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Describe Your Death In a Few Sentences

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Moerin (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#26: Feb 16th 2011 at 8:31:59 AM

Hmmm... Well, "Death" in my universe, as well as most other abstract concepts like the other Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Time, Hope, Despair, etc. are all hereditory positions, passed down the family line from generation to generation. Of course, they're all still pretty long lived, but eventually like all things they succumb to, uh, death (for want of a better word), or they retire or something similar.

Ahem. But anyways, the current Death is a teenage girl called Karen who inherited the position from her father Mortis, who in turn inherited if from his father Thanatos, who in turn inherited it from his father Osiris, who... Etc. etc. Karen is about average height, and her incredibly pale skin and pronounced cheekbones give her face a somewhat skull-like visage. This is somewhat offset by her bubblegum pink bobcut and similar coloured eyes. She wears a black hooded sweatshirt (her father insisted that she at least look somewhat the part) and a black knee-length skirt, and is always carrying a fishing rod, which she uses rather than the traditional scythe to "catch" the souls of the departed (also, to, um, fish. For some reason I thought it'd be a fun quirk to have Death be a fan of fishing, but then I have no idea how my mind works sometimes). Karen is pretty much the deadpan snarker type, especially when her latest catch suffered some ironic fate, but she's in no way a bad person. Or, uh, a good person. All she cares about is that she has something to catch, and she cares not where it came from.

...Gaaah I think I rambled on a bit there. Uh... Kinda wish my actual writing came out this easily, ahah. >.>

edited 16th Feb '11 2:04:09 PM by Moerin

Icalasari Warble from Alberta, Canada Since: Jan, 2001
Warble
#27: Feb 20th 2011 at 12:39:19 AM

Two of them exist:

Main one: A giant bat with a height in the 60 foot area and a wingspan in the 100's. He is completely black, save for a few ivory white lines along his body, and his eyes are blood red. He is able to manipulate darkness and make miniature versions of himself, so his size doesn't keep him from gathering souls

Other one: A piece of Chaos, his touch can (can, not will. He can control it) cause death. He will gather souls if the mood suits him. He has a dark grey body with a long, slender head. The cloak is also dark grey and is actually skin (one can see this when he has his hood down). His blood red eyes glow. He has long arms and long, ancient fingers. He has no legs, but a long, ghost-like tail. He has a scythe that has a gnarled wooden staff. He has a mental connection to it, and can control it from any distance away. One cut from the blade will cause rapid (as in your whole body will be gone in, at most, a few hours) decomposition, starting from the wound. Even touching the metal can cause the decomposition, although it is not guaranteed in that case

I wonder what a strip tease from a creature made of souls would be like?
Vyctornian Toph-Nata from City of Adventure Since: Feb, 2011
Toph-Nata
#28: Feb 20th 2011 at 2:10:51 AM

My death is a older teenager, he has pure white hair, and orange eyes. (Neither of which are common in this setting). He wears a black zip up jacket and a pair of black baggy pants, he is the decoy protagonist, and he isn't confirmed to be death until the last chapter though it is hinted at in earlier ones. 95% of the story has no supernatural elements to it.

edited 20th Feb '11 2:11:16 AM by Vyctornian

"Every anime character is bisexual until proven otherwise." - A comment a found on youtube.
doorhandle Since: Oct, 2010
#29: Feb 20th 2011 at 2:36:59 AM

Hmmm... I have no death as such, but I do have the embodiment of destruction, which is sort of the elephant version of C’thulhu.

He’s actually a pretty decent guy, though. Very jolly.

Dagobitus Since: Aug, 2010
#30: Feb 20th 2011 at 10:58:35 AM

Dungeons And Dragons: Party do something stupid and die.

GM: (puts a skellington figure) This guy is tall and thin. He wears a black robe and over his shoulder, he carries ...

PC: (expecting standard Death) A scythe!

GM: No, an oar and he says "I AM CHARON, FERRYMAN OF THE DEAD."

GM: (puts another skellie figure)

Charon: AND THIS IS MY FRIEND, TRACHEY.

Trachey is a skellie in a black robe, but her robe billows out where her boobs and bum would be.

This is a pune on Charon, the Ferryman versus Sharon and Tracey, the archetypal Chavs.

edited 20th Feb '11 10:59:22 AM by Dagobitus

doorhandle Since: Oct, 2010
#31: Feb 20th 2011 at 9:32:37 PM

That is hillarous in the worst possible way.evil grin

FrodoGoofballCoTV from Colorado, USA Since: Jan, 2001
#32: Feb 20th 2011 at 10:56:54 PM

From Fortress Celestia, Terennas is an amalgm of Kelemvor and Velsharoon from Forgotten Realms, and Grim from The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy. He's a lich, a deity, and the only thing he hates more than his job, is arrogant "immortal" mortals, such as elves and dragons.

edited 20th Feb '11 11:01:01 PM by FrodoGoofballCoTV

Narrator45 Since: May, 2010
#33: Feb 21st 2011 at 5:15:02 PM

There are about four Death-related beings in my story.

