Your personal hell; A new world

[TheMonotonePuppet]

No. You don't need anything fancy. Just the constant nagging of others to solve their problems. Endlessly. It will grind you down and drive you insane pretty quickly if you can't get away from it.

You do need something fancy... I think I'd understand since I am the one who phrased this question.
The fanciness is literally in this thread's prompt.
"A living, breathing world based solely on your worst fear." By definition, mundanity is not based on your worst fear.
It needs to be personal.
Everything needs to be personal.
But not everything.
Because as I said, you don't need to answer the question.

I'm in a hall. I cannot stop walking. There's something behind me, but I cannot look. I can only walk and know it is there without knowing what it is

Wow. A hall.

A world that changes, evolves, new discoveries, space explorations, understanding the universe.
New planets, aliens. New stories, new music. The center of the galaxy. The Andromeda galaxy. A comet that passes once every hundred thousand years. Mars. Wonderful people, incredible places. The sun that goes out. The universe that resets and starts over.
And me, not being there, not seeing all these things.
This is my personal hell.

This actually made me FEEL things! It actually felt like a living breathing world encapsulated in paragraph! It was sparse, and relatively light on the details in terms of specifics, but I actually felt like I could dream of this personal hell!
HAHAAAA!!! YAHA! IT WARMS MY HEART! *hugs self* EEK!

No need to imagine it, I'm already living it. Only need to turn up the dial of intensity really, but is that even necessary?

The eclectic mix of horrible anxiety, the emotional anguish that I'm constantly just instantly converting to raw undirected hatred such that it's hard to let it go and actually feel the pain, sleep deprivation, absolute fear at the dangers the future holds as the government is possibly on the edge of going into the hands of a group who'd make my existence illegal, crippling loneliness, self-worth in flux from feeling like I'm not progressing and meeting the proper life milestones, the gender dysphoria that likes to sneak up without me realizing, and the damn 3 hours I have to spend in the bathroom every night before I can empty bladder enough to relax enough to fall asleep!

I mean, I wouldn't mind seeing the dial of intensity turned up in a description of such an environment. Imagine making the eclectic mix made manifest! I wish to read it!

 

[TotallyHuman]

But since you are so hung up on the world existing beyond being a huge torture chamber, let's take an episodic serial like, I dunno, Pheonis and Ferb or Sponge Bob. Or South Park or Simpsons etc etc.
We have some kind of plot within an episode, but however the episode starts with, it ends in the same state. If some character is dissatisfied with his job, and he gets a new one - he will get fired by the end and return to the old workplace. If some person wants to not be single anymore, they will get their significant other and be dumped by the end. A character is literally killed - but they come back to life as if no big deal.
Tom is never gonna catch Jerry, Doofenschmurts is never going to win over Perry, everything will stay exactly as it was before.
Why is it so? I have no idea. I just know it is so.
But this example is poor, because here Tom may never catch Jerry, but he sure will believe he could. He has hope. I do not believe. I see no hope here. It's like a perverse time loop.
Like that Justice League TAS where they come to a different planet where everyone is enslaved by a mutant kid who is traumatised by the nuclear war that destroyed his home, so he literally warps reality to make everything and everyone replay the world like it is an episode from a TV show. Except, again, in such an environment I could at least hope that some Superman from Krypton would come amd liberate me. In the Hell I described there is no superman.

 

[Corty]

"A living, breathing world based solely on your worst fear." By definition, mundanity is not based on your worst fear.

You asked about personal hell. Not YOUR personal hell, but OUR personal hell.

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

You asked about personal hell. Not YOUR personal hell, but OUR personal hell.

Why is it so hard to make a new world? That's all I am asking. Why resort to mundanity when that is explicitly what I don't want?
I want everything to be personal.
I want everything to originate from the metaphysical, from the leaves to the sun to the sky.
I want a NEW world. Something that would genuinely make my heart ache to know it is out there, causing pain. I want a new WORLD. Not an idea. Not our world with an infinitesimal new spin.
This...
Is not that.

If you don't want to put the effort into it, then don't.

