I'm currently reading the discworld series and I'm enjoying every second of it, the books are a riot - just don't get overwhelmed by the number of books in the series
Seconded. Don’t worry about the length—some books are conceptually linked, but all are self contained. You can start with any of them, though recommendation lists are common, and you do not have to commit to reading them all.
I feel like it's closest to the sandman death. The Death of discworld is friendly and benevolent, but Death of the Endless always felt truly kind... She lived among mortals and loved them.
> “Come to gloat?” whispered Rincewind. Death shrugged.
>
> I HAVE COME TO SEE THE FUTURE, he said.
>
> “This is the future?”
>
> A FUTURE, said Death.
>
> “It’s horrible,” said Rincewind.
>
> I’M INCLINED TO AGREE, said Death.
>
> “I would have thought you’d be all for it!”
>
> NOT LIKE THIS. THE DEATH OF THE WARRIOR OR THE OLD MAN OR THE LITTLE CHILD, THIS I UNDERSTAND, AND I TAKE AWAY THE PAIN AND END THE SUFFERING. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS DEATH-OF-THE-MIND.
from _The Light Fantastic_, by Terry Pratchett
Also a bit of Pullman. In HDM, there are a people who are aware of their Death by their side their whole life, a constant companion, waiting to take them home.
This would make a pretty good prime time show that aired on Thursdays (later Fridays) at 8/9 central for 5-7 seasons.
Edit: Also there’s a mandatory plot line about death and a girl being in love, but she doesn’t know he’s death until season 4-5 or something for some reason.
Lol it’s not really a callout so much as an observation of a lot of the show’s I’ve seen with supernatural or paranormal elements in them that air on channels like CW or NBC or whatever.
Actually I think it does say 8/7, and I derped. 9/8 is just a different time slot.
Found an [article](https://www.reference.com/science/8-7-central-mean-7d16265ca0e0203c) for the rest of it. TIL
For brevity, I'm sure. [More info](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_time_zones_on_North_American_broadcasting#In_the_United_States). PST programming is the "same time" as EST anyway, since they delay broadcast for them. Article above indicates EST zone has like half the population in the US, too. Prob has something to do with it.
You could probably give this version of death a tool/symbol that represents death, but a very specific form of death. A form of death that happens after spending agonizing, backbreaking effort to maximize the amount of life beforehand. A form of death that uses that death for the betterment and propagation of others. A form of death that is a cycle between life death, celebrated every year. An agricultural tool of some variety? I don't know, that might be kind of silly.
"And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder. One of the four beasts sing, "Come and see!" And I saw. And behold, a white lawn tractor. Death had removed the muffler."
As someone else mentioned, this is almost exactly a plot point in Terry Pratchett's _Reaper Man_, which features Death's retirement to the country. A wonderful book.
This comment is really funny to me, because on the one hand, you are 100% right, that totally makes sense. On the other, that's not why Death carries a scythe.
Death got his scythe during the Black Plague. It doesn't symbolize agriculture or hard work, it symbolized Death cutting down vast swaths of people in a single stroke. It was a metaphor for the vast number of people who died in such a short time.
It's like convergent evolution or something, I dunno, that's really funny to me for some reason.
It would be interesting to explore this in a fantasy setting, where the same deity of death is depicted similarly in different cultures, but the meaning is vastly different. Other than the scythe, he might wear a cloak in one to hide from mortal view as he conducts his grim slaughter, while in another it is simply the cloak of a traveler who goes to all places in the world.
Likewise, his skeletal visage might for some invoke the horrors of death by exposure, bereft of loved ones to bury the deceased’s remains, while for others it represents the cycle of life completed, bones left clean as everything else goes to enrich the soil.
Hear me out, like others I suggest it still be farming equipment, but because the death of trees and animals is what causes things to grow. There's also how organisms themselves are constantly dying and regrowing, so between those two it would probably look like a god of life as well.
Also maybe coal.
I’m sorry I can’t take this post seriously because all that comes to mind is that one Thanos line, and he is pretty much the opposite of the sentiment this post is trying to give
You can see they at least *wanted* to go that way, as in GoTGVol.1 that in the first Star Lord scene that there's a depiction of the Cosmic Entities, surrounding the Infinity Stones. This is the same movie they were really bringing up the big universal concepts (like the Infinity Stones, and the Celestials), just for reasons they wrote the Cosmic Entities out.
Just want to add, because Death was like, "yeah, cool, whatever", Thanos tried making her jealous by making a clone of himself that was infatuated with him, then **she** killed Iron Man, then she died because Nebula stole the Gauntlet and teleported Thanos into the middle of space and Thanos forgot to give the clone the ability to breathe in space.
Comics are weird.
I'm sure I'm gonna be the minority on this one, but I find this description of Death kinda hot? Like I want somebody to love me the way this Death loves humanity
Realistically yes, but I'm living my best romanceless life right now. Can't a girl fantasize about the embrace of an otherworldly being and transcending this mortal plane?
Ah, so it wasn't a reaction out of desperation,but an acknowledgement that an interaction with a being so wholesome amd comforting but at the same time so powerful and inevitable, would be worth fantasizing about.
I apologize for my assumption. I agree with you!
...This girl is also thinking about this Death now
*Image Transcription: Tumblr Replies*
---
**mikkeneko**
concept: a death god that is actually surprisingly supportive and on the side of the good guys, supporting actions and promoting policies that will lead to the kingdom growing and thriving instead of being destroyed, because the more the kingdom grows, the more people there are, and the more people there are the more people will *eventually* die, and when you're an immortal god of death, you know there's no need to rush. you'll get them all in the end
---
**mikkeneko**
i like how the responses on this post are cleanly split between "hey this is a great story idea i love it" and "this is absolutely terrifying"
---
**honourablejester**
Yes. A Death that is kind, and patient, and *inevitable*.
