Quotes / Don't Fear the Reaper

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Anime and Manga

"Seriously? Death goes 'ding ding ding?'"

— Yusuke Urameshi upon meeting Botan, YuYu Hakusho

"Do not fear death. Death is always at our side. When we show fear, it jumps at us faster than light, but if we do not show fear, it casts its eye upon us gently and then guides us into infinity..."

— Laughing Bull, Cowboy Bebop

Comic Books

"I am Hades. Most inevitable of the gods. Only those who have wasted life need fear me — for the underworld holds no terror for the innocent, wise, and brave."

— Hades in Wonder Woman Vol 2 12

"She is the bridge to Eternity. Her caress is peace. Do not fear her for she is merely that which awaits us all."

— Thanos in Death of Captain Marvel graphic novel

Fan Works

Death: You don't have to be afraid of me. I am not something to fear.
Laurel: You want to take me away.
Death: We all go away in the end. This is the way of the world. Did you think your story would end differently? Sooner or later, we will all have to leave. [pause] I know you may not believe this now, but I am not a punishment. I am a result of being alive. And you, Ms. Lance, were alive. Look out the window. Look at all the light you've taken with you.

— How the Light Gets In

Film

"The Black Rabbit serves Lord Frith. He does no more than his appointed task."

— Watership Down

Literature

"You see? Even Death has a heart."

— Death, The Book Thief

"OH LORD, WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT FOR THE CARE OF THE REAPER MAN?"

— Death to Azrael, Reaper Man

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.

— Emily Dickinson, "Because I could not stop for Death"

[...] "You see us as Guardians of the Gate, but we are more than that. We are — or will become — the new arbiters, for as long as is necessary. [...] In all our guises, Destriant, we shall be more than the Reaper ever was. We are not distant. Not indifferent. You see, unlike Hood, we remember what it was to be alive. We remember each and every moment of yearning, of desperate need, the anguish that comes when no amount of beseeching earns a single instant's reprieve, no pleading yields a moment's mercy. We are here, Destriant. When no other choice remains, call upon us."

[...] Gasping, she stared up at the unnamed soldier as tears filled her eyes. "This... this is not the death I imagined."''

— The Guardians of the Dead taking the place of '''Hood, God of Death''' in the Malazan Book of the Fallen

The world stopped shaking.
Northstrider stared into the reflective black surface of his codex. The turmoil calmed, and the message it had displayed—[A destroyer has come]—now flickered out.
It was replaced with a new message, and if the previous one had brought with it the chaos of panic, this one came along with the silence of the grave.
White letters on a black surface declared: [The Destroyer has come.]

— Cradle Series, book 10: Reaper

And after a while, with his face towards the morning, Death out of the marshes came up tall and beautiful, and with a faint smile shadowy on his lips, and lifted in his arms the lonely man, being gentle with him, and murmuring with his low deep voice an ancient song, carried him to the morning, to the gods.

— Lord Dunsany, "On the Dry Land"

Live-Action TV

"I mean, people feel as pleased to be born as if they did it themselves, but they get hurt and upset and shaken when they die. But eventually, I learned that all they need is a kind word and a friendly face."

— Death, The Sandman (2022), "The Sound of Her Wings"

Wanda: You tricked me! It was you all the time.
Harold/Mr. Death: Yes. I tricked you.
Wanda: But why? The moment I let you inside, you could have taken me. Anytime. But you were nice. You made me trust you.
Harold/Mr. Death: But I had to make you understand. Am I really so bad? Am I really so frightening? You've talked to me. You've confided in me. Have I tried to hurt you? It isn't me you're afraid of. You understand me. What you're afraid of is the unknown. Don't. Don't be afraid.
Wanda: But I am afraid.
Harold/Mr. Death: The running's over. It’s time to rest. [offers his hand to Wanda] Give me your hand.
Wanda: But I don't want to die.
Harold/Mr. Death: Trust me.
Wanda: No... No...
Harold/Mr. Death: Mother... Give me your hand. [Wanda hesitantly takes his hand, causing him to smile] You see? No shock. No engulfment. No tearing asunder. What you feared would come like an explosion is like a whisper. What you thought was the end is the beginning.
Wanda: When will it happen? When will we go?
Harold/Mr. Death: Go? Look. [draws Wanda's attention to her bed, revealing Wanda's body peacefully resting there] We have already begun.

— The Twilight Zone (1959), "Nothing in the Dark"

Lana: I don't think I can do this anymore. Death would be better. I used to be scared of it, but I'm not afraid anymore.
Shachath: Just let go. I'm right here with you.

— American Horror Story: Asylum, "Dark Cousin"

Music

Seasons don't fear the reaper
Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain
(We can be like they are)
Come on baby
(Don't fear the reaper)
Baby take my hand
(Don't fear the reaper)

— Blue Öyster Cult, "Don't Fear the Reaper"

I'm here for you
Now I lay you down to sleep
Pray that I your soul will keep
Don't be afraid
Only death divides us
You will die before you wake
Pray that I your soul will take
Don't be afraid
Only death unites us

— "Reaper", Keldian

"The candle is burning low
At the window to my soul
The reaper is at my door now
He's come to take me home"

—London After Midnight, "Sacrifice"

Video Games

Hiyoko Tousaka: I'll be counting on you next time something happens!
Death: Try not to give me too much more work to do, okay?
Hiyoko: What? But that's why we're friends!
Sakuya: She's friends... with Death...!?

— Hatoful Boyfriend

Webcomics

DEATH has been waiting for you. He has poured you some TEA.

— Problem Sleuth

Reaper: WHAT'S UP, MORTALS
Sebastian: W-whoa.
Reaper: DAMN RIGHT, WHOA.

— True Villains

"Heaven is real. You're going there. We have booze."

— Death, Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, "Death 8"

Web Original

I waited for death to wrap his
frail hands around my neck and
feed me to the unknown

but he just took my hand, fingers
laced between my own
and smiled

— dearspineless, "we shouldn't be so afraid of death"

Mori Calliope: So many good people, gone before their time... Why?! Please, tell me!
Death-Sensei: I don't know.
Mori Calliope: What?
Death-Sensei: I don't know why death comes for all living things.
Mori Calliope: Even Death does not know...
Death-Sensei: But that's why we're here, Mori. If death is inevitable, then should it not come as a friend? If everyone is going to die, then let us send them off with a hug and a wave.

— hololive, "Don't Fear the Reaper"

The nature of his line of work,
Led some to think he was a jerk.
And though he was considered grim,
I found myself grow fond of him.

— "Tea With Death", a cooperative poem

Death gods are not as heartless as movies depict us as. It can be difficult. Because I know that every time I make a mortal friend, I will have to guide them through the halls of the dead in the end and say goodbye.

— Anubis, We Are Our Avatars

Death: It's time to go.
Dead (person/being/thing): Was I a good (person/being/thing)?
Death: No. I'm told you were the best.

— Memetic Mutation (replace 'person/being' with someone/something respected who just died)

Western Animation

"Shall we go then? Into the mystery?"

—Death of the Endless to Vincent, DC Showcase: Death

There is much to fear...but not death, for it brings meaning to life...

— The Matron of Ravens, The Legend of Vox Machina

Real Life

"Not a bad chap when you get to know him (and sooner or later, everyone gets to know him)."

— Terry Pratchett

Noli Timere Messorem (Don't fear the reaper)

— Terry Pratchett's motto after his knighthood

"Death is such a cinnamon roll! What a great guy to transition people out of this life and into the next."

— Lindsay Ellis on Death as he appears in The Twilight Zone (1959) episode "Nothing in the Dark".

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