Realistic or Modern What If We Chill In The Backrooms?

[Dreamtique]

I created this to force myself to write again, questing allows me to move things at my own pace. This thread may ultimately die but well, damn it, I have to start somewhere if I am going to create something ever again, I will try my best to update this.

Anyone can participate.

This choice influences the main characters.
1)

2)

 

[Dreamtique]

Miss You Juju!!! Juju
Hope you are doing well during the quarantine! Stay safe! Stay comfy! Stay chill!
Hopefully you can help me to vote just to start things off!

 

[Juju]

Hi Dreamy! I've missed you too! You better be safe as well, alright?

Okay I have placed my vote!

 

[Dreamtique]

"I am proud of you, I want you to know that."

"Hey, we will miss you, Lemon."

"......"
"Don't worry, I'll be fine!"

The parents shared a brief moment with their son before they ultimately had to part ways, the parents were still a bit hesitant while the young man confidently marched forward the hostel without turning back, the pigeons gathering at the front door made way as the young man stepped forth, he was clearly ready for this day, the only thing holding him back was his heavy luggage.
"Be presentable, whew, you have to make a good first impression alright?" Before realizing it he had successfully navigated the building and was already fast approaching his dormitory, "886... 887..." He adjusted his yellow jacket briefly with the little window of time he had before running into someone.
"Triple eight, alright!"

"Oh, hey!" The young man attempted to initiate a conversation as soon as his eyes scanned someone around the vicinity, meeting someone new was something that he made sure to prepare himself for.
"I am...Lemon Jones, you can call me Lemon-" Lemon's smile stiffened as soon as he sensed a hint of distaste given off by the fellow student's gaze, he could feel the pressure within his chest growing with every passing second.

"Oh, Lemon as in...Lemon, the fruit?" The fellow student with a chiseled face spoke as the hallway grew quite all of a sudden.

"Y-yeah! That's my real name, my mom-"

"Okay, I get it......"

"Well, you will be living next to me right? Did you happen to spot the student that will be sharing the room with me?"

"Your roommate? He never showed up."

"That's weird...I thought I am already late-"

"Hm...sorry, I am in a bad mood now. Honestly, not in the mood for socializing, maybe clean that bird poop off your pretty brown hair before you talk to people okay?" The student cut Lemon off before he could finish, attracting eyeballs from the surrounding students when doing so.
"Oh, and just so you know apparently triple eight is haunted or something..." The soon-to-be room neighbor reminded Lemon before he went into his room.

Lemon forced a smile and nodded lightly before heading straight into the room, closing the door behind him immediately to momentarily went into hiding from the judgemental eyes.
Lemon grabbed his phone from his pocket and used the slightly reflective phone case to check his hair, the bird poop was indeed on his sleek brown hair.
"Trying so hard to make myself presentable...ruined by something like this huh? I am not even sure if that's the real cause." Lemon mumbled under his breath as he grabbed a tissue and wiped off the contaminant that ruined his first impression, too defeated to be bothered by the need to rinse it.
"What's with that attitude, I don't get it......" He stared at the empty room that reeked of the smell of moist fungus, with two beds occupying most of the space and nothing else pleasing to the eyes.
"Is it just me, or it is getting harder and harder to be...likable?"
A burst of muted laughter could be heard coming from outside the closed door, breaking his train of thought.
"It's just me, then..." He couldn't help but let a breath escaped from his chest, he knew the answer to the rhetorical question better than anyone.
"So tired..."
He felt weak and limp, his let himself fell onto the dusty bed as a gust of dust flew into the air. He wanted to forget about putting up a facade already, mingling with people used to be something that comes naturally to him, it was something that used to energize him, now it was just a hellish chore.
"I don't know if I even care anymore..."
"So tired..." With his trusty phone in his hand, the young man slipped into a deep, deep slumber.



When the young man opened his eyes, a strange buzzing noise faded away from his ears, he saw the pale white ceiling that remained the same before he closed his eyes. His body felt heavier from the sleep inertia, the dorm room was still empty, nothing had changed. Lemon stood up and noticed the dead silence surrounding him, the first thing that crossed his mind was the schedule that he had given up following, knowing clearly that he would not be able to attend the welcoming ceremony, still, he needed to know the time. He checked his phone, the time displayed indicated that he had slept for a few minutes, the young man felt that something was off but what was more concerning was the low battery life. He instinctively tried to reach for his luggage only to realized it was nowhere to be found, that was when the panic set in.

