train to the afterlife

[hoardings]

train to the afterlife meme

Congratulations: You are dead.

Maybe you know how, maybe you don't. Perhaps the memory is fuzzy, or perhaps it's crystal clear down to the look in your comrades' eyes. Maybe it was your time; you've done all you wanted to. Or maybe you weren't at all ready to go, maybe you went out kicking and screaming - but none of it matters. You know you're dead, and the train is taking you to an afterlife. Perhaps an afterlife of your choice; you might've earned that heaven. Or perhaps you've earned something else entirely.

It'll be a bit of a journey, though, so you might as well take your time and talk to the other people in your coach. Death knows no place: most of them are strangers, even from faraway worlds. But death knows no time either, so who knows, some of them may be people you know, even if last you knew, they were alive - or long gone.

Oh look, here comes the snack cart.

---

• Post with your character's name and canon in the subject line.
• Said character is now dead for whatever reason - canon, AU, what have you. They are on a train with other dead people from many other times, places and worlds.
• Characters don't know for a fact where they're headed - just a general awareness that they're going to some kind of afterlife. Whatever they think it is is up to the player.
• This meme is built especially for cross-canon interaction, and potentially for threadjacking and group threading - if you're interested, may be a good idea to state as much in your subject line.
• Tag around and play nice!

Comments

kaito nagano / original

[nagano]

(( looks like izanami's finally getting her end of the contract. if you blink quickly enough, you might just see nightparades instead. ))

[queenofkur]

[ Those who die get taken to the afterlife corresponding to their beliefs and culture. It is the rule this train abides by. But today, there appears to be something of a hiccup with this age old system. Indeed, the train stops very abruptly and suddenly with no warning. It is obviously not an intentional stop, no. Instead it's as if the train had just crashed into an immovable object.

Then everything gets colder. Much colder. So much so a hazy mist obscures everything within the train. The only reason why he or the other souls do not die is because, well, they're already dead. Then the exit door opens and a figure enters. Whatever "staff" populates the train bows reverently before that figure, who walks towards Nagano. Ere long she stops before him, revealing: ]

Ah, here you are!

[ Ereshkigal smiles and extend a hand at him, much as he had in the past. She gives him no explanation whatsoever though and it sounds as though she is in a hurry. ]

We don't have much time. Follow me, alright?

[ A promise is a promise. ]

margaery tyrell | asoiaf/got | ota

[neverbedded]

pyrrha nikos | rwby

[auriferous]

( I mean, this is the entire reason she was created... unfortunately. )

[nagano]

Excuse me.

[ A faint, airy voice sounds off nearby, cutting above the din of the rather busy train cab. Someone wearing... a lot... of black pushes through to take the seat across from one (1) redhead. His eyes are glued to a leather-bound book that looks to be burnt.

Actually, he looks to be burnt. The dark coloring hides it, but his attire is full of holes and burned-off edges. Once-gloved fingers have been signed black. His eyes constantly flicker between a dull gold and luminous cerulean hue, as if each iris is a flickering television screen.

Slowly, Kaito glances up from his reading. He doesn't say anything, instead opting to study the other under a level gaze. ]

Vash | Trigun Maximum

[sadboixx99]

Hey, good thing I was already logged into this bad boy. :V

[el_llorono]

[He doesn't say a word as he walks through the train, not until he comes up behind him, able to recognize that stupid spikey hair and that bright red coat anywhere, and flops down in the seat right next to him.]

Do you have any idea how long it took me to figure out where you'd gotten off to, dumbass?

[The look he gives him when he turns to him is nothing but fond, though, even as he grabs him by the hair and yanks his head around gently, teasing. And then, without preamble, he just reaches out and wraps him up in a massive hug. He's been wanting to do this for a long, long time, and he'll be damned if he's going to keep himself from doing it, now.]

Himeno | Chainsaw Man | ota

[firstdeath]

[Yesss I love this :) ]

gwen stacy | tasm

[confiscate]

( She's the OG dead girlfriend and everything. )

Kurogiri/Shirakumo | My Hero Academia | ota

[capillatus]

Persephone | greek myth | ota

[couldhavechosen]

[[Winter's nigh, summer's over... or maybe she's here for some other reason.]]