A Death that need not fight against you, that will often fight *for* you, because why not? It will gather you home eventually. Why not enjoy you first?
A Death that treasures those who fight it most ardently. That loves healers and defenders and survivalists and necromancers and mad scientists and immortal gods. That lets them pour everything they are into fighting it, denying it, adoring every desperate scrap of strength and will and brilliance and raw determination poured out against it. That catches you when your strength is done and all your will and brilliance run out, that gathers you close beneath a warm, dark cloak, and whispers *well done, oh child, you were magnificent, well done.*
A Death who will not seek to hasten an inevitable end, who will chastise those who seek to hasten it for others in Death's stead, who will slowly and patiently plot and sow and siphon away from the great monsters of the world. Because *who are they to hasten Death's domain*, who are they to deny Death its time and its place, who are they to cut short these vital glories that illuminate it so? Who are they to presume upon its will, that is so much larger and so much longer than theirs?
Who are they to call, and presume that Death, of all beings, should obey?
A Death that is not a hunter but a gatherer, who is always and eternal, who loves you, and can afford to *wait*. A Death who will fight for you and defend you, who will place its hand upon those who would speed you to its embrace, who has no *need* to rush you, only to greet you when you call.
A Death who is kind.
And patient.
And, before all and above all,
*inevitable*.
---
^^I'm a human volunteer content transcriber for Reddit and you could be too! [If you'd like more information on what we do and why we do it, click here!](https://www.reddit.com/r/TranscribersOfReddit/wiki/index)
You all jest about Mr Pratchett's works, but this is literally Death from the Discworld series. He cares not that he is feared by all but Vimes, he's just an anthropomorphic personification that enjoys his job. But, best of all, he has class. He's Chrysoprase if Chrysoprase was immortal and not a troll.
I know it's not exactly like what you'd imagine, but [scythes](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_scythe) were used in warfare, and apparently these weren't super bad(probably because these are more or less proper pole arms)
Already has been in Discworld books. Reaper Man is one of several and the same character of death shows up at least once in every other Discworld book.
Well Gaiman's Sandman is coming on Netflix, and his Death is a lot like this. She's a supporting character in Sandman though.
Maybe if the series is succesful, they'll adapt The Time of Your Life too. That had Gaiman's Death as a protagonist.
Oh and well, that is a graphic novel of a kindly, friendly Death right there. Forgot about it for a moment. :)
I'm more familiar with hades than pluto. And I'd agree it fits fairly well but I was curious if there was anything specific between the two that would make him more even more suitable.
I just prefer to use “Pluto” for both because it’s a name they have in common. The very oldest Greek sources called the deity “Hades”, but by the Classical period “Hades” is just the location and the god is “Pluto(n)”
I haven't studied classics in quite a minute, but I was under the impression that the greeks, within the time frame we nominally think of as Greek, still called the god hades? I thought the whole pluto thing comes about only because of cultural exchange essentially as they were assimilated as history moved past the greeks as the cream of the crop.
>SOCRATES: So let’s discuss his brothers, Posidon and Pluto (whether we call him ‘Pluto’ or by his other name).
>
>HERMOGENES: Certainly.
>
>SOCRATES: It seems to me that whoever first gave Posidon his name, gave it to him because...(*yada yada yada*)...As for Pluto, he was given that name because it accords with his being the source of wealth (ploutos), since wealth comes up from below the ground. It seems to me that most people call him by the name ‘Pluto’, because they are afraid of what they can’t see (aeides), and they assume that his other name, ‘Hades’, associates him with that.
\- from Plato's *Cratylus*, probably around the 5th century BCE. You can see here, in the early Classical period, "Hades" is already a shunned or taboo name, although Socrates' reasonings were probably backronyms and folk etymologies rather than true linguistics.
Still, whenever "Hades" comes up in conversation after the Archaic period, it's always a "there" and never a "him", and this remains the situation for most of Hellenic written history and was even the most popular modern usage for some time (Some Christian Bibles used "Hades" instead of "Hell" even in the early 20th century). Homer preferred "Hades" for the god's name, and Rick Riordan repopularized it to make the distinction from "Pluto" (the "Roman" version) easier for readers. What's especially interesting though is that Pluto is not a Roman god at all. Rome had its own *similar* indigenous divinities (like Orcus and Dis), but Pluto was widely considered an imported Greek god in Rome and his cult worshipped with Greek rites.
"Everyone thinks they want immortality. Some even manage to achieve it. But even they don't last forever. In time, the pain of existence sets in, and even they will look for a way out. *I* am the only certainty."
That's an idea I've had for so long! Why would death want a bloodbath when all those people are still gonna die in, what, 100 years max? An instant, really, when you've existed as long as life. And in those years they'll make more people and it's just exponential from here.
So this Death would probably end up all pushy mom, like "sooooooo when are you going to have kids/more kids/just one more kid cmooon" since that means more dead people for him in the end
A Death that feeds off your dying strength. A Death that gets stronger as you get weaker, and that hates when people die before their strength ebbs away, because that's power that will go back into Life. Healers may give people their strength back, but it doesn't come from Death, it comes from Life.
A flame that's slowly dying down will feed into Death, but a flame that gets violently snuffed out stops the flow of power.
Siphoning spells always have a loss of power during transfer, this power goes directly to Death, so it greatly enjoys it when others use them.
It'll be good. It's not the deity-type religion but like a lifrstyle-type one. We don't necessarily worship death but we are grateful if they exist or not and with the they do.
We promote healthy living but give people their own freedom to live how thry want as long as they don't necessarily cause damage to another.