"What- "
"Seriously? I put everything in there!"
The young man began to fidget his fingers as the repeated searches were to no avail.

1)Continue to inspect the room and beds.
2)Go outside.
(Reply with the choice you made.)

 

[Juju]

1) continue to inspect your surroundings! Go Lemon!

 

[Dreamtique]

He knew that his eyes couldn't miss something so big in such an empty room, but he searched the room all over again just to stop his mind from going crazy places, the only logical explanation he could think off was that someone stole it, but he didn't like that possibility. Soon his eyes fixated on the dusty bed, there was something strangely compelling about it, but the boy couldn't put his fingers on it, except he could do that literally.
The boy approached and attempted to touch the bed that he had been lying on just to satisfy his strange compulsion, he didn't mind any of it until he noticed that the bed was strangely soft.
"Oh shoot!!!"
It didn't take long for the boy to notice that the bed was not 'soft' but was, in fact, caving in in a highly unusual way while gently sucking his hand in. Lemon withdrew his hand out of shock and made sure to check if his palm was whole.
"What...was that?" Lemon's eyes fixated on the bed, he was petrified for seconds until he took a step back from the bed, frowning out of confusion, refusing to fully trust what he just experienced.
Soon after, footsteps that were exceptionally loud amid the silence was heard coming from outside, it was slow and erratic. Lemon held his breath as the footsteps faded away.
"Phew, what are you panicking for, Lemon?" The boy pressed his cold palms against his cheeks as he felt waves of uneasiness within him.

"I guess I'll just have to quickly check..." Lemon mumbled to himself, he held his breath and reached for the door handle, opening the door, beyond it was a scenery that he would have never expected. Rooms, rooms that stretch for as far as Lemon could see.

"Yeah...I knew something is off."
Confusions after confusion, he didn't know where to start, all he knew was that nothing made sense, he would like to imagine himself dreaming but his senses constantly denied that, everything felt too real, still, he has to move on while fooling himself that this was something like a lucid dream just to keep himself from having a panic attack.

Lemon stepped out, cold sweat rolling down his forehead as he looked around and saw nothing but yellowish rooms lit by fluorescent lights that are interconnected like a labyrinth.
"Urm......"
"Hello?" Lemon raised his voice, hoping that he would catch someone's attention if there happened to be anyone around.

Lemon turned back to look at his dorm room before he stepped further into the peculiar space, he was hoping that he could find some answers, so he kept walking. Lemon looked at the phone in his hand, the battery was low, he didn't have much time, something came to his mind, but he was quickly distracted by a faint music, suggesting the presence of someone else. Lemon saw it as a good sign.

Left with no choice, Lemon decided to follow the music coming from the void of silence as the music became more and more audible, he had to bet on it, he was desperate for some form of company or even better, a way out.

Reply with the choice you made.

1)


2)

 

[Juju]

1

 

[Dreamtique]

The first thing Lemon noticed was the presence of furniture, furniture of various variety began to come into his sight sparingly, their messy arrangement made the space began to resemble the interior of an infinite house after a robbery. As the music was clearly audible, Lemon found the music coming from behind a wall as he came across a wall with a narrow doorway. Lemon leaned closer to the wall and felt the vibration from the music through it, he peeked from behind the wall and saw a rocking cradle. The cradle was rocking gently, Lemon could barely make out a shadowy figure of what seemed like a curled up young child in the cradle, in his arms the child was hugging a radio that was the source of the music he heard and followed.

Lemon only frowned at the peculiar sight, he didn't hesitate and decided to try to approach the figure he saw.
"Hey..."
He called out and didn't think much at first before he could clearly see that the child was clearly not what he imagined to be, it was not a human child but was instead, a shadowy figure that only looked humanoid enough to fool him from a distance. Knowing fully that it was an irrational choice Lemon's first instinct was not to turn away and run but to hold back his shock and terror while he attempted at communicating again by stepping closer.
"I-I-"
Lemon failed to force any coherent word out of his mouth but he somehow caught the creature's attention. Time stayed still for a moment before the shadowy child in the cradle began to shiver. Rage was what Lemon could felt radiating from the tiny body of the child in the cradle, the melody began to swiftly distort and then silenced when the radio the child was hugging cracked from the sheer force the creature was exerting on it, it was then when the shadowy figured turned its face towards Lemon. Lemon was startled then petrified when the child began to let out and shriek as if he was warning Lemon to back off. This didn't felt like a child throwing a tantrum, Lemon could felt the intense hostility directed towards him, he knew it wasn't safe to stand around at this point.
Lemon was caught by surprise when the child suddenly pounded at him like a savage, he was pressed against the floor as the child wrapped his tiny hands around his neck, he could feel the child's nails digging into his neck as he struggled to breathe. He closed his eyes and attempted to turn away from the shadowy face in his sight as he tried to free himself with but to no avail. His vision was beginning to turn black when the sound of a broken radio faintly playing in the background brought him back, the shadowy child was somehow petrified as if it was distracted by the radio. Lemon saw the opportunity and forcefully pushed the child away, regaining mobility.