 

[HungrySheep]

Honestly, I'm already in it: a world where EVERYTHING is determined by RNG. No skill required.

Born wealthy/influential? You're pretty much done unless you're insanely stupid. If latter condition is met, you're still vastly ahead of the curve and it may not even prove an issue with sufficient wealth.

Godly timing releasing a novel/manga/anime that's archetypical of the trends at the time? You're done. Doesn't even have to be good. Just decently readable.

Born in Japan/Korea/China and are halfway decent at writing/drawing? You're done. This one kinda merges with the above.

Win the lottery? You're done.

YouTube (or whatever platform) algorithm likes you? You're done.

Manage to meet the right people (in terms of connections, resources, etc.)? You're done.

Luck beats skill or dedication in ANY situation in this world. You worked hard to get where you are? Whoops, I just lucked into winning the lottery. You studied the stock market and investment for 10 years? Whoops, I just lucked into the right buys. You made an awesome anime/game/manga/whatever? Whoops, I just lucked into the right timing with the right trends.

Sure, you can still get somewhere by putting the work in, but if you don't have luck, you're gonna stay mid forever. That's just one of the facts of this world. You don't like it. I don't like it. No one likes it.

We all want to feel like our work will amount to something. We all want to think that our dedication will one day bear fruit, but in the end, this is just one of the horrors we have to face and admit. Just because the entire world is predicated on luck doesn't mean we can't still try our hardest despite that. Strive against the motherfuckin' heavens.

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

Honestly, I'm already in it: a world where EVERYTHING is determined by RNG. No skill required.

Born wealthy/influential? You're pretty much done unless you're insanely stupid. If latter condition is met, you're still vastly ahead of the curve and it may not even prove an issue with sufficient wealth.

Godly timing releasing a novel/manga/anime that's archetypical of the trends at the time? You're done. Doesn't even have to be good. Just decently readable.

Born in Japan/Korea/China and are halfway decent at writing/drawing? You're done. This one kinda merges with the above.

Win the lottery? You're done.

YouTube (or whatever platform) algorithm likes you? You're done.

Manage to meet the right people (in terms of connections, resources, etc.)? You're done.

Luck beats skill or dedication in ANY situation in this world. You worked hard to get where you are? Whoops, I just lucked into winning the lottery. You studied the stock market and investment for 10 years? Whoops, I just lucked into the right buys. You made an awesome anime/game/manga/whatever? Whoops, I just lucked into the right timing with the right trends.

Sure, you can still get somewhere by putting the work in, but if you don't have luck, you're gonna stay mid forever. That's just one of the facts of this world. You don't like it. I don't like it. No one likes it.

We all want to feel like our work will amount to something. We all want to think that our dedication will one day bear fruit, but in the end, this is just one of the horrors we have to face and admit. Just because the entire world is predicated on luck doesn't mean we can't still try our hardest despite that. Strive against the motherfuckin' heavens.

Trust me, you are not in your personal hell. It can get so much worse.
Imagine you are in a world quite literally built of casino levers, each rolling a new set of die, spinning the wheel, etc. Every step would set Lady Luck against you. Imagine a world laid atop the nightmarish face of Lady Luck, a corrupted nasty thing. She could lick her lips excitedly at someone's suffering or success, and end millions. Lay to sleep on the ground and wonder whether your head will explode with a claymore mine or win the lottery and get your family to chase you. There is a bottomless chasm beneath these gold levers, and all of them affect each other. If you are unlucky, someone pushing the lever could be winning the lottery on the other side of the continent while sending you and thousands to their death with no warning. The weather is heavy and relentless, and while you already have your hands full dealing with being a slave mindcontrolled by the injections that those at the top (due to luck) get to use on others, you could be impaled by a random stalagmite at any moment.
I could go on and on, but this is for you to be thinking of it. Not me. This is just to give you ideas for something more original.

 

[GoodPerson]

My worst hell?




































I rather not think about it. Or else, god will fulfill the hell I was thinking without my consent.

I do not want that. I do not want god to hate me.