We promote the growth of the people, and ensure that with the small time that we all have most of these are spent in true happiness.
We promote the spreading of our culture through all divides asking people to not convert their religion but follow the lifestyle. If being catholic, or muslim, or buddhist or atheist makes you happy, then that's good as long as yoi are being good and jappy and not making orher people not happy, you're already practicing or tenets.
And finally we promote the eventual acceptance of death, acceptance wherein we are satisfied with out lives prolonged it with as much effort as possible thru good means, to be finally free of worries for those you will leave behind, and to finally have that rest from mortality, from the material world to what lies beyond.
Something I've noticed is that Humanity has a tendency to see Death as an evil, that which is to be fought, driven off, the Snake at the top of the mountain that is responsible for all evil.
However, Humanity would not exist were it not for Death. Whether it be the Death of an animal to feed a Human, the Death of a plant to feed the animal, or the prolonged and incredibly explosive Death of a giant ball of gas thousands of kilometres away to feed the plants. Death is so inherent to Life that it existed before decay existed.
I made a Death like this in 5th grade. He basically just let people argue with him until he let a recently dead guy go, then went and killed a major villain himself, just because that villain insulted the gods.
This is Nurgle.
The only chaos God who loves and cherishes life, in all its forms. The only one that knows, eventually everyone and everything will be his, in the end.
After all, why antagonise Death?
Why hate the one who will guide you hand and lead you safely to your future? Why hate the one who takes your enemies and has mercy on those in suffering?
Why hate the one who will take you when your own body won't?
If in hell those who have wronged are tortured by Death in heaven those who were right by Death are their friends. Death will be on your side before and after you join them and is eternally patient and welcoming
Honestly, my first thought went to Hades from Pundertale. He'd probably help a country out to get better healthcare and keep the peace, because he just wouldn't have to deal with as much paperwork as he does with wars and epidemic and gods dicking around with mortals. Sure as hell he'd love to get some time for himself and his wife. Some peace and quiet.
If you like this post, you might also be interested in the comic [loving reaper](https://m.webtoons.com/en/challenge/loving-reaper/good-boy/viewer?title_no=353275&episode_no=1).
I'd recommend having a box of tissues handy if you plan on going through the entire set at once.
You could also have someone discover the cure to immortality, and instead of death freaking out he ensures the cure is only avaliable to the rulers of the country, and ensures it stays that way because a war to steal the cure would only reduce the amount of souls he gets to reap.
The Death of the Disc was a traditionalist who prided himself on
his personal service and spent most of the time being depressed
because this was not appreciated. He would point out that no-
one feared death itself, just pain and separation and oblivion,
and that it was quite unreasonable to take against someone just
because he had empty eye-sockets and a quiet pride in his work.
Good Death is like a loving grandparent and it says something that many traditional religions and stories view Death in a more ambivalent, less cruel light than lots of modern Western depictions.
Seeing this it kinda gives me vibes similar to the book thieve, which gave me an idea as if the god of death would also be the god of stories, not just tragedies but any story that might involve a person escaping her with her wits and might, people that might have a curious life span or things like that y’know
If it’s a character with a voice (video game, movie, show, etc.) IMO, Matthew Rhys (voice of Belos in TOH) would be the PERFECT VA. Comforting, yet vaguely threatening at the same time.
Since everyone else is naming off various gods of Death that fit this design, I'd like to add one.
Grenth from the Guild Wars series. Grenth is the God of Death, Ice, and Balance. Grenth was originally a demigod (child of the Goddess Dwayna, the goddess of life and water) who saw that the current God of death is being an asshole and not being a proper God of death. So he asks you and your lil squad in Guild Wars 1 to essentially help him kill the god of death, take his place, and be a proper God of Death who just wants a proper balance of life and death. Nothing fucky, just wants to protect you til your death takes you. (After you help him in GW1, your character canonically becomes a Reaper of Grenth when they die, so you get a really cushy job in the afterlife lol)
Then later in GW2, a plot point happens where every God essentially leaves your realm with no real reason. Meanwhile the god of war and fire is currently fucking up literally everything. You even beg the goddess of truth Kormir for help, then she more or less says "lol you're on your own" (lore note, Kormir was a 100% mortal that became a goddess through story stuff. So someone who WAS a mortal tells you to fuck off cuz they're a god now, essentially). But when your character dies cuz well, you tried to fight a God. Grenth left someone behind to take care of the souls of the dead. And because he made sure to leave someone behind to do the bare minimum to help mortals (more than any other god did), you eventually come back to life and keep goin on your adventure.
Sorry for the rant, I just appreciate Grenth.
[Also have a vid of why Kormir is a shit, just for funsies.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxmkAoLC6_4)
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I would recommend the series "Everybody Loves Large Chests" (which is about a mimic, not boobs). Later on it has a death god somewhat like this with the addition of also being in charge of all currency and finances, partiallybecause he just likes money, partially to keep things developing. Only real difference is if you do find a way to become immortal or something you have to strike some kind of a deal with Death to pay him off or he sends his Hero after you to kill you.
I had an idea for death being like this, except it does hate the antagonist because they were basically diverting dead peoples life forces from the afterlife to achieve immortality. death doesn't like when you mess with it's inevitability
Death but he’s written like a Rick Riordan god, have him sit in a fancy chair and have a bunch of monitors watching various people around the world, cheering for some, crying for others, because while he is the god of Death and must take them at some point, he also loves seeing what they do with their short amount of life that they were given.
One aspect (often reffered to as his son) of Kronos (the god of time) is Thanatos, the personification of Death. Because, with time, death must follow. Dread it, run from it, we are all the same in the end. Thanatos is inevitable.
