#The Grim Reaper and his Psychopomp

[ryin-silverfish]

Ghost Month Special: Heibai Wuchang

Today is the middle of Lunar Seventh Month, a.k.a. Zhongyuan Festival, and I feel like there can't be a more appropriate day to do a deep dive on my favorite ghost cops, a.k.a. the Black and White Impermanences, a.k.a. Seventh and Eighth Master, a.k.a. Tua Di Ya Pek, a.k.a. Xie Bi'an & Fan Wujiu.

Now, I've talked briefly about them in my Chinese Underworld post, and if you watch C-dramas or play certain Chinese games, you might have seen these two + learned a few things about them already. But for those who haven't, here's the five-minute summary:

-they are (one variant of ) Chinese psychopomps, who show up to take the souls of the deceased to the Underworld.

-they are also ghost cops, who go after troublesome ghosts that are disturbing the living.

-both wear tall hats with four characters on it (which also varied), as well as nearly identical black and white robes.

-for their Hokkien, Taiwanese and SEA versions, there's a significant height difference between the two; the white-robed one is tall and skinny, while the black-robed one is short and stout.

-the White Impermanence is often depicted with his tongue hanging out of his mouth (reminiscent of those who died by hanging) and a more cheerful expression, while the Black Impermanence is dark/blue-faced (reminiscent of death by drowning) and relatively more grim and fierce.

-the White Impermanence is also worshipped as a god of wealth by some.

However, outside of these bullet points, their tales and trajectory of development are a fascinating rabbit hole. I'd call them thorough folk gods, who evolved out of the greater existing character archetype of "ghost bureaucrats fetching people to the Underworld" and became their own unique characters almost entirely through folklore and oral legends.

So, without further ado, let's dive in.

Impermanence

The Great Spectre of Impermanence could arrive unexpectedly. (无常大鬼，不期而到) ——Sutra of Ksitigarbha's Fundamental Vows

To start talking about these two, we need to go into the general category of beings they separated out of later: Underworld officials.

Some conceptions of those petty ghost bureaucrats that mirrored living ones already existed in the Han dynasty; in burial goods and "grave scripts", there were paperwork dedicated to those officials, who were supposed to keep track of the Dead People Belongings List and maintain the segregation between the dead and the living.

Their characterization would get expanded a lot as time went on, in Northern-Southern dynasty and Tang legends, but this isn't an article about the ghost officials as a whole.

We are still tracing the origins of two specific ones, and to do that, we have to start with etymology——the "Wuchang" in their names.

It is the translation of the Buddhist concept of "Anitya", referring to the impermanence of everything, which is always changing and dying and being reborn, with no constant to be found.

Yeah, you can see why a word describing the fleeting nature of life might eventually become associated with death and native psychopomps at some point in the Northern-Southern dynasty.

In the 39 chapter translation of the Dhammapada (interlaced with additional parables) by Fa Ju and Fa Li, the "Killing Spectre of Impermanence" (无常杀鬼) was first mentioned in the "On Impermanence" (无常品) chapter.

Another name for this grim-reaper-esque figure was "The Great Spectre of Impermanence", which appears in the quote at the beginning.

It appeared earlier than Ksitigarbha's Sutra, though: in another Northern-Southern dynasty translation of the Sutra of Golden Light, a Great Spectre of Impermanence was mentioned as this scary being that swallowed a king's younger son up whole.

By the Tang dynasty, the Spectre of Impermanence had appeared in both poetry and Buddhist text collections, as a generic name for the ghost that came to get you when you die.

However, the name wasn't exactly common or widespread, as made evident by all the N & S. dynasty and Tang legends about ghost bureaucrats where they were just referred to as, well, ghost bureaucrats.

Similarly, the Scripture on the Ten Kings doesn't mention anything about a Spectre of Impermanence. Instead, the second variant of the sutra says there are 3 ghosts working under King Yama——the "Soul-seizing Ghost" (夺魂鬼), "Essence-seizing Ghost" (夺精鬼), and "Spirit-binding Ghost" (缚魄鬼), responsible for dragging souls away in chains to the tree near the Underworld entrance pass.

(Their names might have corresponded to the idea of the Three Souls, each grabbing one of them, or the alternate division of Hun-Po plus the "vital force/essence".)

Right after that, however, they mentioned two demonic-looking birds sitting on the tree, one of which was named the "Bird of Impermanence", who would angrily scold and torment the dead for their misdeeds.

In this text, whatever the birds were, they were seen as a separate thing from the 3 ghosts that brought the souls of the dead to the Underworld entrance.

(A brief tangent about the 2 variants of the Ten Kings Scripture: the first could be found in the Dunhuang manuscripts, its name was 佛说预修十王生七经, and, as Teiser's translation of the scripture at the end of his academic book has showned, didn't have the 3 ghosts or the birds.)

(The variant mentioned above is 地藏菩萨发心因缘十王经, which is likely a Song dynasty Japanese apocrypha based on the first variant.)

Buddy Ghost Cops

When the ghostly officials of the Tang legends showed up, they could be alone, in pairs or in groups.

It was only in the Song-Yuan era that the idea of ghost cops showing up in pairs began to populate, and the first mention of the "Two Spectres of Impermanence" appeared in Vol. 3 of the Song dynasty 随隐漫录.

