bakerstreet | Underworld Meme

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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.

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[ Season 1! Aka Nine's Rose, Babby!Rose, and "wow she's so tiny!" Rose. ]

The Armna'doliaraxilton people were interesting. Their planet was brilliant with Fantastic sights. Glacier walls that were so tall you couldn't breath at the top, at all. Forests so thick that the trees nearly grew into each other, their bark purple, their leaves orange. The oceans of the planet were a soft pale pinkish orange and tasted a bit like sulfur instead of Earth's 'salt' waters.

The people of this planet were huge, hunchbacked figures with black skin and dour expressions, completely the opposite of anything on this planet compared to beauty. The Doctor thought they were fantastic though. Absolutely brilliant. They ran a network of information through the TREES, storing data within the roots and the planet.

They also had strict laws about the nature of the planet. The best way to describe it is fear of the Butterfly Effect, as Earthlings tended to call it. Crush one Butterfly and it effects the entire world.

When Rose touched the fruit of one tree, her human DNA compromising it and making it slowly die and wilt, they had hauled her off into the underground. A location that could only be considered Hell. It was the reasons the oceans tasted so... wrong. The underground of the entire world seemed like an image from Earth's own hell. People of all races hanging form chains, tucked away in cramped spaces, being let to hang before molting lava, and the entire shebang!

Rose? Last time the Doctor saw her she was being hauled off to a heated cave entrance. He fought at first, to try and get to her. "Rose!" He yelled, and then struggled with the much larger then him Armna'doliaraxilton guards. Pacifists his butt!

They hauled him to the leader of the planet, so he could correct this problem. He was sure he could do something to fix the tree, then get Rose the hell out of here. Pun not actually intended.

Rose, for her part, was not planning to go quietly. "Oi, let go of me!" she shouted as she kicked out at the guards dragging her away. "I didn't know! It was one tree, you... wankers! LET GO!"

They didn't answer - apparently she didn't warrant any reactions other than shoving her in what seemed to be a sort of holding cage, that was, once she was locked in, hoisted up off the ground and swung near a lava pit - close enough to almost be painful from the heat, but not close enough to catch her fire or anything.

"You are so going to regret this!" she shouted after them, then added to herself, "More than I'm regretting touching your stupid tree."

She wasn't sure if trying to escape would be helpful or if it would just cause both her and the Doctor even more trouble. But... well, she didn't really fancy sticking around down here. Hmmm... maybe she could swing the cage to get it further away from the lava?

That-a-girl. Keep on fighting them.

For the Doctors part, he did try to use words. He spoke with the lead of the planet, who was very upset and unforgiving, stating that all those on this planet should indeed know their place and follow the laws. This extended to Time Lords traipsing across it's landscape. "See if I recommend this planet to others." he scoffed in half wit.

In the end he was asked to peacefully leave, which he seemed to do, until he pulled a fruit off a tree with a grin, bit into it... and got hauled off into the pits of their local hell.

Unlike Rose, he got placed in cuffs and put on a wall... sonic screwdriver still in pocket. Which lead to his release and freedom to run in hell all he wanted.

Ducking through tunnels and caves, he called out, ignoring the fact that it might not be such a good idea to call her name out (in case others heard). "Rose!?" His voice carried down tunnels as he loudly searched for her.

"ROSE!" Where was she? If she gave him a sign or a call back, he might realize he was nearly at her location, about to pass her by.

[Well! Planet vaguely like Ancient Greece. That should be fun. --What should also be fun would be escaping their guards. .....That is, if Rose can get Jack to stop checking them out and making lewd comments. ~~What? He's helping.~~]

[ JACK YOU ARE NOT HELPING. Probably. Well, it is like ancient Greece, so maybe... ]

Pssst. Any luck?

[ She crosses her legs primly and considers what a mistake this has to be. She knows vaguely of who Rose is -- a companion of Theta's, centuries into the future, and therefore completely unimportant as Rose is far from being part of Koschei's present -- and she also knows Rose has no idea who she is as they have never met, and therefore they've no reason to be here together at all.