J.D. | Heathers the musical (R63'd) | ota

[badlydamaged]

[[Maybe she just got blown up, or maybe she's been hanging around here for a while, either one works.]]

Marcus Hargreeves | The Umbrella Academy | ota

[superherogame]

Jack Murdock | MCU Daredevil | ota

[gotthedevilinthem]

hong lu | limbus company | ota

[naivecyan]

[ we can definitely make this part of w corp's singularity, and you can deal with (gore in link) lost passenger hong lu instead! ]

*holds ur flesh tendril*

[untranslatable]

[ All things considered, they stay lucid for a long time. Yi Sang has read all of the W Corp employee manuals, of course, and understood implicitly what certain emergency measures were alluding to. Humans are not meant to endure isolation for long periods of time, so it's a relatively fortunate thing that if the both of them must be stranded, then at least they've been stranded together. There were deliberate efforts made to maintain proper use of language and logic, using each other as mirrors to reaffirm that they remain recognizably human for as long as possible.

But decay is inevitable and sets in nonetheless.

Their slow-paced decline accelerates rapidly when he finally run out of things to say and Yi Sang falls silent for a period of time that feels far shorter in his mind than it is in reality — it's Hong Lu who ends up staying lucid for longer in the end, who casually informs him it's been days since he last said anything, and that he's been talking one-sidedly to Yi Sang the entire time nonetheless. Retreating to the safety of his own mind is a good coping mechanism for maintaining his sense as an individual, but leaves Hong Lu to languish on his own in the meanwhile — therefore, it is unideal — but it sets an unfortunate cycle of Yi Sang stirring to lucidity every once in a while to find the both of them more degraded than the last time he can remember before entering a particularly talkative, almost manic state until he's exhausted himself once again. Like so: ]

—so it defies common understanding. Hong Lu?

[ There's a pause as Yi Sang attempts to grasp for Hong Lu where he expects him to be, and has a moment of muted surprise as he realizes one of his hands has deformed into something that feels more like the bone structure of a wing than a hand, then remembers he has had this realization countless times already.

He can no longer see clearly. He reaches out, with all the limbs he has still capable of doing so, attempting to spread what were once fingers out to grasp at what's around him. ]

Hong Lu...

hades | greek myth | ota

[agetes]

Ticket, please. [ you’ll have one to give him: name, age, cause of death. he’ll mark it, copy some information into a notebook, and move on. unless you have a question for the god of the dead. ]

[someshouldbe]

Here.

[He has a ticket, and he hands it over. James Tiberius Kirk. 26. Acute radiation poisoning. He remembers his fingers slipping down the transparent bulkhead door, the sick heat in his flesh, the aching fear high up in his chest. He thinks of his father, and Pike.]

Does anyone ever get to go back?

hades | greek myth | ota

[nekipas]

[ hades spends most of the trip in the bar car. hey, it’s her train, she knows how to stock it well. when she feels somebody sit down next to her, she doesn’t even bother glancing up. ]

What.

[meowpheus]

Forgive me. I was under the impression you had extended an invitation. [ Dream isn't usually one to make jokes, but he also isn't one to make social calls. He's ... trying. Please clap.

More seriously now: ] Would you prefer I return another time?

ysayle dangoulain / lady iceheart ❄️ ffxiv

[unveilingtruths]

((ooc; no spoilers past post-patch Shb please!))

elia martell | asoiaf | ota

[veryfond]

[holdshisown]

Maedhros has taken to wandering the endless corridors of this strange mechanical contraption that is ferrying their souls. To what end they are traveling he does not know, nor is he entirely certain where it is they are going. Is it the Halls they are traveling to? Or is it the Void that is their final destination? He's not entierly certain he cares at this point, he's much too tired for that by this point.

There is smoke trailing behind him as he moves along the corridor, though he does not seem entirely aware of it, and a faint smell of hot metal clinging to him. The other souls have been keeping their distance from him so he is a bit surprised when he comes face to face with a new face.

hel/geiravor lokisdottir | the prophecies of ragnarok | ota

[sinne]

[ the norse goddess of the dishonored dead — as in those who don't die in battle, but rather of old age or sickness. in charge of the train and does a pretty good job at keeping things running. alternatively, i can play her from before she was "deity-fied," so she's just arrived and isn't happy about it. happy to AU as always, crosscanon is love! ]

An Nita, as promised~

[unfavorableinstigation]

"Excuse me?"

