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Trope was cut/disambiguated due to cleanup
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* HeroesWantRedheads: One of the first pieces of information Damien gives about Amelia is that she has curly red hair.
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But little did Damien know that this supposed internet joke would have terrible repercussions for him and his friends. And little did he know that this urban legend would end up bringing back haunting memories from his past....
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But [[LittleDidIKnow little did Damien know know]] that this supposed internet joke would have terrible repercussions for him and his friends. And little did he know that this urban legend would end up bringing back haunting memories from his past....
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Removing misuse.
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* BerserkButton: Just try directing homophobic comments at Ted while Damien is around. Hope that Damien doesn't strangle you out of anger.
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* FunWithAcronyms: Who's EVE? Well, [[spoiler:if Ted is Adam, then Eve would be his boyfriend, right? No, it's ''E''mily and ''V''incent ''E''llison.]]
to:
* FunWithAcronyms: FunWithAcronyms:
** Who's EVE? Well, [[spoiler:if Ted is Adam, then Eve would be his boyfriend, right? No, it's ''E''mily and ''V''incent ''E''llison.]]
** Who's EVE? Well, [[spoiler:if Ted is Adam, then Eve would be his boyfriend, right? No, it's ''E''mily and ''V''incent ''E''llison.]]
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* MindScrew: It's known from early in the story that [[UnreliableNarrator the protagonist is mentally ill]], but this isn't really brought home hard until the ending, which [[spoiler:calls into question whether any of what came before was real, and if so, how much?]]
** Also, there's the "Author's" blog to consider.
** Also, there's the "Author's" blog to consider.
to:
* MindScrew: It's known from early in the story that [[UnreliableNarrator the protagonist is mentally ill]], but this isn't really brought home hard until the ending, which [[spoiler:calls into question whether any of what came before was real, and if so, how much?]]
**much?]] Also, there's the "Author's" blog to consider.
**
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* PunctuatedForEmphasis: "[[http://dreamsindarkness91.blogspot.com/2010/05/top-of-world.html Date. was. great.]] That is all.
to:
* PunctuatedForEmphasis: PunctuatedForEmphasis:
** "[[http://dreamsindarkness91.blogspot.com/2010/05/top-of-world.html Date. was. great.]] That is all.
** "[[http://dreamsindarkness91.blogspot.com/2010/05/top-of-world.html Date. was. great.]] That is all.
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* ShoutOut: To ''WebVideo/MarbleHornets'', ''Blog/SeekingTruth'', and ''Blog/TheTutorial''.
to:
* ShoutOut: ShoutOut:
** To ''WebVideo/MarbleHornets'', ''Blog/SeekingTruth'', and ''Blog/TheTutorial''.
** To ''WebVideo/MarbleHornets'', ''Blog/SeekingTruth'', and ''Blog/TheTutorial''.
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* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Damien.]]
to:
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Damien.[[spoiler:Damien.]]
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* GainaxEnding / TwistEnding: Comments left on the final blog post result in one of these. [[spoiler:Damien has killed himself, and the blog has, since Ted's death, been a ''falsified'' account of real events, effectively making it fiction within fiction. Everything we've seen since then has been a narrative constructed by Damien, pushed over the edge of sanity by Ted's death. There is no Slender Man, [=TheArsonist=] doesn't exist, the supposed drawings from Damien's childhood were drawn recently, [[FridgeHorror and it's very possible that Damien was in fact the murderer of Emily and Vincent.]]]]
to:
* GainaxEnding / TwistEnding: Comments left on GainaxEnding: Most Slenderman stories have twists and turns. This may be the final blog post result in only one of these. [[spoiler:Damien has killed himself, and the blog has, since Ted's death, to reveal [[spoiler:Slenderman [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane might not even have been a ''falsified'' account of real events, effectively making it fiction within fiction. Everything we've seen since then has been a narrative constructed by Damien, pushed over involved the edge of sanity by Ted's death. There is no Slender Man, [=TheArsonist=] doesn't exist, the supposed drawings from Damien's childhood were drawn recently, [[FridgeHorror and it's very possible that Damien was in fact the murderer of Emily and Vincent.]]]]whole time]].]]
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* MassiveMultiplayerCrossover: M, writer of ''The Tutorial'', is a regular commenter.
