The rules and you

Now, I'm sure that we all know about M and his three rules.

1: Get up high
2: Keep moving.
3: Keep your eyes open.

Today I'm going to talk about which of those will keep you alive and which ones will get your ass killed. Then I'm going to add a few rules of mine.

Lets take a close look at that first rule. At the time M thought that if you got at least three stories up the tall faceless bastard wouldn't be able to find you because he can't conceive of a person being taller than him. Even before the other Fears were discovered there was one huge problem with this rule: As much as we wish it were true the skinny dude isn't a fucking moron. In any case where this rule appeared to work it was probably just a case of tall dark and faceless not wanting to collect the victim in question yet. The discovery of other beings of equal power and malevolence adds another problem to this rule. Do you know what tends to be found "up high"? Fucking birds and where you have birds you have the possibility of running into the Convocation. If you don't think a flock of birds with a hive mind who want to kill your ass are something to be afraid of I suggest you watch more Hitchcock.

Rule 2, Keep Moving, is something I can agree with. I don't recommend abandoning your home and your life unless absolutely necessary but  even if you don't become a full fledged Runner don't hole up in your house (or a fortified hole in the ground!) and refuse to leave. It makes you easy to find and I've heard of no defense that will definitely keep Them out. Besides, holing up like that risks alienating yourself from society which invites a visit from the Cold Boy. If you start hearing a child singing nursery rhymes look out for his frozen visage because little boy blue is probably on his way to turn your ass into a Popsicle.  So keep moving, but keep connected (another reason I recommend that pre-paid cell phone). As part of Keep Moving I recommend against posting to your blog from home (unless an idiot near you has unprotected wifi). Try to post from the library or a wifi hotspot out in the community so tech savvy Proxies can't track you back home. Also try to avoid posting from the same location twice in a row or having a discernible pattern of where you do post from (it's Tuesday, so if I want to kill him I should go to the library he'll be updating his blog from!).

Rule 3 is Keep Your Eyes Open. As much as I don't like arguing with this rule, while the rule itself is sound M's reasoning was shit. I have been physically present while someone was ripped limb from limb because she apparently mistook Slenderman for a fucking Weeping Angel from Doctor Who and thought that if she was looking at him he wouldn't be able to do anything. Despite what M said that is NOT what Keep Your Eyes Open is about. As a matter of fact I would amend this to "Stay Alert, Stay Alive". You need to be constantly aware of your surroundings, not because They can't act if you're aware of them but because if you see Them or Their minions coming for you then you can be prepared. You'll have a chance to run or fight before you have a knife sticking out of you or a tentacle stuck in naughty places instead of after. This also means that, as much as you might want it for stress relief alcohol and recreation pharmaceuticals have to go. You can not afford to get fucked up if you want to survive.

So that's what I think of M's rules. Now time for a few of my own. This is not an exhaustive list, if I went into all of them in detail I'd probably fill up a book the size of the seventh Harry Potter hardcover.

My first rule of course is my amending of M's rule 3 "Stay Alert, Stay Alive", followed by "Keep Moving" as the second. Third, Don't Involve Outsiders. It's been shown that people who are not aware of Slenderman or other Fears are less likely to attract their attention than those who already know. Usually when someone who isn't aware finds themselves Stalked it's because they're investigating the disappearance or odd behavior of a friend or loved one who is. Either that or they find some Runner's notebook and learn about Them that way. My point is your sister, brother, parents, friends . . . if they aren't already being targeted with you don't make them into a target by telling them what's going on. They probably won't believe you anyway. However, you can't afford to become alienated which brings us to . . .

Rule 4: Build relationships in the blogging/Runner community. Your friends in the blogosphere and Runner community can offer survival tips, moral support, and sometimes back up and discussing your situation with them doesn't make them more of a target than they already are.

Rule 5: Don't Wear The Symbol! What the fuck made you guys think wearing the Operator sign was a good idea? Yes, it makes it easier to identify each other. It also makes it easier for a Proxy to identify you! Then there's the fact that there are rumors the symbol draws Him rather than repelling Him, why take that risk? Finally wearing the Operator sign makes people want to figure out what that symbol you're wearing means violating Proxiehunter's rule 3. And of course I've seen this starting to spread to Runners running from other things as well. The hoodie with a stylized birds foot on the back was especially amusing. Damn that looked dorky.

Rule 6: Don't Go In The Woods. We all know that's His territory so why the fuck do I see video of so many people who know they're being Stalked by Him wandering blithely into the forest, some of them having assured me that they've been researching Him? 90% of the time they don't have anything approaching a decent excuse. Even if the woods didn't belong to Him, you know what you find in the woods? Birds again. We've already mentioned that where there are birds you can meet the Convocation. But there are also bugs, and bugs mean the Intrusion may be near. While there may be a chance you can get the Convocation to eat that manifestation of the Intrusion instead of you I wouldn't count on it. The Rake has also been spotted in rural areas, although he has also shown an odd preference for closets - especially those of children. The last danger of the woods lays in the bodies of water than can be found in them. The water in a still forest pond might not be what you think. I'm just glad there's no evidence that EAT has gotten into the Great Lakes yet and is still only found in rural areas here, it means I haven't encountered Camper very often.

I think that's enough rules for now, I've picked up that damn tail again. Next time I get a chance I'll talk about either Nests or the Camper I haven't decided which.