"I am sorry......" Somehow Lemon felt the need to apologize before he turned and ran. He didn't fully understand what the creature was and the source of such hostility, shaken by the encounter, all he could think of was to run as fast as he could.


Just as the boy made sure he was safe, he found himself in a whole new territory. Lemon kneeled on the floor, trying to deal with the headaches as he trying to catch his breath and slow down his pounding heart, the pain around his bruised neck still lingered. When Lemon decided to look around, it wasn't hard to notice a gigantic, tent-like pillow fort around. It seemed like someone built it.

"Oh no......" Lemon pulled out his phone when he recalled he was going to try to contact someone with it, realizing its battery already died.
Considering the structure of this place, it wouldn't be sur[prising to find electric mains around here, he decided to look for one, exploring the pillow fort would be his best bet.


He slowly crawled into a pillow fort, what came into his sight first was a young man in plain white t-shirt and pajama pants, lying cozily on a sofa as he stares into a tablet in his hand with headphones on. The stranger didn't notice Lemon, so he took the chance to inspect. The stranger seemed to be around Lemon's age, his hair was long and messy, he seemed to be a normal human. The interior of the pillow fort was surprisingly pleasant, beautifully decorated with fairy lights and pillows, the main feature was a large and cozy-looking sofa in the middle of the pillow fort like a throne, Lemon noticed some snacks and cup noodles pilling up in a corner, and an old guitar laying around a dark corner.

"Hello?" Lemon called out and could help but to feel a little excited when he realized he ran into someone, and the working tablet in his hand proofed that the man could at lease help him with charging his phone.
"H-Hey!!!" Lemon raised his voice and hoping that the stranger would hear his voice through the headphones. His attempt clearly failed, so he decided to approach the stranger. As he inched his way towards the stranger, he was hoping that the stranger would notice him before he had to do anything, but the stranger was clearly living in his own world.
"Urm..." Lemon was aware that he should already be in his peripheral vision, but the man seemed to no care. Lemon decided to muster up his courage and gently nudged the stranger with his fingertips but he was again ignored. Lemon felt a little insulted, he impulsively pulled the headphones off the man when he realized nothing else he tried could get the stranger's attention.
"Excuse me...I need your help. Please." Lemon felt a little awkward when the stranger slowly turned to look at him, and soon they found themselves staring at each other for an overly long period. Lemon tried to avert his eyes ever so often but the stranger seemed to be locked in this position, staring at him for what felt like an eternity. The awkwardness finally ended when the man yawned and stretched his back.
"Can I have my headphones back?"

"Y-Yes!"
"Oh...... by the way, I am sorry. I-I need help."

"What do you want?"

1. [Write in your reply.]

 

[Juju]

1. "Where am I?"
OwO;

 

[Dreamtique]

"They call it the Backrooms...at least that's what the internet decided on." The young man with his tired eyes mumbled.
"Backrooms?" Lemon didn't expect such a specific answer, Lemon grabbed his chin, he didn't know what else to ask or rather where to start.
"Do consider getting out as soon as possible..."
"...especially out of here."The young man in pajamas peeked at Lemon before continuing to slide his finger across the tablet.
"I see you already encounter and triggered one of those 'Loners', yes?"
"I would advice you to stay away from those...things, they are usually not that aggressive, they wouldn't go all the extra miles to bother you, usually they just wish the same from you, so just be sure to keep your distance and you should be okay."
"You get out the same way you get in, find the right spot to 'no-clip' back to where you came from."
"Huh? Wait. You mean......" From what the stranger was describing, it seemed like he somehow phased out of reality into a weird dimension, the bizarre concept felt so believable now that he was physically stuck in this place.
"I-I can just get out of here like that if I happen to find a good spot to just phase back into...the the real world?"