** There's also a rather cryptic comment from [[spoiler: [[Blog/SeekingTruth Zeke Strahm]]]].
** There's also a rather cryptic comment from [[spoiler: [[Blog/SeekingTruth Zeke Strahm]]]].
to:
* MassiveMultiplayerCrossover: M, writer of ''The Tutorial'', is a regular commenter.
**commenter. There's also a rather cryptic comment from [[spoiler: [[Blog/SeekingTruth Zeke Strahm]]]].
**
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* StylisticSuck: ''Watch This City Burn'', Damien's fake Slender-blog, is an example of this [[spoiler:before Damien's other personality takes it over and makes it an actual Slender-blog.]]
to:
* StylisticSuck: StylisticSuck:
** ''Watch This City Burn'', Damien's fake Slender-blog, is an example of this [[spoiler:before Damien's other personality takes it over and makes it an actual Slender-blog.]]
** ''Watch This City Burn'', Damien's fake Slender-blog, is an example of this [[spoiler:before Damien's other personality takes it over and makes it an actual Slender-blog.]]
* TwistEnding: Comments left on the final blog post result in one of these. [[spoiler:Damien has killed himself, and the blog has, since Ted's death, been a ''falsified'' account of real events, effectively making it fiction within fiction. Everything we've seen since then has been a narrative constructed by Damien, pushed over the edge of sanity by Ted's death. There is no Slender Man, [=TheArsonist=] doesn't exist, the supposed drawings from Damien's childhood were drawn recently, [[FridgeHorror and it's very possible that Damien was in fact the murderer of Emily and Vincent.]]]]
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* UnreliableNarrator: [[spoiler:Well, he's got at least two personalities, for one...]]
to:
* UnreliableNarrator: UnreliableNarrator:
** [[spoiler:Well, he's got at least two personalities, for one...]]
** [[spoiler:Well, he's got at least two personalities, for one...]]
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* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: The Arsonist seems to have a goal, and seems to have some sort of plan. Whether it's for the good of society or its detriment is unclear.
to:
* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: UnspokenPlanGuarantee:
** The Arsonist seems to have a goal, and seems to have some sort of plan. Whether it's for the good of society or its detriment is unclear.
** The Arsonist seems to have a goal, and seems to have some sort of plan. Whether it's for the good of society or its detriment is unclear.
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* [[spoiler:VillainProtagonist: Damien's SplitPersonality is what causes everything to occur. He's actually the Arsonist, he killed Matthew Wilcox, he killed Emily, he killed Vincent, he manufactured the entire blog post-Ted's death, and he kills himself in the end.]]
* WhamEpisode: "[[DeadlyEuphemism mynightonthetown.jpg]]".
* WhamEpisode: "[[DeadlyEuphemism mynightonthetown.jpg]]".
to:
* [[spoiler:VillainProtagonist: Damien's VillainProtagonist: [[spoiler:Damien's SplitPersonality is what causes everything to occur. He's actually the Arsonist, he killed Matthew Wilcox, he killed Emily, he killed Vincent, he manufactured the entire blog post-Ted's death, and he kills himself in the end.]]
*WhamEpisode: WhamEpisode:
** "[[DeadlyEuphemism mynightonthetown.jpg]]".
*
** "[[DeadlyEuphemism mynightonthetown.jpg]]".
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*** [[spoiler:newly posted by an anonymous, but with very familiar-looking type of text; "I AM BACK EVERYONE"]]
to:
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Literary Agent Hypothesis is YMMV and based on fanon; Direct Line To The Author is its objective counterpart. Also see How To Write An Example; only one trope is allowed per bullet point.
* DirectLineToTheAuthor: The supposed author's life is starting to get similarities to his story. People he knows start to resemble his characters, or the other way around. [[spoiler: And then The Arsonist shows up.]] Time will tell if there will be a third blog, talking about a book deal for Deja Vu Dreamer.
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* NestedStory / RecursiveFanfiction / LiteraryAgentHypothesis / RefugeeFromTVLand: Pick one. The supposed author's life is starting to get similarities to his story. People he knows start to resemble his characters, or the other way around. [[spoiler: And then The Arsonist shows up.]] Time will tell if there will be a third blog, talking about a book deal for Deja Vu Dreamer.