However, even without the word "Impermanence" attached, in various Song texts, the idea of there being 2 ghosts coming to get you instead of a single one or a group had already showed up with more frequency than before.

Come Ming dynasty, the Two Spectres of Impermanence got even more notable mentions in vernacular novels: a descriptive poem in Chapter 115 of Water Margins brings them up alongside the "Generals of the Five Paths" (五道将军), another native Underworld deity that showed up in Tang novels.

Plum in the Golden Vase, a.k.a. "that one Ming classic novel that often got censored and un-classic-ed because of its graphic sexual content", also has a folk Precious Scroll singing session (a story within a story, basically) that mentioned them.

In this story, King Yama sent a pair of "Impermanence Spectres" after Lady Huang, the protagonist of the scroll, who were also referred to as "Divine Boys/Acolytes of Good and Evil".

Now, the Boy-Acolytes of Good and Evil (善恶童子) were a pair of existing Underworld deities that had appeared in Dunhuang manuscripts and Ksitigarbha-themed artworks, responsible for recording the good and bad deeds of people respectively.

Their first mention was in the Tang translation of Surangama Sutra, and according to the second variant of the Ten Kings Scripture, the one recording bad deeds was said to look like a Raksha, while the one responsible for good deeds just looked like a regular divine acolyte.

Plum in the Golden Vase might have briefly aluded to that quirk too, in the story-within-a-story, where it was said that "Good people are welcomed by the acolyte(s), while bad people get the Yaksha(s)".

In the earlier Song dynasty compendium, Yijian Zhi, there are also mentions of two kids leading a fortunate guy's soul out of the Underworld, as well as showing up to inform some guy's wife that her days were numbered.

The second story is kinda funny, because after she had pretty much rolled over and accepted her fate, the two kids suddenly returned and were like "Excuse me, was Zhao your maiden name, or your husband's?"

Upon being informed that it was the latter case, they were like "Dangit, almost got the wrong person." Immediately after they left, another woman in the neighborhood whose surname was actually Zhao died.

Both stories do not use the specific name of "Acolytes of Good & Evil" for them, though, nor are they described as recorders of good and evil deeds.

For all I know, these two kids could be just like the pair of "young boys in blue robes" (青衣童子) who led Taizong into the Ghost Gate and the Underworld proper in JTTW Chapter 11: generic ghost workers.

But in Plum in the Golden Vase at least, they seemed to have been absorbed into the larger category of the Impermanence Ghosts, even though the Impermanence Ghosts still weren't their own characters yet, or gained any iconic uniforms.

Rather, it's more that 1) the catch-all name of "Impermanence" has become somewhat widespread for the generic ghost cops, though not yet universal, and 2) the Underworld apparently has a buddy-cop system in place now, where there had to be two ghostly officials for every newly dead person.

Psychopomp Outsourcing

In the late Ming and Qing dynasty, we got another twist on the Wuchang thing: Zou Wuchang, literally "Walk as Impermanences".

I've talked before about the early version of Taizong's trip to the Underworld, where Cui Jue/Ziyu, instead of being posthumously made a ghost judge, was a living official working part-time for the Underworld.

Well, Zou Wuchang is similar, but less prestigious, and you don't get paid either. The Underworld is short of hands (somehow), so they just grab a random living person and be like "Go fetch dead people for us."

The earliest mention of such a tradition in the Ming dynasty 语怪 placed the custom in Fengdu, the famous "ghost city" of Sichuan.

According to the text, when someone's soul was yanked off its streets to work as part-time psychopomps, they just fainted on the spot, and would revive after a few hours or overnight. The phenomenon was so common, the locals weren't even shocked, nor bothered getting them any medical attention.

Yuewei Caotang Biji goes further into the rationales of why Underworld needed those living conscripts. Apparently, all the living people clustered around a sickbed created a blazing aura of Yang, which certain venerable/fierce/brutish individuals also possessed in abundance, and was anathema to the ghost cops.

They were beings of pure Yin, after all, while the conscripts, whose bodies were Yin but still had plenty of Yang-aligned Qi, didn't have to worry about that.

Zou Wuchang was also not gender-exclusive, and there were mentions of multiple female conscripts in Qing legend compendiums.

Also, though the recruitment was forceful, you could actually retire after serving for a number of years——in one tale from 庸闲斋笔记, a woman fought the conscript for her mother-in-law's soul, who took pity on her and reported back to the City God.

In response, the City God said he'd send a report to Yama to see if she could be spared, and also released the conscript from her duty on account of her kind heart.

The popularity of this tradition across multiple sources and a long stretch of time signalled that, to an even greater extent than before, the ghost cops weren't generic ghost cops no longer: they are The Impermanences, which is only a few step away from developing into their own characters with unique iconography.

Black and White

First: where did their signature robe colors come from?

According to the first variant of the Ten Kings Scripture, officials under the Ten Kings were supposed to be dressed in black robes, riding a black horse, and carrying a black banner.

But in Tang folklore compendiums, that dress code wasn't a thing at all. A Taiwanese paper actually goes through tales of ghost officials inside Taiping Guangji where their appearances were described, and counted 22 cases of them wearing yellow robes, 7 cases of red robes, and only 8 stories involving ghost officials in either black or white robes.

Though ghost officials in black as well as white robes never appeared in the same story, they did have two things in common: 1) they tended to be quite tall, and 2) almost half of them were carrying weapons of some sorts.