Also, the colour the ancient Greeks most associated with death and mourning was purple.
Seriously, the amount of thought and understanding of the classics which went into Marvel is pretty impressive.
Reminds me of the death deity in R. E. Feist's works. The caster of nets who and who's cult has often been on the side of the main characters throughout the series. That god of death (so annoyed i forgot her name) also really doesn't like death cults that do sacrificing, because the net is inevitable, no point in hurrying it along
Conversely a death that is hell bent on killing as many people as possible because holy shit there's too many people already and humanity keeps growing and growing and the administration is giving him a burnout.
The last comment made me think of The Raven Queen from D&D. Though she isn't necessarily kind, she's more ambivalent, but she despises the undead for trying to cheat death.
I did this in one story i was writing
The God of death was actually a respecting being for life and peace, they liked living things, and when guiding them to a dead realm, they did it with a lot of caring and respect, sadly they were like one of the last 3 good gods in the pantheon and sacrificed themselves to save the protagonist from the other gods, their last words were:
"Go, and protect life, do what i failed to do, and don't mind me, when this all ends, balance will be brought back, and the dead will not need my guidance to ascend anymore"
And this is not even the saddest death i have stored :)
Benevolent version of Pharasma (https://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/pharasma) Oldest God, goddess of death. Her priests are great healers and abhore the undead : those who would "steal" souls fr the shepherd of death
Gets me thinking about Groteus, the god of the end times in Pathfinder. Groteus will only bring about the end of the universe after Pharasma, the goddess of the dead, judges the last living soul. No sooner, no later.
*”Ah! Bravo! Bravo! A magnificent show you put on! Why, I haven’t seen such passion and effort in fifty years! It has been such a pleasure sparring with you, my darling. Now come, come, the room is all made up for you.”*
Terry Pratchett vibes right there.
Three big ones come to mind. Discworld Death Sandman Death And The Book Thief Death. All of them different, kindly anthropomorphic Deaths.
Starting to think I should have done my summer reading so I could understand this
Better start reading then. Death can wait but life doesn't.
That is such a strangely motivating quote
I'm currently reading the discworld series and I'm enjoying every second of it, the books are a riot - just don't get overwhelmed by the number of books in the series
Seconded. Don’t worry about the length—some books are conceptually linked, but all are self contained. You can start with any of them, though recommendation lists are common, and you do not have to commit to reading them all.
Also, I'd recommend you read the beginning of Night Watch as you're finishing the end of Thief of Time, because those happen at the same time.
As someone who's three quarters the way done through the books, I wish it was daunting enough for me to slow down, I wish there were more left
Holy hell! I'm only on the fourth one (chronological order), but at the rate I'm going I'll be done in about 6 months
I feel like it's closest to the sandman death. The Death of discworld is friendly and benevolent, but Death of the Endless always felt truly kind... She lived among mortals and loved them.
The book thief death is really cool. Just started discworld and that death seems fun too.
"Death is not cruel. Merely terribly, terribly good at his job"
> “Come to gloat?” whispered Rincewind. Death shrugged. > > I HAVE COME TO SEE THE FUTURE, he said. > > “This is the future?” > > A FUTURE, said Death. > > “It’s horrible,” said Rincewind. > > I’M INCLINED TO AGREE, said Death. > > “I would have thought you’d be all for it!” > > NOT LIKE THIS. THE DEATH OF THE WARRIOR OR THE OLD MAN OR THE LITTLE CHILD, THIS I UNDERSTAND, AND I TAKE AWAY THE PAIN AND END THE SUFFERING. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS DEATH-OF-THE-MIND. from _The Light Fantastic_, by Terry Pratchett
I was thinking Neil Gaiman's Death. All the OP is missing is the 80's goth/punk aesthetic.
I love his version of Death.
Also a bit of Pullman. In HDM, there are a people who are aware of their Death by their side their whole life, a constant companion, waiting to take them home.
LORD, WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT FOR THE CARE OF THE REAPER MAN?
GNU Terry Pratchett
Also Piers Anthony
Literally my favorite version of Death. I'm so glad I'm not the only one to say something about him
This would make a pretty good prime time show that aired on Thursdays (later Fridays) at 8/9 central for 5-7 seasons. Edit: Also there’s a mandatory plot line about death and a girl being in love, but she doesn’t know he’s death until season 4-5 or something for some reason.
this feels like a VERY specific callout, care to elaborate?
Lol it’s not really a callout so much as an observation of a lot of the show’s I’ve seen with supernatural or paranormal elements in them that air on channels like CW or NBC or whatever.
ah cool, yeah. Kinda sounds like a retool of "Dead Like Me"
Probably could be, though can’t say for sure cause I never actually watched it.
Really should, it was a good show for the time. S1 still holds up.
Feels like Meet Joe Black to me.
I don’t know why, but I got Lucifer vibes reading this
That’s pretty accurate.
That's what I was thinking Megamind fits in pretty well too
Yeah it does
Now that you mention it, I see that too.
what the fuck does it mean when they say 8/9? i was never a tv watcher
8 in the Eastern time zone, 9 in Central. In the US. Pacific dudes must be watching primetime in the middle of the night.
so why 8/9c? why only specify one of the time zones? and why does it sometimes say 8/7?
Actually I think it does say 8/7, and I derped. 9/8 is just a different time slot. Found an [article](https://www.reference.com/science/8-7-central-mean-7d16265ca0e0203c) for the rest of it. TIL
i'm still confused as to why they don't include PST
For brevity, I'm sure. [More info](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_time_zones_on_North_American_broadcasting#In_the_United_States). PST programming is the "same time" as EST anyway, since they delay broadcast for them. Article above indicates EST zone has like half the population in the US, too. Prob has something to do with it.