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* BuryYourGays: [[spoiler:Poor Ted]].
to:
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* NoMedicationForMe: [[spoiler: Damien goes off his meds (albeit accidentally) early on in the story.]]
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* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Damien.]]
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* MultipleEndings: According to one [[http://slenderia.blogspot.com/2010/10/dreams-in-darkness.html amusingly paranoid Slendyblogger]].
to:
* MultipleEndings: According to one [[http://slenderia.blogspot.com/2010/10/dreams-in-darkness.html amusingly paranoid Slendyblogger]].Slendyblogger]], the ending could be interpreted many different ways.
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* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[GainaxEnding Possibly.]] Early on in the story, [[spoiler: Damien goes off his meds, implying that the remainder of the series is occurring in Damien's mind.]]
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* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: [[spoiler: It's left ambiguous as to whether or not Slender Man was in the series to begin with, considering how at the end of the series, it's implied Damien was insane the whole time.]]
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** "Now, more than ever, I find myself believing [[HouseOfLeaves The Navidson Record]] could have actually taken place."
to:
** "Now, more than ever, I find myself believing [[HouseOfLeaves [[Literature/HouseOfLeaves The Navidson Record]] could have actually taken place."
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Ted, meanwhile, has gotten interested in some strange meme that has something to do with a "[[TheSlenderManMythos slender man]]" and "[[WebVideo/MarbleHornets marble hornets]]" after hearing about it at a gaming convention. Damien is introduced to the whole phenomenon by his roommate, and, despite finding it pretty scary, [[NightmareFetishist takes a strong liking to it]].
to:
Ted, meanwhile, has gotten interested in some strange meme that has something to do with a "[[TheSlenderManMythos "[[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos slender man]]" and "[[WebVideo/MarbleHornets marble hornets]]" after hearing about it at a gaming convention. Damien is introduced to the whole phenomenon by his roommate, and, despite finding it pretty scary, [[NightmareFetishist takes a strong liking to it]].
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** The blog's banner is a panel from [[NeilGaiman Neil Gaiman's]] ''The Sandman''.
to:
** The blog's banner is a panel from [[NeilGaiman Neil Gaiman's]] Creator/NeilGaiman's ''The Sandman''.
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* BigBadEnsemble: Toss-up between the Slender Man and the Arsonist. Information is so scarce that we're not sure if they even know of each other, so let's assume they're unrelated.
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* GainaxEnding / TwistEnding: [[spoiler:Damien's brother, Rick]], left comments on the final blog post that result in one of these. [[spoiler:Damien has killed himself, and the blog has, since Ted's death, been a fictional account of real events, effectively making it fiction within fiction. Everything we've seen since then has been a narrative constructed by Damien, pushed over the edge of sanity by Ted's death. There is no Slender Man, [=TheArsonist=] doesn't exist, the supposed drawings from Damien's childhood were drawn recently, [[FridgeHorror and it's very possible that Damien was in fact the murderer of Emily and Vincent.]]]]
to:
* GainaxEnding / TwistEnding: [[spoiler:Damien's brother, Rick]], Comments left comments on the final blog post that result in one of these. [[spoiler:Damien has killed himself, and the blog has, since Ted's death, been a fictional ''falsified'' account of real events, effectively making it fiction within fiction. Everything we've seen since then has been a narrative constructed by Damien, pushed over the edge of sanity by Ted's death. There is no Slender Man, [=TheArsonist=] doesn't exist, the supposed drawings from Damien's childhood were drawn recently, [[FridgeHorror and it's very possible that Damien was in fact the murderer of Emily and Vincent.]]]]
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** Ultimately [[spoiler:subverted; Damien commits suicide even after doing everything TA tells him to do, thus making TA's plan moot]].
*** [[spoiler:[[MindScrew Assuming TheArsonist actually existed.]]]]
*** [[spoiler:[[MindScrew Assuming TheArsonist actually existed.]]]]
to:
** Ultimately [[spoiler:subverted; Damien commits suicide even after doing everything TA tells him to do, thus making TA's plan moot]].
*** [[spoiler:[[MindScrewmoot. [[MindScrew Assuming TheArsonist actually existed.]]]]]]]]
* [[spoiler:VillainProtagonist: Damien's SplitPersonality is what causes everything to occur. He's actually the Arsonist, he killed Matthew Wilcox, he killed Emily, he killed Vincent, he manufactured the entire blog post-Ted's death, and he kills himself in the end.]]