The very late Ming/early Qing novel, Cu Hulu, also has a character ask Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha a bunch of questions in Chapter 12.

One of them was about the discrepancy between the depiction of Underworld officials in temples and the ones he personally saw, and he mentioned that the statues of "Impermanences" were 1) dressed in mourning robes and 2) about a Zhang and two Chi (3+ meter) in height.

Which suggests that, by the novel's time, the ghost cops had already gained a set of uniforms, one associated with funerary affairs.

(Also: I love Ksitigarbha's answer to that particular question——"Yeah we used to have a really tall ghost cop like that, people just call him 'Wuchang' because they don't know what the heck he is. Also, Impermanence isn't actually a real name, it's a concept.")

However, as far as I know, the earliest mention of a pair of ghost cops, one in white and one in black, was in Vol. 19 of Yuewei Caotang Biji. And the story is quite funny.

Basically, this Sun guy was temporarily residing in someone else's house, and the host's mother was severely ill. One day, the family servant boy carried in some dinner for him, and because Sun was busy with something else, he told the boy to put it on a nearby table in another room.

Suddenly, a white robed guy just appeared out of nowhere and entered the house, followed by a short black robed guy.

Sun hurried into the room, saw the two guys stealing his dinner, and angrily yelled at them. The white robed guy noped out of there, leaving the black robed guy behind and hiding in a corner, unable to exit the room because Sun was blocking the door.

He kinda just sat outside and kept an eye on them for a while, before the host of the family suddenly showed up, telling him that his mother had just spoken.

Basically, the ghost officials had come for her, and one of them happened to be cornered in the room by Sun, so would he please move? She didn't want to be punished for showing up late.

The host didn't know if it was true either, and was just going out there and checking. But the moment Sun went and sat somewhere else, the ghost in black scampered out of the room. Soon afterwards, wailing began to come out of the mother's room, suggesting she had been taken away.

As hilariously pathetic as these two unnamed ghost cops are, the only thing connecting them to the Heibai Wuchang of much later times is their robe colors, and the black-robed one being short.

There are no tales featuring both 1) a pair of ghost cops in black and white, and 2) the pair being referred to as "Impermanences", though.

The middle-late Qing stories that do refer to the ghost cops as such tend to only feature a single Impermanence: unnaturally tall, dressed in white robes and hats, either holding a fan or carrying strings of paper money on his shoulders, sometimes bleeding from his eyes or nose/mouth.

(Yep, you know how the White Impermanence is often seen as the older of the two sworn brothers? As far as their historical existence goes, he really is the older guy.)

It was in the 19th century 醉茶志怪 that we saw the first signs of the two converging. In the three stories with "Impermanence" in their titles, two featured the "white-robed ghost cop in tall hat" alone, one of which described him as looking like a 10+ years old kid, standing at the side of the road like a temple clay statue.

The third story, however, featured a sighting of two giant ghosts, one in white and one in blue/green, near the City God's temple. Out of the four people involved in the encounter, three died after a few days, and the only survivor was the one who had his line of sight blocked by the palaquin.

How did 1 become 2?

How did the single unique Impermanence become the Black and White Impermanences?

Well…it's a complicated question with no definitive answers. We know that in the (probably Qing dynasty) Jade Records, there are already mentions of a pair of ghosts called Huo Wuchang ("Life-is-Impermanent" or "Living Impermanence") and Si Youfen ("Death-Has-a-Part").

The former wears a black official hat and formal robes, holds brushes and papers in his hands, with blades on his shoulders and torture tools on his belts. He has big bulging eyes and is often laughing.

The latter has dirty, bloodied face, wears a white robe, holds an abacus, carries a sack of rice on his shoulder and has paper money dangling in front of his chest like a necklace. He has a sad frown on his face and is always sighing.

As you can see, there are similarities, but also notable differences from the "iconic" Black & White Impermanences. Whereas the White Impermanence is usually depicted as the cheerful one in white robes, carrying an abacus and wearing strings of paper money, here, he is the sad and grim one.

Their jobs also differ: instead of fetching souls to the Underworld, in the Jade Records, these two are responsible for pushing the dead off the bridges after they have drunken Mengpo's amnesia soup, into the scarlet river so they can reincarnate.

Personally, I view them as a transistory stage between the "Generic Impermanence Ghosts" and "The Two Unique Psychopomps We Know and Love", one strand of the folk god evolutionary process that was captured in written sources.

A Japanese paper goes into another strand in the evolution: the addition of the Black Impermanence. Namely, he might have grown out of a ghost that commonly showed up in City God worship and parades, the so-called "Wall-touching Ghost" (摸壁鬼).

The claim was based on very late Qing newspaper illustrations, where the Black Impermanence was depicted as holding up his two arms like this:

Which was a gesture commonly used by the "Wall-touching Ghost" during parades in the Jiangsu area, who also wore black robes and tall hats.

The author of the paper then dug into sources about the Wall-touching Ghost, and not only found records of the parades, but also a Qianlong era Mulian opera script, 劝善金科, that paired him together with the Impermanence Ghost as fetchers of the dead.

(The two were also given names in this opera: the Impermanence Ghost is named Ba Yang, and the Wall-touching Ghost, Wu Qi.)

Earlier mentions of the Wall-touching Ghost in Qing folklore compendiums, however, didn't depict him as a ghost cop. The story in 夜航船 just described it as a ghost thing that hid between walls and used its chill breath to suck up people's souls.