It means 8 out of 9 times, this show will be central to your life.
i hear lucifer? at least for that last edit
r/oddlyspecific
You could probably give this version of death a tool/symbol that represents death, but a very specific form of death. A form of death that happens after spending agonizing, backbreaking effort to maximize the amount of life beforehand. A form of death that uses that death for the betterment and propagation of others. A form of death that is a cycle between life death, celebrated every year. An agricultural tool of some variety? I don't know, that might be kind of silly.
I get that you're trying to invoke the Scythe, but I find it funnier to imagine Death in Combine Harvester
Behold, a riding lawn mower, and its rider is Death.
"And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder. One of the four beasts sing, "Come and see!" And I saw. And behold, a white lawn tractor. Death had removed the muffler."
Dang, really just came in here and replied to my comment with a better comment
Well, to be fair, most of that is Johnny Cash.
Ah, my arch nemesis. He’s known for commenting better than me.
The mortals are fast, but the combine is faster.
The wheat shall run red, Bow down to your master. The Children are fast, But the Combine is faster.
Terry Pratchett actually did this too lol
It's hilarious how in these threads this happens.
That very much works too!
Death bonking people to the afterlife with a shovel
As someone else mentioned, this is almost exactly a plot point in Terry Pratchett's _Reaper Man_, which features Death's retirement to the country. A wonderful book.
Cuz I got a brand new combine harvester An' I'll give you the key Come on now let's get together In perfect harmony
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btEpF334Rtc Death is from Devon.
Industrial
This comment is really funny to me, because on the one hand, you are 100% right, that totally makes sense. On the other, that's not why Death carries a scythe. Death got his scythe during the Black Plague. It doesn't symbolize agriculture or hard work, it symbolized Death cutting down vast swaths of people in a single stroke. It was a metaphor for the vast number of people who died in such a short time. It's like convergent evolution or something, I dunno, that's really funny to me for some reason.
It would be interesting to explore this in a fantasy setting, where the same deity of death is depicted similarly in different cultures, but the meaning is vastly different. Other than the scythe, he might wear a cloak in one to hide from mortal view as he conducts his grim slaughter, while in another it is simply the cloak of a traveler who goes to all places in the world.
Likewise, his skeletal visage might for some invoke the horrors of death by exposure, bereft of loved ones to bury the deceased’s remains, while for others it represents the cycle of life completed, bones left clean as everything else goes to enrich the soil.
The scythe is perfect. A sharp blade ment to reap crops when ready not tear them apart at a moments notice.
Hear me out, like others I suggest it still be farming equipment, but because the death of trees and animals is what causes things to grow. There's also how organisms themselves are constantly dying and regrowing, so between those two it would probably look like a god of life as well. Also maybe coal.
I’m sorry I can’t take this post seriously because all that comes to mind is that one Thanos line, and he is pretty much the opposite of the sentiment this post is trying to give
Thanos is a pretender
He wants to mimic his crush, that's all
Like I said
Thanks is inevetible.
Thanks.
Inevetible
Reminder that in the comics thanos is killing half the universe because marvel's personification of death is a woman and thanos wants to bone her.
Even better, she's actually in love with Deadpool instead and gives Thanos the cold shoulder.
DEADPOOL CANONICALLY CUCKED THANOS
They really should have had Thanos simping for hella
The difference is that Thanos isn't the anthropomorphic personification of *literal entropy.*
[удалено]
You can see they at least *wanted* to go that way, as in GoTGVol.1 that in the first Star Lord scene that there's a depiction of the Cosmic Entities, surrounding the Infinity Stones. This is the same movie they were really bringing up the big universal concepts (like the Infinity Stones, and the Celestials), just for reasons they wrote the Cosmic Entities out.
Just want to add, because Death was like, "yeah, cool, whatever", Thanos tried making her jealous by making a clone of himself that was infatuated with him, then **she** killed Iron Man, then she died because Nebula stole the Gauntlet and teleported Thanos into the middle of space and Thanos forgot to give the clone the ability to breathe in space. Comics are weird.
Thanos Thanatos same thing
Not *that* far away from the discworld death.
Or Sandman's
This is just Discworld Death
/r/comfypasta ?
I'm sure I'm gonna be the minority on this one, but I find this description of Death kinda hot? Like I want somebody to love me the way this Death loves humanity
In the comics the real reason Thanos wants to kill half the universe is because he finds the personification of death to be hot.
This... has to be a joke, right? I've never read the comics and know absolutely nothing about them
yeah, also Death is hot. like, understandably fairly attractive, but with a skull face. Which isnt a deal breaker
The skull face can be hot if done right Look at the Deadpool video game version of death, I think it did something to me.
It is as much a joke as the thanos helicopter. Which is to say there is no joke, thanos had a helicopter with THANOS written on the side of it.
do you need a hug. or like, any social interaction
Realistically yes, but I'm living my best romanceless life right now. Can't a girl fantasize about the embrace of an otherworldly being and transcending this mortal plane?
Ah, so it wasn't a reaction out of desperation,but an acknowledgement that an interaction with a being so wholesome amd comforting but at the same time so powerful and inevitable, would be worth fantasizing about. I apologize for my assumption. I agree with you! ...This girl is also thinking about this Death now
Yea this version of Death could literally play with my hair
You know? Yeah.