And they certainly don't have anything in common, Rose being an Earthling chav and Koschei being one of the highest regarded Gallifreyans in the Academy's latest years. In her boredom she taps manicured fingernails against the marbled armrest to the beat of the drums, pursing her lips then sighing heavily and flipping her hair back over her shoulder. ]

Even though I'm undoubtedly going to require subtitles for this conversation, the least you could do is help me brainstorm a few ideas. I assume you're at least a little curious why you're in some random hell dimension's waiting room with a Time Lord.

[ OOC: I'd prefer to avoid #3 and unfortunately she's a very kind and forgiving person, so a mash-up would be nice? The "surprise, it doesn't matter if you do good deeds and are a good person" option?

I don't mind violence, but I dislike melodrama/spotlight-hogging me-me-me sort of angst or suffering! ]

[Playing with spoilers for this one, option VII only.]

[occ : I was so looking forward to people playing Malekith! Would you like a Loki?]

[I'm more than happy to have a Loki!]

[ooc : anything in particular you'd like or should Loki just be visiting Niflheim as part of his contrived masterplan to take over the universe?]

[I didn't have anything super specific in mind, haha, so that works for me! We can let Loki have his day~]

[sorry about the late reply! Yes, there is enough material there for us to just roll with it, I think. Would you like to start or should I?]

(No problem! I'm fine starting us off.)

[The cold of Nifleheim is different than the cold of Jotunheim. This is an arid cold, a cold that Malekith can feel in his bones, a cold of nothing. But this isn't the sense of nothing that Malekith strove for - that he died for. This is emptiness eternal, and it is existence for eternity.

Malekith hates it. Every endeavor and every sacrifice had been for naught, and as he - or what remains of his soul in this universe - stands at the cliff edge of a vast drop, the looting builds within him. Somewhere, far below from where he stands, comes the scraping noise of some great beast coiling and slithering.]

... A realm of rest for the dead. Worthless.

The ugly truth is, Loki thinks as he walks the winding paths between the worlds, he's coveted the throne for so long and he never even considered that it could be so boring. Oh, it has some good sides, people treat him with reverence now, not sneering everywhere he goes but bowing, smiling shyly and catering to his every wishes. And yet. He's strived for this all his life and now that he has it, he can't find any satisfaction in it.

So he went back to what he knows and likes best, scheming nefarious plans. After all, even after sending the Aether away, he still has Thanos breathing down his neck. He has to do something about that, he reasons, before all he had worked so hard to gain crumbles around him.

Nifleheim is a difficult journey to make but it will be worth it, he hopes, if he can persuade Malekith to give him what he wants. Finding the Elf is easy enough and Loki grins as he steps closer, coming to a stop behind him. “I would advise doing that.”

Loki's voice strikes Malekith as an irritant, and for once, it's not because of who speaks. It's for the life that comes from it, life that Malekith would resent anyone for possessing. His eyes close and his jaw sets, and he stands in silence, letting the icy wind rip upwards from the abyss before him.

But he turns, locking a stare upon Loki. Malekith can recall the Asgardian before him, there is no doubt of that. He can also easily recall Loki's treachery upon Svartalfheim, the memory of which tints his gaze with apprehension.

"Yours would be advice I would have no reason to seek, fiend. Have you come to join life among the maggots?"

Loki stands his ground, looking deceitfully comfortable though the icy wind of Nifleheim is whispering sweet nothings in his ears and fraying his magic at the edges already. He grins, spreading his arms in a terrible travesty of innocence. “Don't be a sore loser, Malekith. You played me, I played you, and I won.” His grin grows wider. “Unfairly perhaps, but in the end it doesn't matter, does it?”

He steps forward, close enough to glance into the abyss as well, his eyebrows raising faintly. “Not yet, no.” Something dark passes upon his face. “Not this time.”

[She was here for a reason. Despite the dampness she feels all around her and despite the moans and cries she hears so well, she continues to march deeper into the underworld.

Aislin had a debt to wipe out and needed to do it fast she wants to avoid being a resident of here herself. So if it meant getting back the spirit of a departed spirit from here? She won't question her task. Long as she had her instrument in her hand, she was confident enough that she would be safe from danger.

