The Backrooms

Origins:
The SOTV came about when I first Greenlit Boi's intriguing Megaflora article (which he's now rewriting and expanding!) and was inspired. I had wanted to write an eldritch horror sort of thing, and I wrote an elevator pitch for a full Entity article (a first draft of Transmission Log 1, actually!) which I sent to Boi! He was really enthusiastic about it, and so we began to work on the article on and off over the next year or so.

Literary themes:
Thematically, I don't think I had the clearest idea of what the article would explore when we first started out, but the themes seemed to emerge by themselves over time.

The Sun was always an embodiment of rage, and I think that was the core concept from the beginning. Ideas of power/authority, rebellion and blame developed out of this as an exploration of the direction of that anger.

In its complete state, the article seems to have become a commentary on Power. The portrayal of the M.E.G. (esp Dr. Blunt) describes a poor use of Power that we know all too well in the real world. Despite the presence of decent individuals like Sada, power structures as a whole tend to disregard those on the ground. Those in positions of authority find it difficult to relate to or care sincerely about the welfare of the guys actually doing the dirty work. But Power used rightly doesn't destroy or manipulate people. True Power exercises justice against those who do wrong, while also serving and protecting those under its care.

It's a bit harder to place the Sun's characterization in words, but I think he describes a raw yet familiar aspect of the human experience — irrational, blaming anger. We all have times when we know we're in the wrong, but we try to justify ourselves, and take our anger out on other people. The Sun, chafing against its own Authority Figure, chooses to exercise its Power in a rather unsavory way. It falsely equivalates its position to that of operatives like Jim or Bailey, and acts out of bitter vengeance to that end.

A secondary theme that I've found myself exploring is the idea of complicity. In one sense, no one in this story is innocent — even Sada and Bailey make lapses of judgment that are costly. But in the end, Bailey is justified. Unlike Blunt, Toma or the Sun itself, he doesn't cover up his mistakes, push the responsibility to others, or react with bitterness at the situation. By choosing to face up to the consequences of his choices and see them through to the end, he ultimately does what is right. Despite not knowing the outcome, he chooses to surrender his will, entrusting his fate to Someone Greater.

It's pretty clear that I explore ideas of a particular religious nature through the article. In fact, this undergirds all of the themes above. About this, I'd prefer not to speak explicitly — I hope instead that my writing speaks enough for itself about my beliefs. I'm more than happy to entertain questions in private, though! If anyone would like to ask about this specifically, feel free to contact me via Discord (Kai4Christ#2063).

I certainly hope these themes have come through clearly and compellingly in our writing!

Personal thoughts:
I'm quite happy with how this turned out! It was a MAMMOTH effort, and I think the biggest challenge was tying several different story threads together (Flight Logs, Level 9 incident, Transmissions) to form a more cohesive story. The breakthrough for me really came with developing more of Sada's character (Boi's OC :DDD) and the static images. I feel that having these common threads through each part the story really helped tie everything together!

I do think that I could have pushed harder with the development of the themes. The static images are a bit of a loose end; I'd have liked to explain them further and make them more meaningful to the story. I'd also like to have been more nuanced with Blunt's callousness, and explore more fully why he thinks his actions are justified.

I know some people don't agree with my portrayal of the M.E.G., and find it too "SCP-like". I see what they mean, but my headcanon of the M.E.G. has always been flavoured in this way (you can see it in my other articles too). I definitely agree though that the motive for pursuing research into the Sun is a little weak, and I'd like to flesh this out more in future articles if possible.

As an author, I loved working with Boi, but I do feel a bit bad for content bloating… really sorry about that bro! In lots of collab work, not just this article, I realize I tend to expand so much that other authors' original flavours get drowned out. Boi's been really supportive in this project, but I do want to be more mindful to give other people's content the space and respect it deserves. As much as I want to push article quality, I really find that friendship and working together is more important!

Additionally, working on the SOTV has helped me better recognize some of my stylistic tendencies. I can be quite verbose and indulgent (I apologize for the stuttering and coughing lol I realize now it's a bit painful to read), and I tend to enjoy using adjectives a bit indiscriminately. Through this experience, I feel that I've learnt to exercise some restraint with my words!

DLC:
Hungry for more? Here's some related articles, besides the ones already linked in the page itself.

• Blanche.net -- Page 3: Details how Bailey got his hands on "The Lion and The Eye" and "Hymn of the Gatekeeper/Who is He"!
• Object 6: More character development of Bailey. This also happens to be the first article I ever wrote! It's not perfect, and I'm planning to give it an overhaul again sometime soon, but it has a special place in my heart!
• Mad Lads: A haha funni, but one I inSIST is canon. Adds worldbuilding to the nature of the M.E.G. and life in Base Beta, as I've conceptualized it.