noah (On Stan's voicemail): -have you been? Whatever you say you've been doing is NOT helping me. In fact, things have been worse. Why're you peddling snake oil at me, Stan? I open up to you, and you squander my precious time? Consider this correspondence terminated.
  • Noah doesn't even drop an F-bomb throughout the entire call.
  • He shows up again in "Neighbors". If anything, he's worse.
• This tweet, posted right before the real-life touchdown of Hurricane Irma, firmly solidifies Noah's Death Seeker status.
• Noah's Twitter response to watching EverymanHYBRID's ''All good things''.
  (Translated from German) Since all my friends die around me, I can't shake the feeling of jealousy. But we're just a bunch of helpless bastards. It was a honor to be familiar to the kind souls who also understood the great evil. Rest well, my brothers.

Milo's Journal

• Milo Asher’s life is perhaps one of the most tragic tales ever told in The Slender Man Mythos. Without giving too much away, let’s just say there’s a damn good reason why Noah compares reading his journal to opening up a tomb or performing an autopsy.
• For starters, let’s look at his early childhood seen in the mid-nineties. As it turns out, Slender Man wasn’t the only factor that made Milo’s life a living hell. Because of his frequent visits with him, Milo attempts to open up about his experiences with seeing Slender Man to a friend at school named Jeremy. In response, Jeremy and several other classmates relentlessly humiliate, bully, and taunt Milo, resulting in him becoming an outcast in school. His mother certainly doesn’t help him, as the only thing she ever does with him other than spend her days smoking, watching TV, talking on the phone, and occasionally going to a "book club" (actually cult meetings) is give him pills to take. She also bring home a boyfriend named Rick who abuses both of them for a few months. And keep in mind that Milo is seven years old during all of this.
• You think all that up above is bad? Try looking at the entry "grandpa", where Milo deals with nearly getting killed by his own grandfather due to nearly discovering Sebastian's journal.
• The fact that Mary Asher willingly forced Milo to become part of the Order for little reason other than to find out more about Slender Man is absolutely disgusting and depressing. It makes her comeuppance at Mr. Scars' hands all the more satisfying.
  • What's worse is how willingly and accepting Milo is of the Order's ways. He obviously doesn't know any better due to just being a kid, but putting your trust into a group of adults who are merely using you as a tool to understand more about a being that couldn't care less about them is just heartbreaking.
• Seeing Milo talk so positively about the cruise that his family is planning for Karl's birthday. What was supposed to be a fun family event becomes a terrible accident due to events beyond your control, resulting in losing two important family members in the process. True, Milo never knew his grandmother that well, but he flat-out admits that he misses Tommy, his cousin.
• While Milo talking about how much he loves John Fletcher as his stepdad in "dishonest" is mostly for Heartwarming Moments, it's still sad knowing that the two won't be together much longer due to Milo committing suicide, and John's death at Mary's hands.
  • It arguably gets worse in "flu", where Milo berates his mother for forcing John to clean up after him while he's recovering from his meds. In "tendrils" the dissolving of John and Mary's relationship also seems apparent when Mary has another freakout over seeing Slender Man in her sleep.
• "pantry". After a close encounter with Slender Man while playing video games in Noah's house, Milo wakes up to find out that Noah, like Kevin before him, had suffered from Laser-Guided Amnesia after the traumatic experience, not even able to see Slendy in the trees anymore like he had previously. This causes Milo to realize that he needs to avoid contacting Noah or his family in order to prevent Noah from getting tangled up in his problems. Although we know he doesn't succeed, Milo's attempts to do so prove that he truly loves Noah as a brother, and honestly wanted him to live a good life.
• The events of "contact" go to show just how isolated Milo is from everyone else in the world, spending most of his time trying to search for the key he lost in the wood, and his camera, which Mary has obviously taken. Eventually, through some shenanigans, Milo finally manages to get Kevin's new phone number...only to discover that Kevin has absolutely no memories of him whatsoever. Just think about it. One of Milo's only true friends in his rotten life can't even remember who he is anymore. It's unclear whether he's putting up an act or if it's because of Slendy's influence, but you can just feel Milo's pain and anguish.

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