Perhaps no longer having her sight is a blessing for the meantime. The moment she steps on the boat and is sure she presses her coin into the hand's of the boatman, she hears a barrage of whispers and pleas, threats and warnings. Trying her best to tune them out, she sinks down to take a seat on the cool wood and attempts to focus on tuning her violin. The faster she got off this boat, the better.]

[Either way he is going to have quite a bit of fun walking around and possibly raising hell.]

( ooc ; Christian purgatory, preferably! )

[Chasing after illusory rabbits leads to some nasty falls. It's only a matter of time before one of those "wonderland dreams" doesn't end.]

Edited 2013-12-08 04:52 (UTC)

Open to all underworlds and all scenario options. Dead (sorta)? There by accident? There on a mission? There 'cause his mom sucks? Oh yeah his 'mother' is Nyx, the goddess of night and bringer of The Fall.

I'm sort of partial to him as the Guide to the Afterlife. He is Thanatos the god of death, after all.

[ She's no savior. Correction: she is a savior, but not one who is ready or even close to accepting it. Saviors in stories are one hundred percent sure of what they are doing, and she feels a little as if she is improvising as she goes, which does not feel particularly heroic.

Luckily, this isn't about heroism as much as it is about Graham. She's a savior about as much as she is a believer, and she doesn't believe in fairytales per se - especially not if they involved spontaneous heart attacks in men his age, just after a heated argument with an unstable fairytale queen.

So when the option arises (and doesn't endanger her son), she takes it. How bad could it be, in his personal hell? She would go down, bring him back, and fix this part of the damage done.

No, she is no savior. But, right now, she is his best chance.]

Graham?

[ It probably doesn't seem like much of a hell at first, a luxurious but empty palace, dark and cold and filled with the steady beating of a heart.

Not unless you know what place it is a perfect copy of. Not unless you have seen it filled with the Evil Queen's soldiers. Not unless you know that the heartbeat comes from an empty box in a vault filled with other boxes. Boxes containing frozen hearts that can't beat any longer.

Not unless you know what it all means to him.

He's been here for a long time now, though he couldn't say how long. Time has ceased to matter.

When Emma finds him, he's curled up underneath a dying apple tree that stands just as alone as he is. The only other almost living thing in this place, though of course neither one of them is alive at all.

He was trying to get some sleep, and she startles him out of haunted dreams filled with despair and regret, so much so that he pulls a knife and has it at her throat before it even registers with him that there is actually someone here with him. ]

... Emma?

Is here delivering a client, of course. Cerberus loves to have a new 'chew toy'.

[Welcome to the Spectral Realm. Beware of Squid.]

[Back in the demon world? Back in the demon world.]

[Spoilers for T:TDW abound, I assume.

VII would obviously make the most sense but any choice is totally fine by me. Canonically she'd get a "good" afterlife, but clerical errors are fun and angsty.]

[I would think the Norse version would make the most sense, considering Fang is based off of a norse legend.]

Edited 2013-12-10 11:34 (UTC)

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Underworld Meme

Rose Tyler | Doctor Who | OTA

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1

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let's just say they're sitting in hell's waiting room together.

rydia | final fantasy iv | ota!

Maria Renard | Castlevania | OTA

Malekith the Accursed ; MCU ; ota

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setting: greek version!

Mitchell Dominic || The Secret World [Illuminati] || m/f for pairs

bucky barnes/the winter soldier ☭ mcu

Kain Highwind | Final Fantasy IV / Dissidia 012

Lavi ✌ D. Gray-man

Alice | Alice in Wonderland | OTA

girl!koschei - doctor who au - ota

Grantaire | Les Mis | ota

Ryoji Mochizuki | Persona 3 | OTA

katniss everdeen | the hunger games

Kid!Loki Laufeyson | Marvel Comics | OTA

Graham Humbert / The Huntsman | OUAT | ota

IX-ish

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Tessa / Reaper | Supernatural

Raziel | Legacy of Kain

Vergil | Devil May Cry | OTA

Frigga || Marvel Cinematic Universe

Oerba Yun Fang | Final Fantasy XIII Compilation

Ryuuko Matoi ✂ Kill la Kill ✂ OTA

Aerith Gainsborough | Final Fantasy VII | OTA

Tara Knowles Teller | Sons of Anarchy | OTA