Fifteen years. Darkharvest00 has been with me my entire adult life. This little web series that Chris and Alex created back when we were kids in high school spawned some of the most amazing things of my life. When I agreed to help Chris film some videos for Youtube, still a very new website and nothing like it is today, I didn't realize the impact of that decision. I remember when Chris & Alex would tell me about this fandom of some "series" called Marble Hornets, I had no idea what they were talking about but it seemed cool enough. So the summer of 2012, going through some of the worst moments of my life, I found community and solace and a distraction with these fun people from every corner of the world. My friendships strengthened with my childhood friends who all worked on the series, I met my best friend because he happened to answer a casting call for one of our videos. Most of my closest friends are the other creators I made deep friendships with during this time. I traveled to visit friends and had friends travel to me, back when having internet friends was still passé. But most importantly, I found community. I found a community of like minded weirdos, imaginative creatives, artists, storytellers, visuals, and a few bad apples that I refuse to let spoil the bunch. Because overall, the "Slenderverse" as it became known as, it really saved my life. I am continuously inspired by my friends and peers I made throughout this journey.
When 'Slender: The Eight Pages' came out, made by a member of this Slenderverse community, not a single person could have imagined what commenced. An AVALANCHE of memes, one of the internet's first cultural explosions, the popularization of Let's Play Youtubers, plenty of "I was here BEFORE" the game smug comments, people learning and playing along with the various ARGs, and oh my god the fucking memes. Some of my favorite creators on Youtube got their start playing Slender. Hell, FNAF wouldn't have existed if not for Slender. Everyone knew about this weird internet boogeyman, the lore built upon the hard work of Marble Hornets, expanded upon by the fanstastic ARG of EveryManHybrid, every single Slender vlog big & small and deepened with the Slenderblogs like SeekingTruth (both often thanklessly). We even got a shitty movie in 2018 that proved to everyone that even with a big budget production, they could never ever touch the earnestness and true love for the Slender Man lore as this community did for $0. Passion is what made the Slenderverse.
Those tears at the end of Log Entry 40: The Harvest were real tears. Me coming to terms with the closing of one of the most important books of my life. Chris, I know I say it ad nauseam, but thank you. Not only are you one of the most inspiring people I've met - seriously every medium this guy creates is GOLD! - but you introduced me to a major part of my identity. I am eternally grateful for the opportunities I gained from this. To the OG Slenderverse Creators Group family, thanks for the infinite amount of goofs and gaffs (and the occasional drama but that's the cost of community), Group Poop threads (iykyk), and late night Tinychat video calls. Thank you to Valerie Santiago @vluisasantiago of RedRedHat for revitalizing the Slenderverse to a new community and encouraging them to create, collaborate, and tell their stories. Thank you to Alex Hera and Rainn Dalton for the fantastic documentary that depicted that era of Youtube so accurately I was wonderfully stunned. Thank you to Troy, Tim, and Joseph of Marble Hornets for realizing that more could be made from that Something Awful thread. Thank you to all the fans who have created amazing fan art of all types & mediums, I save every piece I see out of admiration and appreciation. Thank you to all the viewers who have stayed to the end - fifteen years is quite the journey and accomplishment. Thank you for the outpouring of gratitude and amazing comments, seeing our vision and embracing our ending, and telling us how much Darkharvest00 changed your life too. I believe there was no other way to conclude the series other than the masterpiece Chris made. Thank you all, my life is forever changed and I'm so overwhelmed with gratitude right now. Thank you Darkharvest00. Cheers to 15 years.