Another story in the 1878 浇愁集, even though it described the ghost more——dark-faced, holding its arms up like in the drawing, could turn into a cloud of black smoke and disappear into walls——still had it as your typical "ghost shows up, people die" ill omen.

So the paper's proposition is that, after the White Impermanence has separated out of the "Generic Ghost Cop Impermanences" and become his own thing, people in southern Jiangsu built on their existing Wall-touching Ghost and made him into the former's partner, absorbing most of his iconography in the process.

Similarly, the "tall and short" pair-up that was popular in Fujian and spread across Taiwan and SEA might also be a result of parallel local evolution, together with the name Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiu.

Xie and Fan

Yes! At last, at last, we are getting to the most well-known and popular origin story, a.k.a. the Nantai Bridge Tale.

A summary: Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiu were a pair of best friends/sworn brothers from Fujian, working as constables for the local magistrate. One day, while they were out on a mission, they saw a storm brewing. Xie went back to grab umbrellas while Fan waited for him under the bridge.

Unfortunately, the downpour soon began, causing the river to flood. Fan, unwilling to break his promise, continued waiting for Xie under the bridge and drowned. When Xie returned and saw his sworn brother's corpse, he hang himself out of guilt and grief too.

(…As a casual reader, I, always wondered why "waiting ON the bridge instead of under it" never crossed his mind as an option. Okay, sure, it was raining. But that's all the more reason to not stand under the darn bridge.)

Touched by their loyalty to each other, the City God/King Yama/Jade Emperor appoints them as ghostly constables, responsible for fetching the dead to the Underworld.

This story bears a lot of similarity to the fable of Wei Sheng in Zhuangzi. Basically, the guy made a promise to meet a girl under a bridge, the girl didn't show up, there was a flood, and, unwilling to leave, he drowned while still clinging to the bridge pillar.

Zhuangzi's opinion of the guy wasn't too high, because honestly, what a stupid way to die.

However, Sima Qian held him up as an exemplar of loyalty and keeping one's word, and the reading stuck. For later folktales about Wei Sheng as well as others that adopted the basic premise, like one tale in the 七世夫妻 story cycle, it also tended to get turned into a straight-up love story.

Though the Nantai Bridge Tale is the most popular version of their backstory, it's far from the only version. One version has them as Tang dynasty officials, working under the historical figure Zhang Xun, who died during the Anshi Rebellion.

While they were trying to get reinforcements, Xie was caught and hung on the city gate by the rebels, while Fan accidentally drowned.

When Zhang Xun was made a City God after the city fell and the rebels killed him, these two also became deified as his attendants.

In another version, Xie was a filial son with an aging mother, who had been wrongly imprisoned because of a friend's crime. During the Lunar New Year, Fan found him crying in the cell, and, upon learning about his sad backstory, released him secretly to visit his mother, on the condition that he returns after seven days.

However, his mother died soon after his return. Busy with her funeral, Xie did not return in time, and Fan, unable to answer to his superiors, committed suicide via drinking poison. When Xie returned and learned of the terrible news, he, too, hang himself.

And these three are far from the only known versions! Like, seriously, there are probably as many variations of the story as there are variations of the objects they held in their hands.

Though some elements stay more constant——using their deaths to explain their iconography, Xie being more commonly associated with the fan, umbrella, and abacus and Fan, chains, everything is subjected to changes and regional differences.

(For example, SEA oral legends tend to associate them with opium. Most of the time, they are constables or mercenaries employed to track down opium smugglers and other criminals, but some have them as Robin Hood-esque opium smugglers.)

Anyways, I hope this long post has offered some insight into the two iconic, yet also somewhat obscure ghost cops. I might add an "Appendix of Fun Facts and Tales" that doesn't fit into the main body of the post, but for now? That will be all.

May the readers who celebrate it have a nice Zhongyuan Festival.

Bibliography:

蔺坤:《无常鬼考源》

大谷亨：《黑无常的诞生与演变—— 以江苏南部的摸壁鬼传说为中心》

陈威伯、施静宜：《七爷八爷成神故事研究》

江義雄：《臺灣「黑白無常」與「范謝將軍」研究》

吳彥鋒：《臺灣七爺八爺傳說及其與信仰關係研究》

中国国家博物馆藏《十一面观音变相》的阐释

劉榕峻：狂放不羈、怪異獨特：談香港藝術館展出的「揚州八怪」

Stephen F. Teiser, The Scripture on the Ten Kings and the Making of Purgatory in Medieval Chinese Buddhism

Fabian Graham, Voices from the Underworld: Chinese Hell Deity Worship in Contemporary Singapore and Malaysia

CBETA: 《地藏王菩萨本愿经》

CBETA：《佛说地藏王菩萨发心因缘十王经》

夷坚志/支癸07，“赵彥珍妻”

《金瓶梅词话》，Chapter 74

《醋葫芦》，Chapter 12

《劝善金科》Vol.5, Part 2

The Jade Guidebook: Appendices, translated by David K. Jordan

Journey to the West Vol.1, Chapter 11, translated by Anthony C. Yu

[back-in-2037]

What I think each of the Robinsons would dress up as for Halloween 🎃

Bud: Headless horseman. He goes with the interpretation that has a pumpkin for a head and, of course, he puts in on backwards.

