[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/HellgateLondon https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/postapocalyptic_london.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The book of humanity closes and the words "The End" are given upon us all, yet the story continues in a new location: HellOnEarth.]]

->"''But it was not, as some had predicted, the end of the world. Instead, the apocalypse was simply the prologue to another bloody chapter in human history.''"
-->-- ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' OpeningMonologue

%% Quote changed per this (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1327331003042025100&page=184#4598) thread. Please post there before adding or changing the quote.

[[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Something hugely nasty]] has happened to humanity. Be it nuclear war (which was once very popular but has gone out of vogue, in part due to the end of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar), ThePlague (which currently seems to be the most popular), natural disaster (which some view as the most likely to happen in the near future in RealLife despite nuclear war being far deadlier and still very possible), [[WorldWreckingWave supernatural disaster]] (usually the case with a SealedEvilInACan or missing CosmicKeystone), devastating [[GaiasLament environmental changes]] (which, in this kind of fiction, happen too quickly for civilisation to adapt), a ZombieApocalypse (also hugely popular these days), or an AlienInvasion (God help us if ''that'' one happens)—most (if not ''[[HumanitysWake all]]'') of humanity is gone.

The result is generally that you have the remnants of humanity fighting to survive in a hellish and devastated CrapsackWorld full of SceneryGorn, [[GhostCity Ghost Cities]] and a lot of nastiness in every corner of whatever remains of past civilization. This environment is perhaps also a ScavengerWorld which may have pieces of SchizoTech and LostTechnology (or even WeirdScience) here and there, but also where people inevitably degrade down to DisasterScavengers and {{Crazy Survivalist}}s, for whom staying alive may well mean being ReducedToRatburgers or [[NoPartyLikeADonnerParty worse]], especially if they're TooDesperateToBePicky. The world often becomes a PointsOfLightSetting, with enclaves of survivors separated by long stretches of wastelands and dangerous wilderness and connected by fragmentary and unreliable roads. If enough time has passed, those BornAfterTheEnd may hear stories of TheBeforetimes from those few who survived the catastrophe, trying to impress upon the children what [[GloryDays humanity was]] and still is capable of. Expect a FishOutOfTemporalWater who SleptThroughTheApocalypse to wake up to see their world changed. At any point in the setting an ApocalypticLog may be found to explain exactly why the world was devastated in the first place, and/or an ArchaeologicalArmsRace might break out to reclaim the old world's technology.

Large civilizations that were able to recover or at least preserved can include a DividedStatesOfAmerica and [[BalkanizeMe multiple interwarring states fighting each other for the corpses of a former superpower]], a {{Dystopia}} struggling to survive, or a DaysOfFuturePast with a FutureImperfect attempt to recreate happier times.

In any post-apocalyptic story created after the release of ''Film/MadMax'', it is almost assured that the obvious and natural way for the world to look after a civilisation-destroying cataclysm is "the Australian Outback". ''[[StandardPostApocalypticSetting There is no need to explain this. Global catastrophe turns the world into a gangster-infested anarchist]] WretchedHive [[DeathWorld Australia]]. It just follows logically.'' However, in any After the End story created around the 1950s, expect to see plenty of {{Nuclear Mutant}}s due to RuleOfCool. Additionally, if civilisation is depicted after a BizarroApocalypse, expect [[RealityIsOutToLunch things to be really strange]].

Related, if not quite the same, [[DarkAgeEurope is the period immediately after the fall of Rome]]; most {{Film}} and TV set in this time tend to depict it as a time of post-apocalyptic anarchist savagery populated by interwarring warlords; medieval Europeans also tended to perceive themselves as a diminished people living among the ruins of a greater, fallen world. Thus, After the End stories will reference historical parallels about humanity's decay into MedievalMorons [[TheDungAges wallowing in filth and superstition]], fighting for survival, and [[BurnTheWitch exterminating any "mutants" with fire]]. In fact, while there was a significant increase in banditry and piracy, most areas were peaceful most of the time. Fantasy series (especially {{JRPG}}s) are chock full of ancient, highly advanced civilizations that met their end and pitted humanity into a long Dark Age in a similar manner.


If you're really lucky, you may get a CosyCatastrophe, in which case it's best to be friendly and humane, but also adaptable and brave. Of course, that's not a bad personality in RealLife. If you're really unlucky, the only ones left to mourn at HumanitysWake will be robots, {{mutants}} and aliens. Or dogs -- you just better hope you [[PostApocalypticDog brought yours along for the ride]], and it stays faithful...

While this is a legitimate trope, like LukeIAmYourFather, it's also a very [[StockEpilepticTrees popular fan theory]] for shows that [[ConstructedWorld don't seem to take place in our world]].