  • First, Death of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse who is rather benign due to the fact he hasn't been summoned to the mortal world yet. Save for a run-in with one of the hero adventure groups who are assaulting Eden, and later as a summon-magic for a desperate situation.

  • Next is an Elven necromancer turned goddess that serves as more of a Hades-like figure, guarding and keeping the souls of the dead in their place.

  • Then there's Azrael, who only 'redeems' souls of people he feels died a beautiful death. Otherwise he leaves spirits to stay with their rotting bodies.

  • Finally, Samael who sends all spirits on their way equally. A bit snarky and he serves as The Mole for Lucifer's weaken rebellion for a while.

Gvzbgul from Middle Earth Since: Jul, 2010
#34: Mar 1st 2011 at 12:11:09 AM

The Grim Reaper crossed with the Eye of Sauron crossed with the unfinished pyramid. Maybe has a pair of scales. Glows with a golden light.

nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#35: Mar 1st 2011 at 5:24:21 PM

It's for keeps.

-Reads other entries-

Oh wait, this is about anthropomorphic deaths? I thought this was a post on the nature of deaths in your work - cheap, sudden, et cetera. I may need to make a thread for that.

Well then... I don't usually include one as a character, as I have a distaste for overly anthropomorphized gods/god-level beings. However, in the background mythologies of my fantasy setting, the death god is usually considered a pretty nice guy. Except in dwarf mythology.

edited 1st Mar '11 5:24:39 PM by nrjxll

Zolnier The Odd Lad from A suspiciously dull shop Since: Apr, 2009
The Odd Lad
#36: Mar 1st 2011 at 9:55:50 PM

The Angel of Death is a primary school history teacher for Tariq, son of Satan, and Josie, daughter of God.

Life's Gonna Suck When You Grow Up... But Is It That Great Now?... Also I'm Skylark2 now.
Sylizar Destroyer of Worlds from Canada Since: Aug, 2010
Destroyer of Worlds
#37: Mar 7th 2011 at 6:11:12 PM

My Death is essentially similiar in appearance to the common Death in media. Aside from the fact he has four heads (each facing in opposite directions) and eights arms, each wielding a different tool or weapon. And, like any Death worth a damn, he is (obviously) unkillable, and unavoidable (mostly).

SavageHeathen Pro-Freedom Fanatic from Somewhere Since: Feb, 2011
Pro-Freedom Fanatic
#38: Mar 9th 2011 at 10:03:33 AM

All Myths Are True, so technically every personification of Death "exists", From a Certain Point of View.

The men of the north believe in heavily armored, pale and red-headed warriors that ride huge ravens. They hunt the dead and bring them before the Gods and the Ancestors. They're grim figures, known for Black Humor.

The men from the plains are animistic, so they believe the vultures themselves grab the dead and turn them into spirits. Vultures are sacred for the folks of the plains.

Imperials believe Death to be some sort of Vigilante that awaits everyone at the end of their lives, a great equalizer: It comforts the afflicted and afflicts the contented. Benign Death Cults are common in the Empire, especially among the underclass.

The folks of the woods envision Death as a strange sorceress, whose role is to explain the mysteries of the world to the souls of the dead, before they return to the Earth and dissolve.

In this world, there is a Spirit World, shaped by the dreams of all creatures. It's not known if those spirits exist as actual sentient creatures, but they appear in dreams and visions, and people refer to them as metaphor in conversations.

edited 9th Mar '11 10:04:04 AM by SavageHeathen

You exist because we allow it and you will end because we demand it.
papercut Since: May, 2010
#39: Mar 9th 2011 at 10:16:55 AM

Urm, I have no personification of death per se, but the Creator of the world is the one destined to end it, and all souls are bound to 'pass by' her place during the cycle of reincarnation, so yeah. Most of the time she's 'dormant' unless it's the apocalypse schedule, but whenever she's 'active' she's a pretty cynical fellow. Still she's not happy trying to trigger the end of the world; she's rather fond of it, actually.

On the 'meta' level there's a band of beings whose job includes making sure worlds end on schedule (because sometimes, they don't; worlds can be stubborn). In reality, they look like cogs. Seriously. But they form humanoid projections out of convenience. They're supposedly stoic and detached from everything and everyone, but they're doing a very bad job at it. Their leader regularly 'recalibrates' (read: memory wipes) them in order to make them efficient again. And oh, they can't exist for long within worlds - their presence warps the laws of reality.

FrustratedRocka Since: Dec, 1969
#40: Mar 9th 2011 at 10:22:20 PM

I haven't used this yet, but I'm planning to. Death is the image of the character who happens to be dying at that particular time as a smiling, very young child, and not in a creepy way either. It's basically the universe's way of saying "Look how far you've come" and consoling the dying. Death is also somewhat willing to give a character a bit more time to get one last thing done as long as they swear they will eventually go of their own free will once their task is completed. Death knows when you're lying, and will flat out refuse the request of anyone who doesn't mean it.