Fritz and Petunia: Fritz wears a more old-timey get up with a dark color palette and has Petunia look like a creepy, ghostly doll.

Joe: He doesn't wear a costume at first glance, and when asked the family's response is "He is wearing a costume, he's dressed up as a *chuckle* 'regular Joe'. Get it?" Either that, or I can also see him wearing a classic vampire costume.

Tallulah and Laszlo: Duo costume. Since Laszlo flies around all the time he dresses up as an angel, while Tallulah dresses up as a devil. Which would be a role reversal of sorts for them since he's usually the troublemaker of the two while she tends to be the voice of reason.

Billie: Since there's this connection often made between psychopomps and different modes of transportation (boats, buses, and of course, trains) I can see her dressing up as the Grim Reaper.

Lefty: A Kraken, pretty self explanatory.

Spike and Dimitri: Since their whole thing is how they are literally just heads poking out of the dirt, zombies.

Lucille: I headcanon her to be a chemist, so I figure she would dress up as a witch, formulas translating into potions in this case.

Cornelius: Frankenstein.

Carl: Frankenstein's monster. Again, these two are pretty self-explanatory.

Franny: Either some kind of bog/swamp creature or the Phantom of the Opera. Radically different costumes, but I think either one would be fitting for her given her love of frogs and music.

Gaston: His whole thing is cannons, so I can see him dressing up as a pirate, specifically an undead pirate captain who went down with his ship, because of course he would also come up with an elaborate backstory for his costume.

Art: Kind of a reach, but I can see him dressing up as a werewolf, because he works in space, and the moon, and well...you guys get it.

Tiny: The family gets him a pair of wings, comically small of course, and he's a dragon now. He loves it.

Buster: The family gets him one of those little pumpkin dog costumes.

Wilbur: A ghost. Either he goes with the classic white sheet with eyeholes, or he gets Tallulah to help him get some old timey clothes, face paint that makes him look dead, and chains ala Marley's ghost. Either way, he uses a pair of hover-boots his dad invented to fly around.

[dare-valley]

The King of Annwn

Brythonic Paganism Essays: Part I

The Usual Disclaimer: The tales of The Mabinogion and other surviving Welsh texts were once shared orally, passed down across generations, and over vast distances. By the time these stories were finally committed to writing, the Welsh had long embraced Christianity. As a result, what remains in these medieval manuscripts offers only a faint echo of the ancient beliefs held by the Brythonic or Romano-British peoples. Yet, by examining these stories in relation to one another, and drawing parallels with other Celtic or even Indo-European traditions, we may catch glimpses of the older beliefs that inspired them. What follows is simply theory, built upon these comparisons.

There are many contenders for the title of King or Lord of Annwn, the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. So many, in fact, that most Brythonic polytheists I’ve spoken to tend to agree that Annwn, like the mortal world, has multiple rulers. However, I believe these deities share too many similarities to be entirely distinct. Rather, I see them as different aspects or variations of a much older, singular god. Before delving into the gods themselves, let’s examine the key motifs:

The God-King is often depicted as a hunter, accompanied by the Cŵn Annwn—the hounds of Annwn—described as pure white with red ears.

He is locked in an eternal, seasonal conflict, where he can be seen as representing winter, battling against an opponent who embodies summer.

This struggle often revolves around a goddess who symbolizes spring, the earth, or fertility. This mythic framework is incredibly ancient, with perhaps the most well-known version being the story of Persephone in Greek mythology.

The conflict often involves a journey to the Underworld and escalates to such intensity that a mortal king must intervene.

The god is also often depicted as a psychopomp—an entity that guides the souls of the dead to their final destination, much like the Grim Reaper. However, it’s important to note that Annwn wasn’t necessarily viewed as an “afterlife” by its original believers. Instead, it was more of a mystical realm, later misunderstood and conflated with Hell or Hades through the lens of Christian propaganda.

Arawn

Pwyll, King of Dyfed, embarks on a hunt and encounters a pack of white, red-eared dogs bringing down a deer. He claims the kill for himself, only to be confronted by Arawn, the true owner of the hounds, who is also hunting. To make amends for his transgression, Pwyll agrees to a request from Arawn: they will swap appearances and live as each other for one year. Arawn explains that he goes to war every year with Hafgan—a name meaning something like "summer song" or "summer white"—for rulership of Annwn. Despite defeating Hafgan in combat each time, Arawn always loses in the end. As Hafgan lays dying, he taunts Arawn to strike again, and Arawn, unable to resist, delivers the fatal blow—only for Hafgan to be magically revived.

Pwyll agrees to the plan and spends a year living in Annwn disguised as Arawn. Though he shares a bed with Arawn’s Wife every night, Pwyll honors the situation and never takes advantage of it. When the time comes to face Hafgan in battle, Pwyll defeats him but refuses to strike the final blow. With Hafgan dead, his followers recognize Arawn as the true King of Annwn.

Here, we see the recurring motifs of the hunt, the yearly conflict with summer, and the intervention of a mortal king. In this version of the myth, it is the King who travels to the Otherworld, not the goddess who is absent. While the myth lacks a love triangle with a goddess, Arawn’s unnamed Wife does play a role, with her honor preserved, this was included in the story for a reason. The psychopomp element isn’t explicitly referenced in this story, but other familiar themes remain.