Compare JustBeforeTheEnd, EndOfAnAge, FromCataclysmToMyth. Not to be confused with TheStinger, an after the end credits scene. See also SoiledCityOnAHill and DepopulationBomb. The people who lived before the end will often come to be seen as {{Precursors}} of some stripe or another.

JustForFun/NotToBeConfusedWith PostEndgameContent, which allows you to keep on playing after the end of a game.

%%If you have time, please take time to put examples in alphabetical order. This page Administrivia/HowToAlphabetizeThings should help you with that.
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!!Example subpages:
[[index]]
* AfterTheEnd/AnimeAndManga
* AfterTheEnd/ComicBooks
* AfterTheEnd/FanWorks
* AfterTheEnd/{{Film}}
* AfterTheEnd/{{Literature}}
* AfterTheEnd/LiveActionTV
* AfterTheEnd/{{Music}}
* AfterTheEnd/TabletopGames
* AfterTheEnd/VideoGames (including VisualNovels)
* AfterTheEnd/{{Webcomics}}
* AfterTheEnd/WesternAnimation
* AfterTheEnd/RealLife
[[/index]]

!!Other examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Asian Animation]]
* In ''Animation/LingLongIncarnation'' the world is a barren wasteland, covered in the ruins of once advanced cities. It's also a setting rarely explored in Chinese works of fiction, as noted [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGVyXYB3GU8 here.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Audioplay]]
* ''AudioPlay/TheCartographersHandbook'': Humanity has been all but wiped out by a plague that turns people into savage monsters called Wendigos.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* Near the end of Johnny Hart's life, he revealed ''ComicStrip/{{BC}}'' to take place [[spoiler: in a post-apocalyptic world by having new character Anno Domini have copies of, among other things, phone books and The Bible in his cave. So it was EarthAllAlong sorta.]]
* The infamous Halloween 1989 ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' storyline (Oct 23-28) has the title character [[spoiler: finding himself in a seemingly post-apocalyptic world (or at least living in a long-abandoned house)]]. This has led fans to wonder if this is the true setting of the strip.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Magazine]]
* ''{{Magazine/Analog}}'': The [[Recap/Analog1941 March 1941 cover]] has the ''Art/StatueOfLiberty'' overgrown and being visited by two people on a raft wearing skimpy leather clothing, indicating that some disaster has happened many years ago.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Podcasts]]
* Two variations show up during the Gemini arc of ''Podcast/{{Sequinox}}''.
** The first is set in a world where [[spoiler: Sequinox accepts the offer to join the Sky Queen and end up taking over the world]].
** The second is [[spoiler: in a world where the Stars decided to stop MonsterOfTheWeek plans and invade as soon as Scorpius is defeated, forcing the surviving humans to hide in underground bunkers while Sequinox struggles to fight off their endless army.]]
* ''Podcast/TheAdventureZoneEthersea'' takes place in the underwater city of Founders' Wake. Twenty-five years before the start of the campaign, a magical storm wiped out the entire surface world, forcing humanity to move under the sea in order to survive.
* ''Podcast/LifeInTheWorldToCome'' is about giving advice on how to survive the approaching apocalypse after the bombs drop.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Roleplay]]
* ''Roleplay/BattleActionHaremHighschoolSideCharacterQuest'' is set 58 years after [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the Antagonists]] have invaded Earth.
* The ''Roleplay/DarwinsSoldiers'' tie-in story ''Card of Ten'' takes place on a post-apocalyptic [[AlternateUniverse Antimatter Earth]].
* Roleplay/DinoAttackRPG takes place in the aftermath of an apocalypse at the hands of mutant dinosaurs, though its not entirely objecting to the possibility of reconstruction. The alternate ending ''December 21, 2010'', on the other hand, takes this up so high it makes ''Literature/TheRoad'' look ''optimistic'' in comparison.
* In ''Roleplay/TheGamersAlliance'', all the stories have been set some time after the most recent catastrophic event that has taken place in the world. The most recent story arc takes place over a decade after the Cataclysm which shattered continents, gave rise to the terrifying Godslayer and allowed demon hordes to invade the world en masse.
* Roleplay/AGeeksGuideDeathworldEarth is set 7 years after the accidental release of an alien Bioweapon on Earth that mutated all Fauna, and 5 years after an ancient self-replicating weapon crash landed on it.
* In ''Roleplay/WereAnimalsInAPostApocalypticTown'', most of the world became infested with monsters many generations before the main characters were born, making it difficult for most people to venture outside the town walls and largely isolating the towns and settlements from the outside world.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Scripts]]
