Dear Readers,
It is me, the author. It's been 6 years since I last updated this fanfiction. And I am sorry to say that this is not the anticipated chapter 27 you all wanted. But if you're like me, then you're all grown up too and probably don't remember anything that happened in this story anyway. Or you're still mad that I haven't updated. It honestly shocks me that there were reviews as recently as 2020, asking for an update. But you know what's even more shocking! That this fanfiction still gets views every month and that it still has the most favorites & follows under the "slender" category on . I told my brother this a long time ago, and It's so funny when he mentions it, and I respond with an embarrassed groan- but then I smile and laugh, because I am still proud. So I go to check to see if it's still true, and it is. I gasp every time because I feel like my love for slenderman was seen. I know I wasn't the only person back in 2013 that loved creepypasta, and especially slenderman. So, it brings me so much joy to see that my love for that fictional monster left an impact on the fandom. Because my love for slenderman was more real than you could have imagined.
When I was a young teen, I imagined him next to me all the time during my lonesome days, especially when my parents screamed and cursed at one another downstairs. So one day, I got onto my computer and I wrote a story about a girl with the same problems as me, but who actually did have Slender by her side. I cannot even count the number of writing sessions where my parents were actually downstairs fighting. Writing this story was my haven, my safe place, where I smiled and giggled no matter the reality. I was even taken to a group home temporarily (by CPS / child protective services). I won't get into it, because it's in the past. Despite that hell, the staff often took me and the other girls to a public library, where on the computer I secretly wrote chapters for you all. Even during harder times than I thought possible, I had my fanfiction.
I just want to say… How happy and thankful I am that so many people enjoyed this silly, angsty, and honestly, kind of cringy story. You have no idea… I can barely reread chapter 1 without physically cringing. It's SO embarrassing. (Mainly because I've grown and see all the issues with it.) But I am still so happy that most of you never thought that. You all LOVED this story, we all LOVED Slenderman. 2013 was a great time to be in that fandom. And I had just turned 15 when I started writing this! …I am 24 now and this fanfiction rarely crosses my mind. But when I thought about it today, I decided to reread some old reviews. And just…wow, you all absolutely warm my heart and inspire me to continue being the storyteller I always wanted to be. So many of you took the time to write the kindest things, not just about the story, but about me as a writer as well. It must have impacted me, because I never stopped writing stories. Sure, I never shared any of them since I was busy learning to draw, but they filled my mind, my journals and my google docs!
So I've come to tell you some news about how things are going. Simply, I am still a storyteller! (And not dead.) But on top of that, I am an artist. You might have known me for my creepypasta art on deviantart long ago. (Yes, I did draw the cover art.) And I have improved A LOT since then, in fact, I am illustrating my first webcomic! I didn't think I'd come to advertise it here, but I can't help feeling a special kinship here. The fans I gained for this fanfiction knew me before I became recognized as an artist. The fans here knew BLAYE before she turned into a whole other character. Since I was young, I used the name Blaye for just about everything, simply because it was easy, and because Blaye was the way I lived in the fantasy world.
Now, after many years, Blaye sits alone again, but this time on a train on the way to her college classes. My webcomic "A Loner's Lover" is the comic I've wanted to illustrate since 2017, the same year I stopped updating slenderman. And I realize now how much sense that makes as to why I stopped updating this. It was time to close this chapter of my life, I was growing up and growing out of this fandom. But, I thought if any group of people would be most proud to see how far "Blaye" has come, it would be those who knew the first story Blaye was in.
When I was 15, Blaye was living in Slenderman's forest. When I was 18, Blaye was my very colorful OC. And now, at 24, Blaye is just a person in another story, who rides the train with strangers, and eventually falls in love with a shy fool, named Ambrose. Thank you for reading.
Love, Haylie.
Links to my Youtube, webcomic and more are in the description of my Instagram account Blaye_art