SakuraTenshi Since: Nov, 2010
#41: Mar 16th 2011 at 7:52:00 PM

Not quite used, but usually whenever I used a death personification, they tend to be a goddess in a Pantheon. It seems strange, but they are also the Goddesses of life as well. In on story, Death both collects the dead (or sends others to) and guides them to the next life before reincarnation, because of how life and death are distributed equally, she is also seen as a Goddess of Justice and Law, on the flipside, she is also sometimes seen as a Goddess of Chaos and Anarchy for just how arbitrary both life and death and seem. The example I just gave was part of an exercise in my mind of developing one Pantheon for a whole world and wondering how each of the gods would end up with different interpretations.

And I just completely failed the "in a few sentences" part.

Luthen Char! from Down Under Burgess Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Playing Cupid
Char!
#42: Mar 17th 2011 at 12:34:02 AM

I only counted four sentences there. A lot more than a few clauses though. I like the idea of dualistic gods. I don't think my Death has changed much since my earlier post.

You must agree, my plan is sheer elegance in its simplicity! My Tumblr
Sylizar Destroyer of Worlds from Canada Since: Aug, 2010
Destroyer of Worlds
#43: Mar 17th 2011 at 1:06:22 PM

Interesting how people view Death.

Also forgot to mention that my Death is actually thousands, or hundreds of thousands of Deaths, but all are the same being.

Ettina Since: Apr, 2009
#44: Mar 24th 2011 at 7:59:34 AM

Only two of my settings have any dieties at all, but neither of them have death. In one, the Christian idea of Heaven/Hell is true, and everyone goes to one or the other. In the other, Heaven and Hell both exist, but so do the afterlifes of other mythologies (eg Valhalla, the Greek underworld, etc), and some people go to none of the above, instead wandering the multiverse as ghosts. This last group are sought out by the protagonists (who are trickster demi-gods) to help them travel from place to place.

If I'm asking for advice on a story idea, don't tell me it can't be done.
TheBorderPrince Just passing by... from my secret base Since: Mar, 2010
Just passing by...
#45: Mar 24th 2011 at 10:31:40 AM

Two members of the seemingly Hijacked by JesusCouncil of Angels that is ruling my world sometimes function as personificacions of death: Thrud, the Valkyrie daughter of Thor, and The Morrigan/Badb/Macha trippel-goddess. These two are however mainly fullfilling other duties.

The real Death is an angel with a scyte. Some might also see the Heralds of Death, signalling who and how many that will die: These are a boy with a rake and a girl with a broom.

There is also a legend in this world that if you die a voilent death will the last thing you see in your life be Surma, the Wolf-demon guarding the gates of the Afterlife, closing in for the kill...

I reject your reality and substitute my own!!!
papercut Since: May, 2010
#46: Mar 31st 2011 at 9:09:18 PM

In another setting I'm working upon, when someone's death day is near a Shade (an 'aspect' of Death) appears near that person. Particularly sensitive or terrified people may perceive these Shades (even their own). Shades aren't malevolent (usually) and have personalities; they also share a Hive Mind with 'active' Shades. When the person they're assigned to finally dies, the Shade takes the soul to 'Elsewhere', a place which no Shade has elaborated upon nor claim to know fully. When a Shade's job is done, it 'dissipates' back into the collective. A 'retired' Shade may reappear, but it rarely happens.

CrystalGlacia from at least we're not detroit (Living Relic)
#47: Apr 1st 2011 at 7:46:03 AM

I'll describe what happens to you when you die instead.

My 'verse allows for every last deity with any power that was ever believed in throughout human history to exist. Pagan gods such as Odin, Ra, Izanagi and Aphrodite all share company with the Abrahamic God, as do the various personifications of death. You may get to meet the one that your pantheon believes in.

"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
Zolnier The Odd Lad from A suspiciously dull shop Since: Apr, 2009
The Odd Lad
#48: Apr 1st 2011 at 8:13:39 AM

In my made up pantheon, the Death god is supreme and is considered wise and benevolent, for he ends suffering of the sick, injured, and old.

Life's Gonna Suck When You Grow Up... But Is It That Great Now?... Also I'm Skylark2 now.
Fancolors I draw stuff. from Land of the Mamelucos Since: Nov, 2010
I draw stuff.
#49: Apr 1st 2011 at 7:26:07 PM

Mine is a bald old man with a Badass Beard who wears a classy tuxedo, and he is sitting on a throne. He used to gather the souls from the deceased all by himself when he used to bee younger, but nowadays he's just too old for that kind of stuff, because of his old age he was forced to make contracts with whoever may be useful to gather souls. He may be harsh sometimes, but he really cares about his subordinates. Also, he has a twin brother who happens to be a Time Lord (no, not that one). Despite being older than dirt, he's mortal (although, quite hard to kill). Right now, he's looking for a successor, since he doesn't have much longer, same goes for his brother.

edited 1st Apr '11 7:26:26 PM by Fancolors

AdeptusAlpharius Alpha Legionnaire from Bosnia and Herzegovina Since: Dec, 2010
Alpha Legionnaire
#50: Apr 2nd 2011 at 2:02:33 PM

You Are Already Dead. That 's all folks!

edited 2nd Apr '11 2:03:22 PM by AdeptusAlpharius

I ♥ the VRS

Total posts: 51
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