- Pitfalls Theme
- Below Zero
- Fallers
- Scavengers
- Inkblots
- Nippers
- Shrooms
- Scrits
- Darkness Cubed
- Crooked Caverns
insert theme thingy whenever that’s done
Below Zero
You’ve arrived at a new frontier.
The blaring lights blind and deafen you in a cacophony of irritating buzzing, leading you to lose your balance. Where are you? How did you get here? Both are second thoughts as the halls release you from their clutches — just as fast as they’d lured you in. You have no footing anymore; you’re starting to drop. Gravity is infinitely flooring you, sucking you down into an abyss devoid of light. You’re relieved by the absence of the annoying hum-buzz, yet you’re eternally fearful of what awaits you momentarily at the bottom. A kaleidoscope of memories bursts like glass in your head, stringing up a symphony of hankerings and regrets in your mind. This suspended angst is eventually brought to a close; to your great chagrin, you’re somehow alive.
Thrust past the threshold of no return. Welcome to the Pitfalls.
Access
Below Zero's only means of entry is via "pitfalls" — gaping holes that appear intermittently throughout Level 0's incalculable square miles of carpet. They appear clean-cut and purposeful; the ground cuts downward at a sudden ninety-degree angle, with no fluidity in sight. Oftentimes, Pitfalls will appear haphazardly and inexplicably — for example, they will ordinarily appear in front of a wanderer while their eyes escape their foreview. More often than not, simply beholding a Pitfall will lead to your arbitrary descent into it.
After being subjected to several hours of uninterrupted plummeting, no matter the speed or force, one will be safely delivered into a deep, chilly quagmire of water, which promptly brings one to their senses. As expected, any given Pitfall's pool will slowly shallow, allowing one to travel in the only direction possible: towards the tunnels.
Description
Anodyne Complex
A look into a newfound anti-home.
The Anodyne Complex acts as an entry point to Below Zero, coming across most similarly to the bulk of conventional levels of the Backrooms — notably more so than almost all other environments within the Pitfalls.
The region takes the physical form of a complex of tenebrous concrete hallways, all illimitably interconnected in a labyrinth-like pattern that is notoriously simple to traverse; by treading the halls for an indeterminate amount of time, one is bound to encounter either an exit or a change in scenery.
In stark contrast to Level 0's droning fluorescent bulbs, the Anodyne Complex projects a soothing, low-pitched hum that has been observed to placate wanderers and allow for more rational thinking. That being said, these bulbs have been reported to — albeit rarely — burst, causing glass shards to sprinkle the floors as a screeching pop reverberates throughout the halls.
The Bog
The Bog’s overcrowded ocean bed contains a myriad of species populating its many facets; the damp dirt cover of the Bog gives way to numerous insects amongst the fret of creatures that inhabit it, allowing them to glide peacefully along the surface of the water or hang delightfully atop their perches.
Underwater lies a variety of complex plant life, all intertwined into a trichiliocosm1 of vines and grass. Prickly vines extend their reach comprehensively from the mile-deep ocean bottom, encroaching up to greet wanderers as they take a dip in the muddied waters. The only source of light that beckons is a scarce few Shrooms, as well as a stable population of Inkblots scattered around the muddle, feasting upon the several species of bugs and minuscule aquatic life bestrewn about the waters.
The Bog may only be accessed by means of the rusted steel hatches dotted throughout the Anodyne Complex at the risk of one's own survival; the Bog is unsafe for human life without the use of heavy diving gear and other equipment. The Bog's tight air pockets allow the acquisition of minimal oxygen during one's endeavours amidst it, lining the soil ceiling that lies just 10 inches above the water's surface. The liquid itself is murky at best and putrid at worst, accommodating a variety of bacteria and algae to the great repose of all Nippers and other amphibians that inhabit it.
The only ways out are either being sucked into the Overburst Aquarium in the depths or returning shamefully to the halls from which you originated, regurgitated safely to find your way to the only other exit.
The Unfixed Passages
If you traipse around for long enough within the confines of the Stable Halls, you may be engrossed by Lilliputian assortments of rubble and beaten-down walls welcoming you to a more open passage. Within its space, the Unfixed Passages hold dust and debris galore — obliterated concrete stares you down while you walk by. Lights hang haphazardly from the ceiling as they flicker inconsistently, their previous delightful buzz now morphed into an ear-wrenching zapping pattern. Roots stick out from the dirt, crowding the outskirts of blown-apart walls and entangling in grimacing springs as passersby ignore their warnings.
The halls get tighter and tighter as one treks on, suffocating wanderers and entrapping them until the point of no return has been breached. From this point on, they will be left in the hands of the Crooked Caverns.
We must crawl independently through the trying tunnel, for God hasn’t gifted us with privilege of company. Trek onwards, for eventually, you will reach the light at the end of the tunnel. We are here, and we are waiting. We understand your struggles, and wish to make them our own, for your sake. Stay safe until then, friend.
- Fitch Gallswell, Executive Member of the Fallers
The deadlinks are indeed intentional. They're in the making right now.
Author
Critics
C-Graph,
Schulzenreich,
Mctoran,
noah rabe,
MrblackM,
scutoid studios,
BUBBLINGBEACH, and
egglord.
Licensing
The first image was taken by Cherry Laithang, and is free to use under the unsplash license.
The second image was taken by Charles DeLuvio, and is free to use under the unsplash license.
« Level 0 | Level Below Zero »
(Buddhism) A concept in cosmology of a "third-order" universe containing one thousand second-order clusters, which are made of one thousand first-order clusters, which are in turn made of a thousand worlds each. Billion-fold universe. Used in this instance as a hyperbole.
Inkblots
Entity Number: 13
These specimens, fascinatingly enough, can thrive even in locations you wouldn’t even think to find even a soul — especially a fish, for that matter. Their paradoxical appearance has really helped us perspectivize our standings with the creatures of this realm, and has assisted in our research of biology as a whole in the Pitfalls. We’re grateful that we weren’t faced with a greater threat with its abilities, otherwise I don’t believe that humanity would last down here.
- Head Researcher of the Fallers, Li