Gwyn ap Nudd

Culhwch desires to marry Olwen, the daughter of the giant Ysbaddaden. However, Ysbaddaden knows that he is doomed to die once his daughter marries, so he sets Culhwch forty impossible tasks. One of these is to slay the monstrous boar Twrch Trwyth, a cursed Irish king who now roams Britain as a destructive beast. Culhwch seeks help from his famous cousin, King Arthur, who agrees but warns that to hunt this particular monster, they will need the aid of Gwyn ap Nudd.

Gwyn ap Nudd - whose name means "White Son of Mist" - is somewhat preoccupied at the time, having just abducted the lady Creiddylad from her betrothed, Gwythyr ap Greidawl, whose name means "Victory Son of Scorcher." The ensuing conflict between Gwyn and Gwythyr grows vicious. In one particularly brutal act, Gwyn kills a captured knight, cuts out his heart, and forces the knight's son to eat it, driving him mad. King Arthur intervenes and orders the two rivals to cease their war. From that moment on, they are condemned to battle each other once a year, on May Day, until the end of the world.

Gwyn also appears in the poem The Dialogue of Gwyn ap Nudd and Gwyddno Garanhir in the Black Book of Carmarthen. It can be interpreted from this poem that Gwyddno, unaware that he has been slain in battle, meets a warrior (Gwyn) and asks for his protection. During the course of their conversation Gwyddno learns that the warrior has witnessed many battles and the deaths of many of Britain's heroes, and Gwyddno realises he is now one of those dead heroes as he is speaking to Gwyn ap Nudd.

Later traditions place Gwyn at the head of the Wild Hunt as the King of the Tylwyth Teg, the fair folk, the inhabitants of Annwn, where he rides his host on the night between October 31st/November 1st looking for the souls of the dead. He hunts with the Cwn Annwn, the same pack of dogs Arawn had.

Let's go through all this. We have two examples of a Hunt motif, the Hunting of Twrch Trwyth, and The Wild Hunt. Both can be seen as metaphors for Gwyn's role as a psychopomp, The Wild Hunt is explicitly about the souls of the dead being taken to the Otherworld, and Twrch Trwyth is no ordinary boar, he is a human soul transformed into a monster, and Arthur believes that only with Gwyn with them could they succeed.

We also have a war with summer over a girl. Creiddylad is of uncertain meaning, it could mean "heart-flood", "blood-flood" which is unclear to me, but Gwythyr being "son of Scorcher" seems to be a clear reference to summer, their battle is to commence on May Day, the start of summer, every year, forever. It's also worth noting that the Wild Hunt the night before November 1st is the start of winter. This was of course decided by the (not so mortal) legendary King Arthur.

A note on Gwyn's family: Nudd (pronounced Neathe like breathe) is a god who's name means mist. Getting lost in mist is a sure fire way of getting to Annwn, like a portal, and the Tylwyth Teg, or fair folk of whom Gwyn is king, are said to waylay travelers with mist and fog. Nudd comes from the older Celtic word Nodens, a god associated with healing, specifically but not limited to eyes, as well as dream interpretation. So here we see a god who is responsible for clearing or obscuring vision, both physically and mentally, like mist. Nodens is also closely linked to dogs, hunting and fishing. Lludd is another version of this name, and Lludd is given to be Creiddydlad's father, making her Gwyn's sisters as well as lover, but we don't know for sure if the medieval writers saw Lludd and Nudd as literally the same person, so it's really a matter of opinion.

Gronw Pebr

Gwydion, a magician, trickster, bard and potentially tree deity (more on this in a future essay), has gone to great trouble to bring about the birth of Lleu Llaw Gyffes, Lleu of Many Skills. This includes him stealing divine pigs from Annwn, given to Pryderi ap Pwyll by Arawn and magically impregnating his own sister. As a result Lleu's mother, Arianrhod, has laid three tynghedau on him, which is like a curse or a fate.

One tynged is that Lleu could not marry any woman of any race in this world. So Gwydion, along with his magically talented uncle King Math, created a wife for Lleu out of flowers and named her Blodeuwedd, meaning flower-face. Blodeuwedd and Lleu are happily married until one day, when Lleu is away from home, a hunter arrives.

His name is Gronw Pebr, Gronw the Radiant, and he requests shelter. Blodeuwedd, having never seen another man in her life other than her husband and her creators, falls in love with him. Gronw explains that in order for them to be together, Lleu must die. So Blodeuwedd discovers from her trusting husband the very specific and convoluted means that Lleu could be killed, which involves a spear that takes a year of Sundays to create. She tells Gronw about this, who goes about creating the spear.

When the time comes, Blodeuwedd tricks Lleu into the exact situation in which he can be killed, and Gronw strikes him with the spear. Lleu is "killed" but his body transforms into an eagle that continually rots, and flies away. Using pigs to sniff him out, Gwydion finds the decaying eagle perched in an oak tree, and with his gift of awen (divine talent and knowledge) sings Lleu back to life.

Lleu, Gwydion and Math return for vengeance, and this time it is Lleu who slays Gronw with a spear thrust that pierces the solid stone Gronw used as a shield. Blodeuwedd and her maidens flee, but as they keep looking behind them the maidens fall into a lake and drown and Blodeuwedd is transformed by Gwydion into an owl as punishment, a goddess of flowers cursed to never see the sun again.

