The Backrooms

I'm seeing a lot of references to Hobbes— "Why do you think the Leviathan offers a contract?" and the final image from the cover of his book (appropriate titled Leviathan). However, I can't understand what the page is trying to say. I'll think about it a bit more and maybe return to vote on it. Hopefully by that time I'll understand the point of the page.

The style reminded me of o100, SAW. When i first saw it in drafts I thought it peaked. Then I read this page. Peak upon peak.

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A bit edgy but otherwise very well written. It merges the original page with its accompanying tale in a satisfying way and really gives you insight into this bleak version of the BNTG presented in this page. A rewrite that I can confidently say I prefer over the original.

Good worldbuilding. Good writing. 'Nuff said

A humble curtsy to your creativity, my friend and colleague.

Pure, unwavering envy.

Creating a character deliberately written to be a bit of a jaded asshole is hard, but this page pulls it off effortlessly. The implications that the people "going home" are really ending up somewhere not in the Frontrooms with no memory of what they were doing is also very sly.

What more can I really say? It's a powerful piece. +1.

I like pretty much all of what this page does! It plays up the B.N.T.G. to a comically apathetic degree, but I also really like that. It's not a criticism, it's just pushing their ideology to its natural limit. Arguably, that's required to make this concept work, so I'm glad the Leviathan's Tooth isn't just an outlier in their behaviour. It's the norm.

The main character feels surprisingly complex for what's a short story. Someone who's in the B.N.T.G. for long enough to have gained their apathy, but is still a low-level grunt worker so they're not entirely corpo brained or entirely apathetic. Don't get me wrong, they're there, they mop up corpses and watch desperate people kill themselves for a living, but the events of the story in this do show he can have moments where he gaf. Even if only fleetingly.

I think my only criticism ties into that somewhat. I really like the part where the guy gets a successful wish grant from the Leviathan's Tooth and goes home, but I suppose I maybe expected the child who took his place or what he said or what happened to matter more in the final main part. It does show Stillwell nicely, though. The old man plants the first seeds of humanity back into him. I almost wish the third part didn't seem to take place immediately after the second (he's eating a bagel in both parts, which leads to think that's the connective tissue to tell you they're happening back to back) so Stillwell can ruminate. Though without that, it's still a good moment.

You feel for Stillwell on a very surface level. He has those embedded BNTG lessons in him, his last thought before blowing up is his stocks and he went to try and save the tooth where there mother fucking fire is (he is right by the door, he could've crawled out. But his own instincts made him not because they've been BNTG tainted). So you don't fully think "oh poor guy" cus he sucks, but at the same time he tried yk. Deep character!

I'm also glad the origins of the tooth weren't touched on. I know the page hints at something, but really I couldn't gaf lmao. What matters is the here and now, and how the tooth is used in the 21st century. It coming from some esoteric place or person XYZ years ago doesn't matter. Especially not for a personal story like this one. I'm more than happy to just pretend that the Leviathan's Tooth is just… a thing that exists. The third act doesn't detract that from me