The Collective, a large organization of Proxies
Proxy (plural: Proxies) is the term given to those who serve The Slender Man. The theory behind the name is that Proxies are entities or people who are under the influence or control of the Slender Man (or the same force that influences Slender Man), and act based on its wants/needs- hence, Proxies serve as an in-between (i.e. a proxy) for Slender Man.
It is suspected that Proxies do the actual, physical work for Slender Man, such as creating and manipulating objects, destroying and leaving evidence, creating videos and responding on Twitter, and influencing victims as needed.
KindVonDerRitter of DarkHarvest00 is not a Proxy. A Proxy does the direct bidding of Slender Man, whereas KindVonDerRitter only worships him as a God, and only works towards goals that are speculated to be Slender Man's goals without any real contact with Slender Man. In essence, KindVonDerRitter tries to be a Proxy, but was never chosen by Slender Man himself.
TribeTwelve contains the largest organization of Proxies called the Collective. On February 14, 2012, during a live webcast with Noah Maxwell, the Observer hacked into Noah's Twitter account and used it to interview Noah and the viewers, where he then revealed the names and identities of Firebrand, DeadHead, Swain, and Cursor, and possible Proxies Mr.Scars and Persolus.
It is also possible that Michael Andersen from MLAndersen0 could possibly be a Proxy, as hinted at by the most recent video, "Going Away Present."
Initial Influence and Origins
Proxies most likely got their start from early Slenderman works' usage of mental influence of Slenderman. Early creepypasta indicated that Slenderman was able to telepathically communicate or influence his victims or those he wished to do his bidding. The most common early evidence for this was the usage of telepathic communication to speak to children who he would lead outdoors and then into the forest. He also used the telepathy to control his victims without their knowing and bring them into his domain. Several stories in particular focus on the strength and usage of this power. The idea behind proxies may be derived from the idea that he could not only influence his victims, but also influence individuals to do as he wishes to get to his victims. Proxies are considered the primary or secondary antagonists of most Slenderman based ARG's.
See: Abilities of the Slender Man
Symbols and Markings
Each proxy appears to have some kind of symbol of their own. If not, they sometimes share the marks of others. It's unknown what each mark means; Whether they have an actual paranormal or physical use, or simply a symbol of Slender Man's repeating presence.
Notorious Proxy from TribeTwelve; the Observer, is theorized to use their symbol in order to watch Noah, keeping a tab on his every movement. Though, it could be nothing but scare tactics.
The Operator Symbol has been seen in many Slenderman ARGs. Including, but not limited to TribeTwelve, DarkHarvest00, and even wildshadows57. It has been accepted as the primary pop culture symbol for Slender Man and Proxies.
It is important to note that characters from MarbleHornets or EverymanHYBRID are never termed as Proxies, as the two series have never adopted nor stated the term, and otherwise have no connection to the term whatsoever.
Known Proxies
- The Observer (TribeTwelve)
- Firebrand (TribeTwelve)
- DeadHead (TribeTwelve)
- Cursor (TribeTwelve)
- Swain (TribeTwelve)
- Persolus (TribeTwelve)
- Mr.Scars (TribeTwelve)
- Vince (Proxy)
- Kate (Slender: The Arrival)
- Unknown Proxy (DarkHarvest00)
Possible Proxies
Other Proxies
- Amateur writers and film artists have claimed to be stalked by a wide variety of proxies, be proxies themselves, or house proxy identities in their subconscious mind. None of which have been properly identified. Such amateur creations include The Tan Suit Man, The Studded Man, or the Faceless Follower.
Trivia
- MarbleHornets, one of the Big 5 ARG's, is one of the only series that the term "Proxy" cannot be identified with. Since it was one of the first ones, and the crew of MH has specifically stated they have no connection with the other ARG's, the term can only be unofficially applied, but is not appropriate to use to describe any of the characters in the series such as Masky or Hoody .
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