* ''Script/C0DA'' is an "[[LooseCanon obscure text]]" written by former ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series writer (and occasional freelance contributor) Creator/MichaelKirkbride (with support from current Bethesda writer Kurt Kuhlmann). [[HumongousMecha Numidium]] has made Landfall. The [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Thalmor]] won, [[TimeCrash time is unbound]], Nirn is uninhabitable, and the survivors eke out a living under the surface of [[WeirdMoon the moon]]. Humans are ambiguously extinct, as the only races seen in the comic outside of flashbacks are [[OurElvesAreDifferent Dunmer]], [[CatFolk Khajiit]], and [[WiseTree Hist]]. In the ''Morrowind'' expansion for ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline'', the URL for the ''[=C0DA=]'' website is referenced (in code), making it something of a CanonImmigrant EasterEgg.
--> ''"Go here: '''w'''orld '''w'''ithout '''w'''heel, '''c'''harting '''zero''' '''d'''eaths, '''a'''nd '''e'''choes '''s'''inging," Seht said, until all of it was done, and in the center was anything whatever.''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theatre]]
* The misanthropic recluse, Hamm, his servant Clov, and Hamm's parents Nagg and Nell appear to be among the last survivors of humanity in Creator/SamuelBeckett's ''Theatre/{{Endgame}}''.
* ''Theatre/MrBurnsAPostElectricPlay'', by Anne Washburn, takes place after a catastrophic event that seems to combine post-nuke and PostPeakOil. In the first act it's established that humans are keeping alive distorted memories of their old culture - notably ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' -- through oral tradition. The second act takes place decades later after [[FromBadToWorse another apocalypse]].
* ''Theatre/TheLastBreakfastClub'' is a musical sequel to ''Film/TheBreakfastClub'', in which the film took place on the day of [[NukeEm nuclear holocaust]], with the seven main characters being the sole survivors. The musical takes place years later, as they survive in the school building and contemplate leaving to attempt at restarting society.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Toys]]
* The Bara Magna setting in ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'', the DesertPunk remains of a larger planet after an EarthShatteringKaboom. Also, the AlternateUniverse known as The Kingdom, where Matoro failed to save Mata Nui, and so those who escaped the ensuing collapse migrated en masse to the surface, creating a new society on the Island of Mata Nui.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* ''WebAnimation/ApocalypseLane'': The setting, due to a nuclear war. It's a comedy series, so everything is PlayedForLaughs.
* ''WebAnimation/BrawlUniverse'' takes place after the events of Subspace Emissary in Smash Bros. Brawl, and has the characters dealing with the aftermath and impact that those events left on the world.
* ''WebAnimation/{{Dinosauria}}'': The [[DownerEnding final episode]], ''The Last Tyrant'', is set at the very end of both the Cretaceous Period and the Mesozoic Era, where the once thriving world of the dinosaurs has been reduced to a barren wasteland full of starving, injured, dead, and dying dinosaurs after the asteroid impact. PrehistoricMonster is averted in an '''[[TearJerker extremely heartbreaking]]''' way, as it shows that the dinosaurs were majestic creatures that ended up falling victim to a tragedy beyond comprehension.
* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': [[spoiler:In the distant past, the gods lived among humans, until a woman named Salem tried to trick them into resurrecting her lost love Ozma. As punishment, they gave her CompleteImmortality, which she then used to raise an army to attack them. They responded by wiping out the entire human race and abandoning the planet, leaving Salem to wander alone. Eventually, humanity returned with only a semblance of their power and a remnant of their civilization. Now, thousands of years later, humanity is unaware that they are trapped in a ForeverWar between Salem and Ozma, as Ozma tries to unite humanity so that he can summon back the gods and restore the world, while Salem fights against him out of spite and vengeance]].
%%* A common interpretation of ''WebAnimation/SaladFingers''' location.
* The main premise of the Halo based machinima "WebAnimation/ShadowsOfThePast" is a nuclear war took place in the time frame of 1970-2020. Based on the fact the characters are always referencing pop culture of this time period. This could also be RuleOfFunny This is PlayedForLaughs since it's a comedy series.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Websites]]
* Several stories on Website/Everything2, including (but not limited to):
** [[http://everything2.com/user/cassparadox/writeups/Electrocuted+crows+hung+the+wrong+way+up+on+the+power+lines%252C+smoking+feathers+falling+like+leaves.?author=cassparadox Electrocuted crows hung the wrong way up on the power lines, smoking feathers falling like leaves]], which follows [[FinalGirl Caramia]] as she [[ActionSurvivor scrounges]] for something [[HorrorHunger to drink]].
** [[http://everything2.com/title/if+i%2527m+right%252C+you%2527ll+be+here+to+read+this+any+day+now#misterfuffie If I'm right, you'll be here to read this any day now]]. An ApocalypticLog as the world is being destroyed in a sci-fi-ish [[Myth/NorseMythology Ragnarok]]
* In ''Website/GoodbyeStrangers'', the ''Dead Cities'' module is set an unspecified amount of time after ''Primer'' and ''Module II'', after something caused [[spoiler:entire cities to disappear]]. WordOfGod doesn't specify if this was because of the Strangers or something else entirely.