*** [[spoiler:[[MindScrew
* [[spoiler:VillainProtagonist: Damien's SplitPersonality is what causes everything to occur. He's actually the Arsonist, he killed Matthew Wilcox, he killed Emily, he killed Vincent, he manufactured the entire blog post-Ted's death, and he kills himself in the end.]]
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Not ironic. It would be ironic if he was called Water when the Slender Man sets on fires.
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* PlayingWithFire: The name "[=TheArsonist=]" is a rather ironic choice, given Slender Man's knack for setting fires. [[spoiler:Slendy himself actually does this to the house of Matthew Wilcox.]]
to:
* PlayingWithFire: The name "[=TheArsonist=]" is a rather ironic appropriate choice, given Slender Man's knack for setting fires. [[spoiler:Slendy himself actually does this to the house of Matthew Wilcox.]]
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Ted, meanwhile, has gotten interested in some strange meme that has something to do with a "[[TheSlenderManMythos slender man]]" and "[[MarbleHornets marble hornets]]" after hearing about it at a gaming convention. Damien is introduced to the whole phenomenon by his roommate, and, despite finding it pretty scary, [[NightmareFetishist takes a strong liking to it]].
to:
Ted, meanwhile, has gotten interested in some strange meme that has something to do with a "[[TheSlenderManMythos slender man]]" and "[[MarbleHornets "[[WebVideo/MarbleHornets marble hornets]]" after hearing about it at a gaming convention. Damien is introduced to the whole phenomenon by his roommate, and, despite finding it pretty scary, [[NightmareFetishist takes a strong liking to it]].
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* {{Expy}}: [=TheArsonist=] starts off as one for [[MarbleHornets totheark]], right down to hints that the mask that Damien randomly gets is related to his appearance. [[DivergentCharacterEvolution TA ends up becoming quite different later on]].
to:
* {{Expy}}: [=TheArsonist=] starts off as one for [[MarbleHornets [[WebVideo/MarbleHornets totheark]], right down to hints that the mask that Damien randomly gets is related to his appearance. [[DivergentCharacterEvolution TA ends up becoming quite different later on]].
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* LateArrivalSpoiler: You might want to watch MarbleHornets for yourself before you give this blog a go.
to:
* LateArrivalSpoiler: You might want to watch MarbleHornets Marble Hornets for yourself before you give this blog a go.
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** There's also a rather cryptic comment from [[spoiler: [[SeekingTruth Zeke Strahm]]]].
to:
** There's also a rather cryptic comment from [[spoiler: [[SeekingTruth [[Blog/SeekingTruth Zeke Strahm]]]].
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* ShoutOut: To ''MarbleHornets'', ''SeekingTruth'', and ''The Tutorial''.
to:
* ShoutOut: To ''MarbleHornets'', ''SeekingTruth'', ''WebVideo/MarbleHornets'', ''Blog/SeekingTruth'', and ''The Tutorial''.''Blog/TheTutorial''.
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->''I'm an arrogant bastard of a nerd, and I have a bad habit of thinking I'm always right. I obsess over stupid things. Greatly appreciate intelligent thought. Overimaginitive... Self-loathing.''
to:
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'''BEWARE: Due to {{Wham Episode}}s and a TwistEnding, HERE THERE BE SPOILERS!'''
to:
'''BEWARE: Due to {{Wham Episode}}s and a TwistEnding, HERE THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!'''
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Sinkhole of a subjective trope. Opinions don\'t go in main pages
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Ted, meanwhile, has gotten interested in some strange [[MemeticMutation meme]] that has something to do with a "[[TheSlenderManMythos slender man]]" and "[[MarbleHornets marble hornets]]" after hearing about it at a gaming convention. Damien is introduced to the whole phenomenon by his roommate, and, despite finding it [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel pretty scary]], [[NightmareFetishist takes a strong liking to it]].
to:
Ted, meanwhile, has gotten interested in some strange [[MemeticMutation meme]] meme that has something to do with a "[[TheSlenderManMythos slender man]]" and "[[MarbleHornets marble hornets]]" after hearing about it at a gaming convention. Damien is introduced to the whole phenomenon by his roommate, and, despite finding it [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel pretty scary]], scary, [[NightmareFetishist takes a strong liking to it]].