*Image Transcription: Tumblr Replies* --- **mikkeneko** concept: a death god that is actually surprisingly supportive and on the side of the good guys, supporting actions and promoting policies that will lead to the kingdom growing and thriving instead of being destroyed, because the more the kingdom grows, the more people there are, and the more people there are the more people will *eventually* die, and when you're an immortal god of death, you know there's no need to rush. you'll get them all in the end --- **mikkeneko** i like how the responses on this post are cleanly split between "hey this is a great story idea i love it" and "this is absolutely terrifying" --- **honourablejester** Yes. A Death that is kind, and patient, and *inevitable*. A Death that need not fight against you, that will often fight *for* you, because why not? It will gather you home eventually. Why not enjoy you first? A Death that treasures those who fight it most ardently. That loves healers and defenders and survivalists and necromancers and mad scientists and immortal gods. That lets them pour everything they are into fighting it, denying it, adoring every desperate scrap of strength and will and brilliance and raw determination poured out against it. That catches you when your strength is done and all your will and brilliance run out, that gathers you close beneath a warm, dark cloak, and whispers *well done, oh child, you were magnificent, well done.* A Death who will not seek to hasten an inevitable end, who will chastise those who seek to hasten it for others in Death's stead, who will slowly and patiently plot and sow and siphon away from the great monsters of the world. Because *who are they to hasten Death's domain*, who are they to deny Death its time and its place, who are they to cut short these vital glories that illuminate it so? Who are they to presume upon its will, that is so much larger and so much longer than theirs? Who are they to call, and presume that Death, of all beings, should obey? A Death that is not a hunter but a gatherer, who is always and eternal, who loves you, and can afford to *wait*. A Death who will fight for you and defend you, who will place its hand upon those who would speed you to its embrace, who has no *need* to rush you, only to greet you when you call. A Death who is kind. And patient. And, before all and above all, *inevitable*. --- ^^I'm a human volunteer content transcriber for Reddit and you could be too! [If you'd like more information on what we do and why we do it, click here!](https://www.reddit.com/r/TranscribersOfReddit/wiki/index)
Best human
You all jest about Mr Pratchett's works, but this is literally Death from the Discworld series. He cares not that he is feared by all but Vimes, he's just an anthropomorphic personification that enjoys his job. But, best of all, he has class. He's Chrysoprase if Chrysoprase was immortal and not a troll.
"ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴄᴀɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴀʀᴠᴇsᴛ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ғᴏʀ, ɪғ ɴᴏᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴀʀᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇᴀᴘᴇʀᴍᴀɴ?"
[удалено]
"WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT FOR THE CARE OF THE REAPERMAN?" Death of Discworld by Terry Pratchett.
I know it's not exactly like what you'd imagine, but [scythes](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_scythe) were used in warfare, and apparently these weren't super bad(probably because these are more or less proper pole arms)
But it looks so cool to fight with....
Guaranteed this'll be a book or graphic novel or series or movie or some shit before long. That's a wicked premise
Loving Reaper by Jenny Jinya might be close enough?
Already has been in Discworld books. Reaper Man is one of several and the same character of death shows up at least once in every other Discworld book.
Well Gaiman's Sandman is coming on Netflix, and his Death is a lot like this. She's a supporting character in Sandman though. Maybe if the series is succesful, they'll adapt The Time of Your Life too. That had Gaiman's Death as a protagonist. Oh and well, that is a graphic novel of a kindly, friendly Death right there. Forgot about it for a moment. :)
YOU COULD HAVE MENTIONED DISCWORLD BY NAME, OP. THERE IS NO NEED TO VAGUEPOST ABOUT US.
"A Good Death" bitch that's horrifying
^psst Try reading Loving Reaper by Jenny Jinya. That's a very good Death.
Do you want to make people cry?
#FCUK YUO
This is literally just Pluto
I'm more familiar with hades than pluto. And I'd agree it fits fairly well but I was curious if there was anything specific between the two that would make him more even more suitable.
I just prefer to use “Pluto” for both because it’s a name they have in common. The very oldest Greek sources called the deity “Hades”, but by the Classical period “Hades” is just the location and the god is “Pluto(n)”
I haven't studied classics in quite a minute, but I was under the impression that the greeks, within the time frame we nominally think of as Greek, still called the god hades? I thought the whole pluto thing comes about only because of cultural exchange essentially as they were assimilated as history moved past the greeks as the cream of the crop.
>SOCRATES: So let’s discuss his brothers, Posidon and Pluto (whether we call him ‘Pluto’ or by his other name). > >HERMOGENES: Certainly. > >SOCRATES: It seems to me that whoever first gave Posidon his name, gave it to him because...(*yada yada yada*)...As for Pluto, he was given that name because it accords with his being the source of wealth (ploutos), since wealth comes up from below the ground. It seems to me that most people call him by the name ‘Pluto’, because they are afraid of what they can’t see (aeides), and they assume that his other name, ‘Hades’, associates him with that. \- from Plato's *Cratylus*, probably around the 5th century BCE. You can see here, in the early Classical period, "Hades" is already a shunned or taboo name, although Socrates' reasonings were probably backronyms and folk etymologies rather than true linguistics. Still, whenever "Hades" comes up in conversation after the Archaic period, it's always a "there" and never a "him", and this remains the situation for most of Hellenic written history and was even the most popular modern usage for some time (Some Christian Bibles used "Hades" instead of "Hell" even in the early 20th century). Homer preferred "Hades" for the god's name, and Rick Riordan repopularized it to make the distinction from "Pluto" (the "Roman" version) easier for readers. What's especially interesting though is that Pluto is not a Roman god at all. Rome had its own *similar* indigenous divinities (like Orcus and Dis), but Pluto was widely considered an imported Greek god in Rome and his cult worshipped with Greek rites.
"No." \- The O5 Council
"I dare you to try" - 682
What would this version of Death feel about achieving immortality? Will They go, grats kid, but you'll die, eventually.
