I also generally disagree with what praetor said—I do not believe it needs to be longer. Being longer doesn't help with my 'main' ig? issue of the page

My novote (maybe upvote) is kinda close, but I'll jus stick with minor crit instead. As is, my issue comes from how hard it hits, which I felt could've hit harder. When you have a page that focuses so heavily on emotions, which this article expressly is, and have a page be as short as it is, each and every word needs to hit some kind of heart string or at least have it be every few words. But there wasn't much I could really say here. It's true that functionally as a page this works, it hits the story beats quite well with its beginning, middle, and ending piece and I can say 'I feel bad for em,' but emotionally it doesn't do very well at connecting to the audience through these coping mechanisms because it just kinda shows them sulking in a way that doesn't feel very real if that makes sense.

While I think this would be a good display of the mundanity of depression as it were, I don't think that's what this article is trying to accomplish so I can't with good faith compare it to that. I don't think it needs to be overdramatic, over the top, but I don't think enough was given for there to be a good emotional connection, just a bare minimum emotional understanding which I think kind of takes away from the article, when you're so closely tying it to emotion.

Yes, it is a story. Yes, it is complete. But I also think it's the bare minimum a story is yk? I do think it's impressive that you're able to condense it so much, but I still think it coulda been better. My honest advice would be to use personal experience and let loose on how you feel. Or, if you don't have personal experience, ask someone who does/do research into it.

Rey, you're a great writer, and this may not be the best piece you've ever written but I believe in you man.

Hard agree with everything else tho with a minor nitpick.

when it is, as close to objectively true as art can be, clear that this tale provides for and is absolved of both things.

first, I think that this story is able to develop the thought "What is the most ideal to cope with being in a place like the Backrooms?" quite well in general, not just given the shortform limit it has. I gave a large amount of crit to this, in full transparency, but I'm confident in supporting this because I just think it knows what to do and does it quickly. From the opening moments of the tale, we get a glimpse into this protag — they are a stable and functioning member of Backrooms society, and maintain this place and time and stimulus to themselves in order to be able to justify releasing emotion to themselves. The song they use is "the same shitty Drowning Pool song", the blanket they use is the same blanket with mismatched yarn — a good foreshadowing of their interest in knitting later on.

Then, we have the middle of the story: Doubt. Is the protag really being perfect in the handling of their despair here? Is carving out a time to feel better than just being constantly stoic? They experiment with different things — keeping scraps and trash from the Frontrooms — and do other productive things too, like knitting. Yet, they know it's not enough, because the underlying emotional need they have (to be able to honor their loved ones properly) will never be fulfilled. The protagonist wants to move on after seeing that the midnights spent crying is not enough, but coping during the daytime doesn't work.

Finally, there is the end. Knowing that it doesn't work, the protag concludes that it is meaningless, and realizes that this pain is shared throughout the Backrooms' populace. Everyone feels tortured under the oppressive lights and jolting clips, and no one is undamaged, and the protag decides that pretending as much is a bad thing to do: it's dishonest, "they don't tell you as much."

So yeah, this definitely tells a complete story.

As for the phenomenon critique, I humbly ask all who suggest it to please downvote Phenomena 26, 55, 80, 90, 11, and….
…You get my point. Phenomena have never been about the format, it's simply about telling a compelling story while sticking to describing one scene or event from that story — if that.

Frankly, I don't think this page is Rey's best work, but I also think that it is better than the ratings make it out to be, and I think that people are not being open to this article in a fair way.

I love this!

Truth be told, I can't define it or categorize it.

Is it a phenomenon?

It is my heart's desire.

As for the actual writing, I think it holds up pretty well by itself! The prose flows well, and we start identifying with the character. It tells us about their fears, their anguish, and their difficulties very efficiently. It's a great introduction.

However, that's where the issue of the page lies, in my opinion. It feels like you're introducing something, yet it feels lackluster, as if it were going nowhere. Like if you started the page but didn't finish it. There's not really a morale, nor a well-installed one that is. In barely 500 words, you didn't get the time to go over the topic you wanted to tell. It doesn't feel like it's going over the grief of someone who cannot move on but rather only introduces the character and a glimpse at this topic. There is no development, no climax, no ending. It doesn't manage to tell its purpose, and it makes the whole page fail in consequence.

Like I said, if this was the start to something, and we had offsets or more development, it would work very well! Taking your time to develop the thought would make us more immersed and tell us more about the how and the why, helping us identify rather than only get a presentation. However, right now, it simply lacks this "plot". I wouldn't say it would be hard to make it work, however. The prose is efficient, and I feel confident that you are able to develop the ideas and the plot in order to convey more of it.

So yeah! Not a downvote because the page is bad, but because it feels unfinished to me. I am, however, interested in seeing a more developed side of the story introduction, as it nonetheless managed to get me interested in what the page could offer in terms of narration and message.

PS: Interestingly enough, I would disagree with people calling it a tale and not a phenomenon. I actually find it very interesting to have a page present something that isn't anomalous at all but rather a phenomenon that could touch anyone, a common thing that might be overlooked by writers and in-universe characters alike. Makes the page feel very human, in a sense.