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* PunctuatedForEmphasis: "[[http://dreamsindarkness91.blogspot.com/2010/05/top-of-world.html Date. was. great.]] That is all.
** "[[http://dreamsindarkness91.blogspot.com/2010/08/i-woke-up-this-afternoon-to-find.html GET. UP. MAKE. ME.]] It seems Damien and [[spoiler:his alternate personality]] even write like this, in all caps no less.
** "[[http://dreamsindarkness91.blogspot.com/2010/08/i-woke-up-this-afternoon-to-find.html GET. UP. MAKE. ME.]] It seems Damien and [[spoiler:his alternate personality]] even write like this, in all caps no less.
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* ThisIsSPARTA: "[[http://dreamsindarkness91.blogspot.com/2010/05/top-of-world.html Date. was. great.]] That is all.
** "[[http://dreamsindarkness91.blogspot.com/2010/08/i-woke-up-this-afternoon-to-find.html GET. UP. MAKE. ME.]] It seems Damien and [[spoiler:his alternate personality]] even write like this, in all caps no less.
** "[[http://dreamsindarkness91.blogspot.com/2010/08/i-woke-up-this-afternoon-to-find.html GET. UP. MAKE. ME.]] It seems Damien and [[spoiler:his alternate personality]] even write like this, in all caps no less.
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->''I'm an arrogant bastard of a nerd, and I have a bad habit of thinking I'm always right. I obsess over stupid things. Greatly appreciate intelligent thought. Overimaginitive... Self-loathing.''
So, Damien O'Connor. Proud nerd who lives with his roommate and childhood friend Ted. His '10 college courses have ended for the year, leaving him with his summer job at a boring department store. Said job would be practically unbearable were it not for the girl of his dreams, Amelia, being a coworker there. Damien eventually builds up the courage to ask her out.
Ted, meanwhile, has gotten interested in some strange [[MemeticMutation meme]] that has something to do with a "[[TheSlenderManMythos slender man]]" and "[[MarbleHornets marble hornets]]" after hearing about it at a gaming convention. Damien is introduced to the whole phenomenon by his roommate, and, despite finding it [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel pretty scary]], [[NightmareFetishist takes a strong liking to it]].
But little did Damien know that this supposed internet joke would have terrible repercussions for him and his friends. And little did he know that this urban legend would end up bringing back haunting memories from his past....
[[http://dreamsindarkness91.blogspot.com/2010/05/and-life-in-general.html The blog starts here]].
Also of interest, a potential novel adaptation has been announced on the author's personal blog [[http://dejavudreamer.blogspot.com/p/dreams-in-darkness-novel-q.html here]]
Wrong! Confused? Well just read the "Author's" personal blog.
'''BEWARE: Due to {{Wham Episode}}s and a TwistEnding, HERE THERE BE SPOILERS!'''
----
!!This blog provides examples of:
* AlienGeometries: The brick building behind Damien's childhood home.
* AmnesiacDissonance: [[spoiler:Damien vomits when he remembers the things he did as [=TheArsonist=] and initially thinks he's the Slender Man as well, since [=TheArsonist=] shouldn't have known that Eve and Vincent would die without planning to do it himself. Amelia shortly afterward sighting Slendy eases Damien's mind on that front, at least. I mean, Amelia ends up dead right after that, but at least Damien isn't Slendy, right?]]
* BerserkButton: Just try directing homophobic comments at Ted while Damien is around. Hope that Damien doesn't strangle you out of anger.
* BuryYourGays: [[spoiler:Poor Ted]].
* {{Deconstruction}}: One view of the TwistEnding is that [[spoiler:the whole thing is a deconstruction of [=ARGs=] in general. In the context of the story, Damien was violently, psychotically delusional and insane, and the commenters, not knowing what he'd done in the process of turning his life into a Slenderblog, just encouraged his crazed fantasies, because hey, it's just a game, right?]]
* TheEndingChangesEverything: [[spoiler:In particular, his brother's comments on Damien's last post.]]
* {{Expy}}: [=TheArsonist=] starts off as one for [[MarbleHornets totheark]], right down to hints that the mask that Damien randomly gets is related to his appearance. [[DivergentCharacterEvolution TA ends up becoming quite different later on]].
* AFateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler:[=TheArsonist=] claims that this awaits any of the Slender Man's victims, but adds that it may be possible to free their souls.]]