** The ''Walltown'' module does this again, but with a worldwide flood that appears to have [[spoiler:wiped out many, if not all strangers, and judging by the unnatural red water may have even been caused by strangers]]. What connection if any it has to ''Dead Cities'' is unclear.
** Heck, even the ''Primer'' module might be this, considering that the appendices talk about strangers and sensitives in ''[[FridgeHorror past tense.]]''
* ''Website/SCPFoundation''
** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-419 SCP-419 ("Window to the World")]]. SCP-419 is a window to another reality that looks upon a cityscape. At some point a war occurred and the city was devastated, with buildings burning and reduced to rubble.
** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/shaggydredlocks-proposal S. D. Locke's proposal ("When Day Breaks")]]. The premise of this SCP-001 proposal is the Sun becoming anomalous. Any sunlight that comes into contact with organic matter effectively turns it into invincible, living goo with an urge to infect others, quickly turning most of the world's population into puddles. The tale itself chronicles the researchers and agents holding out for as long as they can, and ends with a horrific poem that evokes a mental image of {{Body Horror}}.
* The ''Website/{{Springhole}}'' article ''[[https://springhole.net/writing/apocalyptic-cataclysmic-plot-scenario.htm So You Want An Apocalypse/Cataclysm In Your Plot?]]'' addresses the different apocalyptic scenarios and the problems apparent with them, as well as recommendations for developing these kinds of scenarios well.
* The world of ''Website/TaerelSetting'' has the Age of Shattering and Age of Awakening set after a [[{{ZombieApocalypse}} Vampire Apocalypse]]
%%* Website/TheWanderersLibrary story[[http://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/the-cafe The Cafe]], among others.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Videos]]
%%* ''WebVideo/BradJonesDemoReel'' turned out to take place during this.
* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'': The main three campaigns are set in a world called Exandria over 800 years after the conclusion of the Calamity, a century-long war between the Good- and Neutral-aligned Prime Deities and the Evil-aligned Betrayer Gods, and the resulting cataclysms wiped out two-thirds of Exandria's population. The Calamity eventually ended with all of the gods being sealed away beyond the Divine Gate in what is known as the Divergence, and Exandria's dates are abbreviated PD ("Post-Divergence") to reflect this.
* ''WebVideo/EndTimes'' begins three months after a messy virus (that somehow involved gross swelling) wipes out most of the population past their mid-twenties.
* ''WebVideo/TheFinalMinutes'': ''Zombie Plague'' takes place years after the world was ravaged by the XMNV virus, and [[spoiler:the resulting nuclear apocalypse that rose from attempting to sterilize and destroy it]].
* [[http://vimeo.com/31894179 ROSA]]: The titular Rosa is set after humans left cyborgs to fix the ecosystem they destroyed by causing all natural life to disappear.
* ''WebVideo/StampysLovelyWorld'': One of the [[ShowWithinAShow scary movies]] watched in the 2017 HalloweenEpisode, "Block of the Dead", takes place in a ruined version of the Lovely World with all its current residents missing, inhabited by a couple of people trying to survive the ZombieApocalypse.
* WebVideo/URealmsLive: Every Campaign (save for the 2nd quarter of ''Senate of Deadlantis'') takes place after a catastrophic event known as the '''Birth of Magic''': The Sun Dragon Phanto died and turned into the moon, removing the immortality of the Elves who then proceeded to slaughter each other. 90% of the original Elves died. On top of that, Phanto's death corrupted his 6 Children (Ouro'ras, Quintara Lotus, Yvander, Vlarunga, Rokesh and Golestandt) into being the bearers of the 6 major schools of Magic, and these Magics allowed the Dragons to be able to create new races, which they did. Also, Gnomes appeared out of no where, and no one to this day knows why.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other]]
* ''WebOriginal/BosunsJournal'': The broken era comes in the wake of the corpocaste culture destroying itself in a devastating war. One of the four habitat cylinders is left entirely shattered and open to the void; the Bosun is forced to halt the rotation of another to prevent the now-uneven rotational stresses from tearing the ship apart, which has the side effect of collapsing its society by suddenly forcing it into zero gravity; and the outmost cylinder, cut off from the rest by the destruction of habitat two, is left without access to water supplies and slowly turns into a desert. What follows are a few million years of steady decay as society breaks down into increasingly small groups of scavengers, hunter-gatherers and decadent enclaves of the descendants of former elites, all of which steadily decline in technology and social complexity until they either die out or [[FormerlySapientSpecies become simple animals]]. In the end, after the last sapient human dies, history transitions into a period of tens of millions of years where only animals inhabit the ''Nebukadnezar'' until, eventually, new sapient species emerge.
* [[http://www.ubernorden.com Tales of Ubernorden]] is set some time after a golden age is destroyed.
[[/folder]]
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