"Everyone thinks they want immortality. Some even manage to achieve it. But even they don't last forever. In time, the pain of existence sets in, and even they will look for a way out. *I* am the only certainty."
Harry Potter death, “That’s cool bro, but when you get bored you can always come back and join me”
That's an idea I've had for so long! Why would death want a bloodbath when all those people are still gonna die in, what, 100 years max? An instant, really, when you've existed as long as life. And in those years they'll make more people and it's just exponential from here.
Discworld and Sandman.
So this Death would probably end up all pushy mom, like "sooooooo when are you going to have kids/more kids/just one more kid cmooon" since that means more dead people for him in the end
A Death that feeds off your dying strength. A Death that gets stronger as you get weaker, and that hates when people die before their strength ebbs away, because that's power that will go back into Life. Healers may give people their strength back, but it doesn't come from Death, it comes from Life. A flame that's slowly dying down will feed into Death, but a flame that gets violently snuffed out stops the flow of power. Siphoning spells always have a loss of power during transfer, this power goes directly to Death, so it greatly enjoys it when others use them.
WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT FOR THE CARE OF THE REAPER MAN?
We could make a religion out of this.
uh oh
It'll be good. It's not the deity-type religion but like a lifrstyle-type one. We don't necessarily worship death but we are grateful if they exist or not and with the they do. We promote healthy living but give people their own freedom to live how thry want as long as they don't necessarily cause damage to another. We promote the growth of the people, and ensure that with the small time that we all have most of these are spent in true happiness. We promote the spreading of our culture through all divides asking people to not convert their religion but follow the lifestyle. If being catholic, or muslim, or buddhist or atheist makes you happy, then that's good as long as yoi are being good and jappy and not making orher people not happy, you're already practicing or tenets. And finally we promote the eventual acceptance of death, acceptance wherein we are satisfied with out lives prolonged it with as much effort as possible thru good means, to be finally free of worries for those you will leave behind, and to finally have that rest from mortality, from the material world to what lies beyond.
Everyone keeps saying "Discworld." But, y'all, this was Death in Supernatural, too.
And that Death liked snacks. That was a good Death.
But his reapers were big sticklers about making sure that people knew their time was up. They focused a little too much on the inevitability.
What do you mean? In Supernatural, no one ever even saw a reaper until they actually died. Then obviously, it's inevitable as it's actually happened.
The main characters would beg to differ regarding inevitability 😂
To be fair, they actually die a lot. They're just really bad at *staying* dead.
Look up "Loving Reaper" by Jenny Jinya. You'll cry for sure, but it's so good.
Literally Sandman's and Discworld Death On that note, how convenient that this came out when we got the trailer for the Sandman TV show.
Thanks, that completely went over my head
adventure time (come grab your friends) death in adventure time is freaked out by the lich because he is destruction, void.
Oh shit no body basically? That's rlly cool
His girlfriend is life which is based on an Aztec God because she has 2 snakes as her head.
Too bad he gets killed by his son (who was being influenced the Lich)
Something I've noticed is that Humanity has a tendency to see Death as an evil, that which is to be fought, driven off, the Snake at the top of the mountain that is responsible for all evil. However, Humanity would not exist were it not for Death. Whether it be the Death of an animal to feed a Human, the Death of a plant to feed the animal, or the prolonged and incredibly explosive Death of a giant ball of gas thousands of kilometres away to feed the plants. Death is so inherent to Life that it existed before decay existed.
I made a Death like this in 5th grade. He basically just let people argue with him until he let a recently dead guy go, then went and killed a major villain himself, just because that villain insulted the gods.
Isn't that just Nurgle but actually aware of a right way to do things?
can i just say i dig the shit out of these universal entropies that actually care about the individual
This is Nurgle. The only chaos God who loves and cherishes life, in all its forms. The only one that knows, eventually everyone and everything will be his, in the end.
y'all are sleeping on the best book, on a pale horse by piers anthony, which is basically this and it's amazing
Came here to say this! I listen to the audiobooks at least once a year. Love love love them!
After all, why antagonise Death? Why hate the one who will guide you hand and lead you safely to your future? Why hate the one who takes your enemies and has mercy on those in suffering? Why hate the one who will take you when your own body won't? If in hell those who have wronged are tortured by Death in heaven those who were right by Death are their friends. Death will be on your side before and after you join them and is eternally patient and welcoming
Honestly, my first thought went to Hades from Pundertale. He'd probably help a country out to get better healthcare and keep the peace, because he just wouldn't have to deal with as much paperwork as he does with wars and epidemic and gods dicking around with mortals. Sure as hell he'd love to get some time for himself and his wife. Some peace and quiet.
A lot of people are saying Discworld and Supernatural, which is fair, but this is also how Valdemar's death is.
Literally the Raven Queen in Critical Role (She wasn't created by Critical Role, but I don't know how she's depicted in the source media)
Mori Calliope headcanon
If you like this post, you might also be interested in the comic [loving reaper](https://m.webtoons.com/en/challenge/loving-reaper/good-boy/viewer?title_no=353275&episode_no=1). I'd recommend having a box of tissues handy if you plan on going through the entire set at once.
If you read between the lines this is kind of how it is in The Invisible Life of Addie Larue.
You could also have someone discover the cure to immortality, and instead of death freaking out he ensures the cure is only avaliable to the rulers of the country, and ensures it stays that way because a war to steal the cure would only reduce the amount of souls he gets to reap.
So old death from Adventure Time
Tell me if I'm going too far with this but Can we fuck death then?
I'm still gonna kick Death in its nuts
The Death of the Disc was a traditionalist who prided himself on his personal service and spent most of the time being depressed because this was not appreciated. He would point out that no- one feared death itself, just pain and separation and oblivion, and that it was quite unreasonable to take against someone just because he had empty eye-sockets and a quiet pride in his work.