* FunWithAcronyms: Who's EVE? Well, [[spoiler:if Ted is Adam, then Eve would be his boyfriend, right? No, it's ''E''mily and ''V''incent ''E''llison.]]
** Also, the blog's name is '''D'''reams '''I'''n '''D'''arkness. [[spoiler:Damien has '''D'''issociative '''I'''dentity '''D'''isorder.]]
* GainaxEnding / TwistEnding: [[spoiler:Damien's brother, Rick]], left comments on the final blog post that result in one of these. [[spoiler:Damien has killed himself, and the blog has, since Ted's death, been a fictional account of real events, effectively making it fiction within fiction. Everything we've seen since then has been a narrative constructed by Damien, pushed over the edge of sanity by Ted's death. There is no Slender Man, [=TheArsonist=] doesn't exist, the supposed drawings from Damien's childhood were drawn recently, [[FridgeHorror and it's very possible that Damien was in fact the murderer of Emily and Vincent.]]]]
* HeroesWantRedheads: One of the first pieces of information Damien gives about Amelia is that she has curly red hair.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: You might want to watch MarbleHornets for yourself before you give this blog a go.
* MassiveMultiplayerCrossover: M, writer of ''The Tutorial'', is a regular commenter.
** There's also a rather cryptic comment from [[spoiler: [[SeekingTruth Zeke Strahm]]]].
* MindScrew: It's known from early in the story that [[UnreliableNarrator the protagonist is mentally ill]], but this isn't really brought home hard until the ending, which [[spoiler:calls into question whether any of what came before was real, and if so, how much?]]
** Also, there's the "Author's" blog to consider.
* MultipleEndings: According to one [[http://slenderia.blogspot.com/2010/10/dreams-in-darkness.html amusingly paranoid Slendyblogger]].
* NestedStory / RecursiveFanfiction / LiteraryAgentHypothesis / RefugeeFromTVLand: Pick one. The supposed author's life is starting to get similarities to his story. People he knows start to resemble his characters, or the other way around. [[spoiler: And then The Arsonist shows up.]] Time will tell if there will be a third blog, talking about a book deal for Deja Vu Dreamer.
* NothingExcitingEverHappensHere: Nearly word-for-word in the second post.
* PlayingWithFire: The name "[=TheArsonist=]" is a rather ironic choice, given Slender Man's knack for setting fires. [[spoiler:Slendy himself actually does this to the house of Matthew Wilcox.]]
* ShoutOut: To ''MarbleHornets'', ''SeekingTruth'', and ''The Tutorial''.
** The blog's banner is a panel from [[NeilGaiman Neil Gaiman's]] ''The Sandman''.
** Considering Damien's reference to the band Thrice on his user profile, it's safe to say their song "The Arsonist" was the inspiration for the name of Watch This City Burn and its user account.
** "Now, more than ever, I find myself believing [[HouseOfLeaves The Navidson Record]] could have actually taken place."
* SplitPersonalityMerge: [[spoiler:Damien attempts to achieve this (or at the least, communicate) with [=TheArsonist=] via meditation.]]
* StylisticSuck: ''Watch This City Burn'', Damien's fake Slender-blog, is an example of this [[spoiler:before Damien's other personality takes it over and makes it an actual Slender-blog.]]
** Averted with [[spoiler:the main blog itself; Damien put a lot of time and effort into making it look like he was actually being haunted by Slender Man, all the way down to actually killing Matthew Wilcox, among other things]].
* ThisIsSPARTA: "[[http://dreamsindarkness91.blogspot.com/2010/05/top-of-world.html Date. was. great.]] That is all.
** "[[http://dreamsindarkness91.blogspot.com/2010/08/i-woke-up-this-afternoon-to-find.html GET. UP. MAKE. ME.]] It seems Damien and [[spoiler:his alternate personality]] even write like this, in all caps no less.
* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness: It's established early on that Damien has issues; his mother was a paranoid schizophrenic who murdered his father and he's on antidepressants and antipsychotics. [[spoiler:It's really hammered home at the end.]]
* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: Damien is one to his childhood friend Emily.
* UnreliableNarrator: [[spoiler:Well, he's got at least two personalities, for one...]]