This story is a lot more from the point of view of our summer representative Lleu, who's fleshed out far more as a god in his own right in the full telling of it. Lleu specifically is the god of light, as well as being "many skilled" and sharing many characteristics of the "divine son" god that will be explored in the next essay.

Gronw, by contrast, has nothing that indicates winter other than he opposes Lleu and his opposition takes a year of work. He also enters our story as a hunter. The circularity of this conflict is reinforced in the resurrection of Lleu, as winter defeats summer just for summer to return and defeat winter and so on. I am reminded by this resurrection by Gwydion of Hafgan's final strike, which revives him.

Blodeuwedd also gets far more attention in this story than the women in the other tales. A being who is a literal embodiment of spring, fertility and the earth, being made from flowers. It is likely that the owl transformation is a medieval invention. There are other animal transformations in this branch of the Mabinogion that I didn't mention here as they weren't relevant, which also seems to be an addition based on a trendyness of people who shapeshift in medieval literature. However, we also have the maidens falling into the lake, which I imagine is a remnant of the original, in which Blodeuwedd falls in, as the maidens are not really mentioned before so this is an odd detail. Lakes were seen as gateways to Annwn, so here we see Blodeuwedd fleeing to her Otherworldly lover. I personally take the owl to represent Blodeuwedd during the dark half of the year, when she is with her winter lover, awaiting to emerge from the earth in spring.

We have no psychopomping either, but we do have two references to swine herding which seems reminiscent of Culhwch and Olwen. King Math is certainly no mortal, but he seems to be a god involved with magic, judgement and punishment.

A note on Lleu's family: just as Gwyn and Creiddydlad are potentially siblings, so too are Lleu's parents Gwydion and Arianrhod. The story doesn't come straight out and say it, creating the characters of Gilfeathwy and Goewin as stand-ins, probably for the sake of Christian sensibilities. These two are never mentioned again or anywhere else as far as I know, and it is Arianrhod who is pregnant as a result of the whole thing, not Goewin. Some versions even have Arianrhod in Goewin's place as foot holder to Math. Lleu appears as Llefelys in another story, who is brother of Lludd (Nudd). This would make Creiddydlad, the Blodeuwedd-like lady of Gwyn's story, his niece, as well as Gwyn maybe his nephew.

This really nails home how these tales became so mixed up in their countless retellings over space and time before being written down. They spread out and became something unique then smashed back together time and again, but somewhere in there is the important truth. It can be confusing and frustrating, but bare in mind always:

The Gods are not their myths,

Embrace the mystery!

[arikihalloween]

Pantheon AU

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Aka, Welcome to me making up deity designs because why the hell not

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It started with this drawing I made of a Julie that I call Moon Deity

And people on twitter have been eating that up so I've felt some motivation to continue working on it

Today I'm sharing the 4 first deities I've finished

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Julie Joyful

Deity of the moon and oceans. Do not be fooled by her elegant and beautiful appearance, for she's an energic goddess that will bend bodies of water to her emotional will.

The moon is often associated to calmness, feminity, such things, but I decided to go with an other approach. The moon is small and fast. She turns around the earth every day of the year, and is responsible for the tides. The closer she is, the bigger the tide ! That doesn't sound that much calm to me. In this AU Julie appears calm only because Sally insist that she has to dress "regal" for their very important deity jobs. Isn't that silly ?

Julie will have alternate outfits depending on the activity she wants to do at any given moment, switching from pants to dress !

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Sally Starlet

Deity of the Sun, stars and fire, she is the calm one, most of the time. Warm, but also a little stuck up sometimes, Sally likes when things are in order and go her way. She sees their deity roles as important ! The fiery goddess also gives her blessings in the arts, especially theater art which she favors

The sun doesn't move as much as the moon, but it is big and powerful and at the center of our solar system. I like the idea of reversing roles a little, having the sun being the calm one for once

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Home

The deity of death is a kind and compassionate fellow. He doesn't talk much, but listens very well, and will help souls pass to their afterlife with all the compassion in the world. He is also the patron of living spaces, as he wants to make sure beings live well, safe, sound and happy, before he comes to take them away.

I like it when death deities aren't cruel but instead very kind and comforting. Home will have a lot of little helpers ! Although, note that Home is the deity of death as in he's the reaper. There is other deities ruling over the concept of death ! Home is more of a psychopomp in this AU ( psychopomps are the "reaper" deities. It includes Valkyries, Ankous, Shinigamis, Grim Reaper, etc)

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Wally Darling

The deity of life ! He creates and gives in abondance, whenever he can. He may not be particularly smart, or doesn't pay that much attention to his creations past their conception and first breath, but he means well and is still learning. He's a fairly new deity, replacing the previous one. Home is there to kindly help guide him to his new duties, along with Barnaby.

He's just a silly trying his best with great powers. Life is pretty mysterious, and not easy. The path is long and full of hardships, after all... but I don't think what gives the first breath of life is cruel for it. Life is still beautiful and should be cherished

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Bonus Appleblossom sketch because this is my self indulgent au so I will put in my ocs, headcanons and fav ships !

[bitterflames]

lowkey obsessed with kuro and shiro mujou. they're literally the 黑白无常 heibai wuchang of chinese folk religion, but re-imagined in a heian period japan setting so now they're shinigami, who were possibly themselves influenced by western concepts of the grim reaper (and kuro mujou's design reflects this, with his scythe). they're on like triple layers of folk religion psychopomp/death personification and i love it.