 

[TotallyHuman]

Honestly, I'm already in it: a world where EVERYTHING is determined by RNG. No skill required.

Born wealthy/influential? You're pretty much done unless you're insanely stupid. If latter condition is met, you're still vastly ahead of the curve and it may not even prove an issue with sufficient wealth.

Godly timing releasing a novel/manga/anime that's archetypical of the trends at the time? You're done. Doesn't even have to be good. Just decently readable.

Born in Japan/Korea/China and are halfway decent at writing/drawing? You're done. This one kinda merges with the above.

Win the lottery? You're done.

YouTube (or whatever platform) algorithm likes you? You're done.

Manage to meet the right people (in terms of connections, resources, etc.)? You're done.

Luck beats skill or dedication in ANY situation in this world. You worked hard to get where you are? Whoops, I just lucked into winning the lottery. You studied the stock market and investment for 10 years? Whoops, I just lucked into the right buys. You made an awesome anime/game/manga/whatever? Whoops, I just lucked into the right timing with the right trends.

Sure, you can still get somewhere by putting the work in, but if you don't have luck, you're gonna stay mid forever. That's just one of the facts of this world. You don't like it. I don't like it. No one likes it.

We all want to feel like our work will amount to something. We all want to think that our dedication will one day bear fruit, but in the end, this is just one of the horrors we have to face and admit. Just because the entire world is predicated on luck doesn't mean we can't still try our hardest despite that. Strive against the motherfuckin' heavens.

that's just defeatist mindset.

 

[HungrySheep]

that's just defeatist mindset.

Someone didn't read the full post. I think there's a strict line between understanding the stochastic nature of the universe and defeatism, though. In the latter case, you would be more inclined to give up whereas in the former, you would still do your best in the face of the adversity.

"Most gamblers quit right before they win" is funny to say, but I don't think it's something you should put into practice. Sure, I might have big dreams of being a god-tier trader, but I have to look at it realistically. The chances of me becoming a billionaire through the stock market is statistically lower than the chances of me becoming the US President, and neither of those probabilities are very high.

Trust me, you are not in your personal hell. It can get so much worse.
Imagine you are in a world quite literally built of casino levers, each rolling a new set of die, spinning the wheel, etc. Every step would set Lady Luck against you. Imagine a world laid atop the nightmarish face of Lady Luck, a corrupted nasty thing. She could lick her lips excitedly at someone's suffering or success, and end millions. Lay to sleep on the ground and wonder whether your head will explode with a claymore mine or win the lottery and get your family to chase you. There is a bottomless chasm beneath these gold levers, and all of them affect each other. If you are unlucky, someone pushing the lever could be winning the lottery on the other side of the continent while sending you and thousands to their death with no warning. The weather is heavy and relentless, and while you already have your hands full dealing with being a slave mindcontrolled by the injections that those at the top (due to luck) get to use on others, you could be impaled by a random stalagmite at any moment.
I could go on and on, but this is for you to be thinking of it. Not me. This is just to give you ideas for something more original.

That's pretty fuckin' bad, I will admit, but when I think of "hell" I think of the maximum amount of torture. That's a terrifying world you've crafted, but it lacks one crucial component: hope. The hope that somehow, someday, you'll be able to escape that torment. That's what makes this world so horrifying already. There's always the chance you can escape. There's always the opportunity.

But it never comes. It's Zeno's Paradox. You move toward an unreachable goal forever, destined to wander the path of mediocrity until you return to whence you came. What's pain without pleasure? What's despair without hope? What's rage without calm?

That's why I don't think it's possible for any hell, fictional or not, to trump this one. Endless pain sounds bad, yeah, but you already know what you're getting into. You already know that's all that's going to happen. Is it going to suck? Yes. It's going to be horrible for an eternity, but in my opinion no amount of physical pain can compare to the absolute emotional devastation that sucks your soul out when you see all your dreams shattered.

 

[BearlyAlive]

A world ruled by Influencers and bureaucrats where your worth is measured by how many likes or followers you have on social media or by how many scandals you can cause in a certain amount of time, a world where idiots get into power just because they're louder or have more money. A world where entertainment is forced to reflect reality instead of offering an escape from it, and they're forced to conform to the standards of those who don't consume them.