** [[spoiler:Slender Man may not have been the actual cause of his troubles, too.]]
* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: The Arsonist seems to have a goal, and seems to have some sort of plan. Whether it's for the good of society or its detriment is unclear.
** Ultimately [[spoiler:subverted; Damien commits suicide even after doing everything TA tells him to do, thus making TA's plan moot]].
*** [[spoiler:[[MindScrew Assuming TheArsonist actually existed.]]]]
* WhamEpisode: "[[DeadlyEuphemism mynightonthetown.jpg]]".
** The comments on the [[spoiler:final]] post, specifically, those made by [[spoiler:Rick O'Connor]] and [[spoiler:Zeke Strahm]].
*** [[spoiler:newly posted by an anonymous, but with very familiar-looking type of text; "I AM BACK EVERYONE"]]
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So, Damien O'Connor. Proud nerd who lives with his roommate and childhood friend Ted. His '10 college courses have ended for the year, leaving him with his summer job at a boring department store. Said job would be practically unbearable were it not for the girl of his dreams, Amelia, being a coworker there. Damien eventually builds up the courage to ask her out.
Ted, meanwhile, has gotten interested in some strange [[MemeticMutation meme]] that has something to do with a "[[TheSlenderManMythos slender man]]" and "[[MarbleHornets marble hornets]]" after hearing about it at a gaming convention. Damien is introduced to the whole phenomenon by his roommate, and, despite finding it [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel pretty scary]], [[NightmareFetishist takes a strong liking to it]].
But little did Damien know that this supposed internet joke would have terrible repercussions for him and his friends. And little did he know that this urban legend would end up bringing back haunting memories from his past....
[[http://dreamsindarkness91.blogspot.com/2010/05/and-life-in-general.html The blog starts here]].
Also of interest, a potential novel adaptation has been announced on the author's personal blog [[http://dejavudreamer.blogspot.com/p/dreams-in-darkness-novel-q.html here]]
Wrong! Confused? Well just read the "Author's" personal blog.
'''BEWARE: Due to {{Wham Episode}}s and a TwistEnding, HERE THERE BE SPOILERS!'''
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!!This blog provides examples of:
* AlienGeometries: The brick building behind Damien's childhood home.
* AmnesiacDissonance: [[spoiler:Damien vomits when he remembers the things he did as [=TheArsonist=] and initially thinks he's the Slender Man as well, since [=TheArsonist=] shouldn't have known that Eve and Vincent would die without planning to do it himself. Amelia shortly afterward sighting Slendy eases Damien's mind on that front, at least. I mean, Amelia ends up dead right after that, but at least Damien isn't Slendy, right?]]
* BerserkButton: Just try directing homophobic comments at Ted while Damien is around. Hope that Damien doesn't strangle you out of anger.
* BuryYourGays: [[spoiler:Poor Ted]].
* {{Deconstruction}}: One view of the TwistEnding is that [[spoiler:the whole thing is a deconstruction of [=ARGs=] in general. In the context of the story, Damien was violently, psychotically delusional and insane, and the commenters, not knowing what he'd done in the process of turning his life into a Slenderblog, just encouraged his crazed fantasies, because hey, it's just a game, right?]]
* TheEndingChangesEverything: [[spoiler:In particular, his brother's comments on Damien's last post.]]
* {{Expy}}: [=TheArsonist=] starts off as one for [[MarbleHornets totheark]], right down to hints that the mask that Damien randomly gets is related to his appearance. [[DivergentCharacterEvolution TA ends up becoming quite different later on]].
* AFateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler:[=TheArsonist=] claims that this awaits any of the Slender Man's victims, but adds that it may be possible to free their souls.]]
* FunWithAcronyms: Who's EVE? Well, [[spoiler:if Ted is Adam, then Eve would be his boyfriend, right? No, it's ''E''mily and ''V''incent ''E''llison.]]
** Also, the blog's name is '''D'''reams '''I'''n '''D'''arkness. [[spoiler:Damien has '''D'''issociative '''I'''dentity '''D'''isorder.]]
* GainaxEnding / TwistEnding: [[spoiler:Damien's brother, Rick]], left comments on the final blog post that result in one of these. [[spoiler:Damien has killed himself, and the blog has, since Ted's death, been a fictional account of real events, effectively making it fiction within fiction. Everything we've seen since then has been a narrative constructed by Damien, pushed over the edge of sanity by Ted's death. There is no Slender Man, [=TheArsonist=] doesn't exist, the supposed drawings from Damien's childhood were drawn recently, [[FridgeHorror and it's very possible that Damien was in fact the murderer of Emily and Vincent.]]]]