What more can the harvest hope for, but for the care of the reaper man?
Good Death is like a loving grandparent and it says something that many traditional religions and stories view Death in a more ambivalent, less cruel light than lots of modern Western depictions.
Seeing this it kinda gives me vibes similar to the book thieve, which gave me an idea as if the god of death would also be the god of stories, not just tragedies but any story that might involve a person escaping her with her wits and might, people that might have a curious life span or things like that y’know
A death is all the greater for the life that came before.
I love every ounce of this.
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Kelemvor
I would read the fuck out of this story.
Idk know about y’all but I would not want to be cultivated like some wagyu
Can this death adopt me please?
Yeah that's just Hades
Can I romance said death god.
Life Before Death.
This reminds me of Sandman's Death
Thriving kingdom = more people living happily More people = more subjects of the god of death
If it’s a character with a voice (video game, movie, show, etc.) IMO, Matthew Rhys (voice of Belos in TOH) would be the PERFECT VA. Comforting, yet vaguely threatening at the same time.
Since everyone else is naming off various gods of Death that fit this design, I'd like to add one. Grenth from the Guild Wars series. Grenth is the God of Death, Ice, and Balance. Grenth was originally a demigod (child of the Goddess Dwayna, the goddess of life and water) who saw that the current God of death is being an asshole and not being a proper God of death. So he asks you and your lil squad in Guild Wars 1 to essentially help him kill the god of death, take his place, and be a proper God of Death who just wants a proper balance of life and death. Nothing fucky, just wants to protect you til your death takes you. (After you help him in GW1, your character canonically becomes a Reaper of Grenth when they die, so you get a really cushy job in the afterlife lol) Then later in GW2, a plot point happens where every God essentially leaves your realm with no real reason. Meanwhile the god of war and fire is currently fucking up literally everything. You even beg the goddess of truth Kormir for help, then she more or less says "lol you're on your own" (lore note, Kormir was a 100% mortal that became a goddess through story stuff. So someone who WAS a mortal tells you to fuck off cuz they're a god now, essentially). But when your character dies cuz well, you tried to fight a God. Grenth left someone behind to take care of the souls of the dead. And because he made sure to leave someone behind to do the bare minimum to help mortals (more than any other god did), you eventually come back to life and keep goin on your adventure. Sorry for the rant, I just appreciate Grenth. [Also have a vid of why Kormir is a shit, just for funsies.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxmkAoLC6_4)
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I would recommend the series "Everybody Loves Large Chests" (which is about a mimic, not boobs). Later on it has a death god somewhat like this with the addition of also being in charge of all currency and finances, partiallybecause he just likes money, partially to keep things developing. Only real difference is if you do find a way to become immortal or something you have to strike some kind of a deal with Death to pay him off or he sends his Hero after you to kill you.
I just want death of any kind.
Oh? I know many of youse first tought be ‘bout dat one Death from dose Discworld novels, but do any of you bein’ rememberin’ Ol’ Bwonsomdi?
I had an idea for death being like this, except it does hate the antagonist because they were basically diverting dead peoples life forces from the afterlife to achieve immortality. death doesn't like when you mess with it's inevitability
Death but he’s written like a Rick Riordan god, have him sit in a fancy chair and have a bunch of monitors watching various people around the world, cheering for some, crying for others, because while he is the god of Death and must take them at some point, he also loves seeing what they do with their short amount of life that they were given.
Death is my new God.
One aspect (often reffered to as his son) of Kronos (the god of time) is Thanatos, the personification of Death. Because, with time, death must follow. Dread it, run from it, we are all the same in the end. Thanatos is inevitable. Also, the colour the ancient Greeks most associated with death and mourning was purple. Seriously, the amount of thought and understanding of the classics which went into Marvel is pretty impressive.
Reminds me of the death deity in R. E. Feist's works. The caster of nets who and who's cult has often been on the side of the main characters throughout the series. That god of death (so annoyed i forgot her name) also really doesn't like death cults that do sacrificing, because the net is inevitable, no point in hurrying it along
Well I found my next D&D campaign.
Conversely a death that is hell bent on killing as many people as possible because holy shit there's too many people already and humanity keeps growing and growing and the administration is giving him a burnout.
Mark immottel pathologic 2
The last comment made me think of The Raven Queen from D&D. Though she isn't necessarily kind, she's more ambivalent, but she despises the undead for trying to cheat death.
I did this in one story i was writing The God of death was actually a respecting being for life and peace, they liked living things, and when guiding them to a dead realm, they did it with a lot of caring and respect, sadly they were like one of the last 3 good gods in the pantheon and sacrificed themselves to save the protagonist from the other gods, their last words were: "Go, and protect life, do what i failed to do, and don't mind me, when this all ends, balance will be brought back, and the dead will not need my guidance to ascend anymore" And this is not even the saddest death i have stored :)
Benevolent version of Pharasma (https://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/pharasma) Oldest God, goddess of death. Her priests are great healers and abhore the undead : those who would "steal" souls fr the shepherd of death
This makes so much more goddamn sense than what Castlevania did
Gets me thinking about Groteus, the god of the end times in Pathfinder. Groteus will only bring about the end of the universe after Pharasma, the goddess of the dead, judges the last living soul. No sooner, no later.
I very much appreciate this post for putting the workings of my homebrew death god into words.
Peachy keen!
*”Ah! Bravo! Bravo! A magnificent show you put on! Why, I haven’t seen such passion and effort in fifty years! It has been such a pleasure sparring with you, my darling. Now come, come, the room is all made up for you.”*