Wait, the wrong description, that's reality. My personal hell would have harem protagonists in it. Plus the above.

 

[GoodPerson]

A world ruled by Influencers and bureaucrats where your worth is measured by how many likes or followers you have on social media or by how many scandals you can cause in a certain amount of time, a world where idiots get into power just because they're louder or have more money. A world where entertainment is forced to reflect reality instead of offering an escape from it, and they're forced to conform to the standards of those who don't consume them.

Wait, the wrong description, that's reality. My personal hell would have harem protagonists in it. Plus the above.

That's reality+ my friend. I've seen this happen once in an asian country with red and white colored flags. Well, one particular businessmen ran a harem and of course, he's filthy rich.

 

[Lloyd]

Actual hell, because nothing is worse than eternal separation from God.

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

A heavenly world full of sunshine and free time, but there is no escape from the light. And I am completely alone with only my thoughts.

 

[SailusGebel]

World with unlimited amount of fiction that perfectly suits my taste, yet not a single one of them is finished.

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

World with unlimited amount of fiction that perfectly suits my taste, yet not a single one of them is finished.

All of them are fanfiction.

 

[SailusGebel]

All of them are fanfiction.

Nah, I will simply not read them.

 

[RavenRunes]

this is my personal hell.






I never said I didn't have agency in this hell.

 

[MintiLime]

1. l can now see “judgements” Good (Green) and Bad (Red)

2. These judgements are determined by a systematic standard that I do not have access to.

3. Anxiety and Paranoia are amplified by Karmic Obsession with said Judgements.

For example, this would lead to me speaking to someone, during which time I would see a judgement of “Bad.” With each glance at the “Judgement,” my Anxiety would be increased as Punishment.

This “Bad” could have meant the person was hungry, or that they are a bad person, or that they don’t like me, or that they feel bad for me, or any number of things.

4. Self-Judgements are possible. Judgements are not all external. Some are determined by myself, the self being labeled, or third parties unrelated to oneself. One can see the Judgements upon oneself in any reflective substance.

Love the concept!
I do wonder what it would be as an actual hell though...
The theme is here, but where is the world?

Maybe I should just say yes. If I say yes then I can at least experience something worthwhile. I can do something for once.

The horror of your current situation does not escape you. After being chosen by the Deity of Charity, your mortal soul has been separated from your immoral soul. Now, as a human it may seem strange that you have both, but everyone has both, actually. You only learned that afterwards, though.

Your immortal soul is bound to the Wishing Well. No, it is not one you throw a coin into. It is a well of ink, black and dark and nasty to live in. You should know. Half of your consciousness at any given time is consumed by this liquid experience.

You feel excruciating pain almost every moment as Temple Monks dip the finest brushes into your immortal self’s squid-paradise personal-cesspit. The ink is spread onto thin porcelain sheets in runic symbols. Thereafter, the sheets are fired, lending a beautiful rainbow glaze to the disgusting black. The heat is excruciating. Imagine your finger being cut off each day and then baked in a pie. But you can still feel the finger.

Your mortal soul is free to wander the world at leisure. Well, leisure being in a state of eternal enslavement.

Every time a citizen of the city needs help with even the most mundane of tasks, they shatter the porcelain plate. (Remember that finger? Now it’s been baked AND all it’s bones have been shattered).

Mundane tasks are pretty much all that’s left to be done, what with the Deities taking care of all the REAL problems.

You can deny these tasks, but then someone somewhere else is going to shatter a wish plaque somewhere and then the next step they appear before you and you aren’t where you were but you’re not where they are but you’re in this sort of limbo and-

AAAAAAAA!

You can’t take it anymore.

Maybe I should just say yes. If I say yes then I can at least experience something worthwhile. I can do something for once.

 

[RepresentingEnvy]

Nah, I will simply not read them.

You are forced to. It's Hell.

 

[SailusGebel]

You are forced to. It's Hell.

Okay, I will read them.