"Yes. It is that simple, just make sure you are quick. Staying for here too long will mess you up mentally."
Something flashed across Lemon's head, he recalled back then when his hand sank through his bed, the sudden realization of that could be his pass to freedom left Lemon with widened eyes.
Lemon peeked at the man that had been constantly averting eye-contact, and all of a sudden something strange crossed his mind. Strange thoughts...strange feelings......
"Oh yeah, my phone was dying...so...I figured you might be able to help me with that too."

"......"
"There is a charging port behind this sofa, I am going to take a nap, do leave this place when you are done." The stranger answered as he chose to close his eyes and lay on his sofa, it wasn't hard to read that it was just a move to avoid further conversation.

Lemon looked around, trying to locate the charging port before he sneaked past the stranger that was pretending to be asleep. Excited when his phone was working again.
"He...did mention 'internet' right? What the...w-we have internet access here?" Lemon mumbled to himself but the first thing he did was to contact his parents when he realized there are a few miss calls coming from his parents.
A soon as the call connected, Lemon felt his heart almost jumped out of his throat when he heard the familiar voice of his mother answering the phone, somehow he was not expecting her voice would successfully come through.
"Hello?"
"Hello!!!"
"Hello? Anyone there? Lemon? Is that you?"
"Hello!!! It's me, Lemon!!!"
"Hello~?"
"Hey! It's me Lemon, can you hear me?"
"......"

"Urg...come on, she can't hear you. Stop shouting into the phone." The stranger interrupted.

Lemon paused as he helplessly waited for the call to end.
"What?! But my call connected successfully? T-There is even internet access!"

"No one could hear our voice here."
"We could always peek into the outside world we know, but once we are here they could no longer hear us, our voice and opinion don't matter."

Lemon went silent as he listened, it wouldn't be far-fetch now to assume that some paranormal forces are stopping them from reaching the outside world, allowing them to peek into the outside world with technology could only be a tease or just some cynical joke.

"Don't bother calling help or trying to contact the outside world, it's pointless. If you want to get out of here so much, all you could do now is to find your exit on your own."
"Once you are satisfied with the state of your phone, do leave."

"But how about you?"
"It seemed like you stayed here for an extended period of time?"
"You are...not planning to get out of this place?" Lemon raised an eyebrow as he questioned.

"Excuse me, do I know you? Why would you care?" The stranger, for the first time, sat straight up and turned to look at Lemon with a visible frown on his face, amused by Lemon's question.,

"Oh, n-nothing, it's just that-"
"Why are you staying here? You must come from the outside world too right? Then don't you think you should leave this place as soon as possible?"
"I mean...you do want to go out, right? If that is the case we can get out of here together-"

"No. I don't want to get out of here actually."

"I chose to stay here."

Time froze as Lemon let the statement sank in, for a moment he couldn't believe what he just heard.

"W-what? B-But then don't you want to live normally? How about those who care about you?"
"You do realize...you can't live like this forever right?"

"Who are you to judge that I am not living 'normally', that I am not living 'right'?"
"In this place, there are no rules, no norms, no place for judgemental eyes."
"Nothing from the outside world applies to here."

"I-I..."

"If there is nothing else making you want to stay besides of convincing me something, I suggest you to not waste your precious time and leave as soon as possible."


(1)"I don't care, I-I will not leave until you are leaving with me!"

(2)"My foot is hurting from all of the running, I think I might sprain it or something." Lemon didn't know what he was thinking, but he straight up lied.

 

[Juju]

(1) lemon is a precious cinnabean

 

[SugaISAMOOD]

How do I join?

 

[Juju]

How do I join?

You can just comment here on what options you would like the character to take. I think this Quest is open for anyone to help out with.

 

[Hexabrawl]

bruh
i was late
also number 1

 

[Juju]

Almost a year late lol! XD

 

[Dreamtique]

Almost a year late lol! XD

oh my god, a year already?

I decided to move my time away from the site since it's kinda impossible to be even semi-committed right now, all I can do now is to lurk around.
I am doing fine and it's the kind of busy that feels good! So no worries!!!
All the best!!!!!!

 

[Dreamtique]

Spoiler: 🍋

 

[Juju]

oh my god, a year already?
View attachment 878117
I decided to move my time away from the site since it's kinda impossible to be even semi-committed right now, all I can do now is to lurk around.
I am doing fine and it's the kind of busy that feels good! So no worries!!!
All the best!!!!!!

I'm glad you're doing well! Hope everything works out for you!