bakerstreet | Underworld Meme

The Underworld Meme

Perhaps you fought bravely and fell in battle defending innocents. Maybe you were a tyrant who's just been given your comeuppance. Maybe you have another reason for seeking out the place beyond death.

Whatever happened, you're here now. What next?

What kind of afterlife have you reached?

I. Greek: The Greek underworld comes in two flavors: the misty Hades and bloody Tartarus. All dead mortals are sent to Hades, but the most wicked are delivered to Tartarus for eternal suffering. Hades can be visited by the living, but do take care around the cuisine. Those who eat the delicious food are bound to Hades forever.

II. Buddhist: One is not reborn into Naraka without having lived a very low life. If your karma has not been considered during life, if you have not done to others as you would have them do to you, then you shall suffer in the next life. The lifetimes in Narakas can range from firey penetration to cold so extreme that it cracks the body open. This is a lifetime that lasts for hundreds of years, until you are reborn over and over again waiting to restore your karma to a clean state once again.

III.Christian: Hell is a residence for the unsaved. Like the fallen angels before you, you will be expelled from paradise and left to burn and suffer forever. Will you repent? And will you be allowed to ascend if you do?

IV. Egyptian: The realm of Duat is an interesting place to visit, but one should hope never to be forced to live there. It is the realm of Osiris, and the home of gods and fierce creatures alike. To pass through Duat, one must find a way through a series of gates guarded by fearsome creatures. What will you do to pass by the "Blood-drinker who comes from the Slaughterhouse"? Will you spend eternity in pieces decorating the gates to warn the next traveller?

V. Judaism: Sheol is a place of darkness. It isn't concerned over whether you were kind to others in your life. It has no interest in making you suffer. You lived, and then you died. And now you are here, in the blackest of voids, where God has no interest in you. How will you keep hold of yourself here? Will you whither away into a mere shade of a spirit, rendered weak and emotionless?

VI. Aztec: The journey though Mictlan is a long and arduous one. The journey from the first to ninth levels requires four years of unending travel over mountains and through bloody rivers. Will you be chased by wild beasts? Will your undead guide bring you to the next world safely? Or will you be sent to join one of the elemental gods to bear the sun or rain instead?

VII. Norse: It's cold in Nifleheim, the land of mists. You are here if you have dishonored yourself. And here you will stay under the rule of the goddess Hel. Beware of the dragon Nithhogg, who sucks on the blood of the deceased.
Unless of course your warrior spirit has died in glorious battle. In that case, please enjoy your paradise in Valhalla.

VIII. Islamic: Sinners are banished to one of the seven gates of Jahannam. Jahannam is a place of pain and fire, where the condemned move about with flame-charred skin under a smoky sky that provides no shade from the heat. Angels, strict and severe, oversee that the tortures are befitting of a person's misdeeds in life. They dress the deceased in clothes made from fire and feed them boiling liquid that scalds them from the insite out.

IX. Pop Culture: The vision of Hell commonly depicted in media takes hints from different religions and mashes them together as it sees fit. Consider this the "mix and match" option.

X. Something else: There are several other visions of the underworld, as well as religions with afterlives far more complex than I felt comfortable simplifying for meme's sake. Where will you go when your life ends?

What brings you here together? Are you fellow damned? Did you find a way to visit the underworld in an attempt to rescue a loved one who died too soon? Are you one of the guardians or challenges? Who were you before, and what will become of you next?

As per the "everything goes" nature of many depictions of the underworld, threads in this meme may include triggering content. Please remember to note any limits in your thread openers if particular content causes you problems.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Figuring out how to return to the World Below without dying had been a long and complicated journey for Victor Van Dort. But he was on a mission that he considered of the greatest importance, and he wasn't about to let a little thing like the boundary between life and death stand in his way. He'd studied and fiddled and bent the laws of reality this way and that -- and finally, finally, it had all paid off. Once more he was walking the winding, brightly-colored streets of the Land of the Dead, greeting the citizens and taking in the sights. Hopefully he'd be able to find Alice's family before too long!

Except -- what on earth is this? Victor stops and stares at the sight before him. ". . .You're a pegasus."

Yes, blindingly obvious, but Victor's never been good at saying intelligent things when he's startled.

Oh, goodness gracious this place is terrifying! It's so dark! And there's no sign of anypony she's ever seen before! And now one of them was trying to talk to her.

What to do?? Where to hide??

Fluttershy let out a muffled shriek and crouched close to the floor, hooves over her eyes. That thing couldn't see her if she couldn't see it. That had to be how it worked.

. . .Okay, now the soft yellow pegasus with a pink mane and tail is cowering on the ground covering her eyes. Victor is used to odd things, but this does make him stare for a moment.

He shakes his head and crouches down beside the pegasus. "Hello," he says softly. "Are you all right?"

"I'm all right" came the response, whispered and trembling.

"I'm all right because you can't see me and none of this is happening and I'm going to wake up tomorrow and it'll all have been a bad dream so I'm all right you can move along anytime now really."

Oh dear. Victor bites his lip. He's never been the best at reassuring anxious people -- usually he's the one being reassured. But he'll give it his best try. "I'm not going to hurt you," he says, keeping his voice soft and gentle. "Nobody is -- they may look scary, but they're all very friendly. I promise."

He attempts a smile, even though she can't see it. "My name's Victor."

Underworld Meme

Fluttershy | My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

X, because how can one do this without the Land of the Dead?

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