When Hel turns to look, there's a young woman rising from her seat dressed in odd clothes: the orange hoodie is the most prominent, tied around her waist, somehow complementing the off-white blouse and jeans she's actually wearing. There's another odd thing, a watch-like device on her left wrist with a darkened screen.

"Do you happen to know what's happened to the Voidtrecker Express? I'm pretty sure its control coach wouldn't have led me here, and it didn't have a captain or a conductor last I knew."

Her tone of puzzlement only somewhat manages to mask her underlying worry - fear and confusion both.

Vash ✖ the Stampede || Trigun Stampede

[plantcifist]

hoshigaki kisame | naruto | ota

[samebito]

( cross-canon/medium welcome! happy to write in prose or brackets; pick your fav and i'll match )

@riskofhatred

[samebito]

The train has been traveling for a while now, though for how long, Kisame can't say. After all, it's not as though the train is only for him. It carries all sorts: enemies and erstwhile allies, strangers and friends. Some of the creatures don't appear human—although, considering his clan's sharklike traits, he really oughtn't to judge by appearances. He watches them come and go with varying degrees of interest, flashing his wide, sharp smile whenever anyone appears too curious.

He's a polite fellow more often than not, friendly enough when there's no blood to be spilled. But his death was something of a messy affair, one that he'd rather not discuss with just anyone.

And besides, he's here for the long haul, waiting for someone in particular.

It'll be a while before that person shows; Kisame is certain of that, knowing how much his companion still has to do. It's a shame that Kisame can't be by his side. A pity that he can't see all their hard work come to fruition, the changing of the world from a place of lies to one of truth. But it will be enough to hear the story.

All he has to do is wait.

rem saverem

[cranesbills]

[ voice testing! cross canon loved, and any characters from any version of trigun welcome ]

hey mom... have a sad boy, hope time distortion means you didn't wait too long

[dontdeserve]

[ this thing is a little like a sand steamer, but also lower, longer, and louder. vash takes a long time walking along the hallways before he pauses, eyes widening slightly. ]

Is... this what a train is?

argalia | library of ruina

[step]

kotone shiomi | persona 3 portable | ota!

[orphne]

[memento mori babey]

[whatsamada]

[Ken wasn't surprised when he saw Kotone. As he walked down the train, all he could do was stare at her before letting out a small smile. This wasn't how he wanted to meet her but if this was how it was supposed to be?]

Kotone-san...

[He said in a low voice before biting his bottom lip. Dead or alive, it still hurts to see her.]

I was wondering when I was going to see you.

Maedhros | the silmarillion | ota

[holdshisown]

Kabal | Mortal Kombat | OTA

[hooked_on_kaballin]

[All timelines/versions]

Ai Hoshino ★ Oshi no Ko

[liedol]

[ lol

She's sat quietly with her head a little bowed, eyes on the bouquet of white roses that she's holding in her lap. She's dressed simply, a white dress over a grey sweater... and her entire front all the way down to the hem of her skirt and her feet are absolutely saturated with dark, arterial blood.

But she seems calm. ... maybe a little too calm. ]

[windsongs]

[ One would think being able to see the souls of the deceased when she was living that Hibiki would be used to seeing someone like this, but seeing the young woman covered in blood is incredibly jarring. Upsetting--although she would never come out and say that. No, she's someone who tries to ease the pain of those suffering, to assist them in their journey to the other side. And she likes to think she was pretty decent at her job, while she was still alive.

She should probably leave her alone to her thoughts, but she can't help but feel like she's seen this woman before. Hm.

Gaze traveling from the trail of blood to the beautiful roses resting in her lap, the small blonde tilts her head and puts a warm smile that, despite the why and the how she's here still manages to catch in her eyes. ]

Those are really pretty. A gift from somebody?

[ Hibiki won't sit down just yet. For all she knows, the other woman might want to be left alone. ]