* HeroesWantRedheads: One of the first pieces of information Damien gives about Amelia is that she has curly red hair.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: You might want to watch MarbleHornets for yourself before you give this blog a go.
* MassiveMultiplayerCrossover: M, writer of ''The Tutorial'', is a regular commenter.
** There's also a rather cryptic comment from [[spoiler: [[SeekingTruth Zeke Strahm]]]].
* MindScrew: It's known from early in the story that [[UnreliableNarrator the protagonist is mentally ill]], but this isn't really brought home hard until the ending, which [[spoiler:calls into question whether any of what came before was real, and if so, how much?]]
** Also, there's the "Author's" blog to consider.
* MultipleEndings: According to one [[http://slenderia.blogspot.com/2010/10/dreams-in-darkness.html amusingly paranoid Slendyblogger]].
* NestedStory / RecursiveFanfiction / LiteraryAgentHypothesis / RefugeeFromTVLand: Pick one. The supposed author's life is starting to get similarities to his story. People he knows start to resemble his characters, or the other way around. [[spoiler: And then The Arsonist shows up.]] Time will tell if there will be a third blog, talking about a book deal for Deja Vu Dreamer.
* NothingExcitingEverHappensHere: Nearly word-for-word in the second post.
* PlayingWithFire: The name "[=TheArsonist=]" is a rather ironic choice, given Slender Man's knack for setting fires. [[spoiler:Slendy himself actually does this to the house of Matthew Wilcox.]]
* ShoutOut: To ''MarbleHornets'', ''SeekingTruth'', and ''The Tutorial''.
** The blog's banner is a panel from [[NeilGaiman Neil Gaiman's]] ''The Sandman''.
** Considering Damien's reference to the band Thrice on his user profile, it's safe to say their song "The Arsonist" was the inspiration for the name of Watch This City Burn and its user account.
** "Now, more than ever, I find myself believing [[HouseOfLeaves The Navidson Record]] could have actually taken place."
* SplitPersonalityMerge: [[spoiler:Damien attempts to achieve this (or at the least, communicate) with [=TheArsonist=] via meditation.]]
* StylisticSuck: ''Watch This City Burn'', Damien's fake Slender-blog, is an example of this [[spoiler:before Damien's other personality takes it over and makes it an actual Slender-blog.]]
** Averted with [[spoiler:the main blog itself; Damien put a lot of time and effort into making it look like he was actually being haunted by Slender Man, all the way down to actually killing Matthew Wilcox, among other things]].
* ThisIsSPARTA: "[[http://dreamsindarkness91.blogspot.com/2010/05/top-of-world.html Date. was. great.]] That is all.
** "[[http://dreamsindarkness91.blogspot.com/2010/08/i-woke-up-this-afternoon-to-find.html GET. UP. MAKE. ME.]] It seems Damien and [[spoiler:his alternate personality]] even write like this, in all caps no less.
* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness: It's established early on that Damien has issues; his mother was a paranoid schizophrenic who murdered his father and he's on antidepressants and antipsychotics. [[spoiler:It's really hammered home at the end.]]
* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: Damien is one to his childhood friend Emily.
* UnreliableNarrator: [[spoiler:Well, he's got at least two personalities, for one...]]
** [[spoiler:Slender Man may not have been the actual cause of his troubles, too.]]
* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: The Arsonist seems to have a goal, and seems to have some sort of plan. Whether it's for the good of society or its detriment is unclear.
** Ultimately [[spoiler:subverted; Damien commits suicide even after doing everything TA tells him to do, thus making TA's plan moot]].
*** [[spoiler:[[MindScrew Assuming TheArsonist actually existed.]]]]
* WhamEpisode: "[[DeadlyEuphemism mynightonthetown.jpg]]".
** The comments on the [[spoiler:final]] post, specifically, those made by [[spoiler:Rick O'Connor]] and [[spoiler:Zeke Strahm]].
*** [[spoiler:newly posted by an anonymous, but with very familiar-looking type of text; "I AM BACK EVERYONE"]]
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