[vintagegeekculture]

Prolific 70s-80s television actor Theodore Martin McGinley has a dubious reputation as “the Patron Saint of Shark Jumping” and “the killer of television shows.” 

You see, Ted McGinley was usually added to a long-running and venerable show’s cast well into the show’s run, in later seasons, right when they run out of steam creatively and continue unecessarily. In these cases, Ted appears on dying shows like the Grim Reaper himself. Ted McGinley joining the cast can usually be identified as the exact moment the show jumped the shark, as he did as a later season cast addition on such TV classics as Happy Days, Dynasty, the Love Boat, and Married With Children. 

What gets even more impressive is that his appearance serving a harbinger of doom for television shows continued well into the 2000s. His run of guest appearances on both the West Wing and the Practice coincided at just the precise moment when the consensus of most long term viewers was that the shows had gone on a bit too long. Ted McGinley is, in that respect, like the gods Mercury or Anubis, a psychopomp who’s duty is to guide a dying show to the next world. 

[monstersdownthepath]

Herald of Zyphus: Gravedragger

CR 15

Neutral Evil Large Outsider

Adventure Path: Iron Gods: The Palace of Fallen Stars, pg. 86~87

The cruel and capricious Herald of Zyphus, the Grim Harvestman, is every bit as petty and sadistic as his master. Known as Grinning Jack by most and viewed with the same horrified reverence by many mortals as children have for the boogeyman, Gravedragger enjoys spitting in Pharasma’s phace and taking a dancing dump upon anything he believes to be her plan. Far from the Psychopomps’ existence as orderly executioners, reaping those whose time has come, Grinning Jack and his associates live to sow random, pointless, tragic, or ironic deaths, eschewing slaying those who are already on their way out the door and instead choosing the most healthy or lively targets they can for destruction.

Gravedragger has the voice of a high-pitched madman even in his human guise, which he uses to walk unseen among the population (if he’s not literally unseen via at-will Invisibility) until he finds a target whose death suits his criteria. Unlike many Fey or even other fiendish Outsiders who sow discord and woe, Grinning Jack is not at all a patient planner or a cunning mastermind. He uses his 3/day Bestow Curse to strike his victims with sudden frailty before shoving them into an obstacle they cannot recover from... if he doesn’t just use his 3/day Slay Living to knock the target instantaneously dead. For the Herald of Zyphus, a sudden and unexpected death is the name of the game, so he wastes little time in enacting any sort of “plan” for fear of his victim going left when they should have gone right, or ducking when he needed them standing. For him, his acts of murder are accomplished the moment he spots a target and thinks of a means to kill them.

The most work he does is set up ambushes, lurking at just the right corner or near just the right hole for someone to come near before he blasts his victims off cliffsides or bridges with his 3/day Gust of Wind or 1/day Telekinesis, electrocuting everyone in a crowd with his Chain Lightning, or activating Bury Alive. As cruel and terrifying a death as one can inflict, Gravedragger can use Bury Alive to yank any target within 100ft to any open hole he’s adjacent to, causing the earth around it to immediately collapse in on them and suffocating them in short order. Notably, there is no save to resist being buried alive; all he must do is succeed a CMB check (which he has a +25 to) to yank someone a hundred feet and hurl them into a hole. Thankfully, he has no way to swiftly create any holes and must rely on one’s he’s either prepared beforehand, or ones he finds.

Besides his spells, he’s armed with a monstrous +2 Heavy Pick, whose meager 1d8+7 damage can trick one into believing that they can tank his Full-Attack easily. Unfortunately, his pick has a critical hit range of 19-20... and a critical modifier of x4, meaning the LEAST amount of damage a critical hit can do is 32, suddenly making his melee less of a joke. His range, however, IS still a joke; despite having the intimidatingly-named Long Arm of the Reaper, which lets him hurl his pick at targets within 100ft, and despite very clearly having four iterative ranged attacks listed on his statblock, Long Arm of the Reaper very clearly states that his pick gains the Returning special quality, which means he can only make one ranged attack with his pick before he must wait for it to return. Those iterative attacks listed under his ranged abilities? Those are there for reference to tell a DM what his attack modifier would be if he decided to throw his pick at any point during a Full-Attack; he can attack twice in melee at +24 and +19, but if he then throws his pick the attack is made at the third iteration of his ranged attack (+13) rather than +23, and he misses out on his final melee attack for the round because he threw his weapon. 

He very, very much wants to stay in melee. Not only are his most dangerous spells touch-range, but he’s got a few more tricks to make melee fights with him awful for everyone else, such as casting Ice Storm directly on his space, a spell which basically cannot damage him thanks to his 30 Cold resistance, but which traps everyone else in difficult terrain to prevent them from easily leaving his 10ft space/10ft reach, or using Greater Invisibility on himself up to 3/day to make almost certain his pick will hit its mark while preventing anyone from fighting back. His DR 10 is easily surpassed by most weapons players would have access to at this level (cold iron and magic), but he’s protected by Unearthly Luck, granting him a +4 luck bonus to his AC (29) and all of his saving throws (+15/+18/+17)... and more importantly, everyone around him must contend with his two 30ft auras, the first Frightful Presence, the second the infinitely more frightening Unluck Aura. Everyone within this aura is slapped with the dreaded Misfortune effect, which cannot be resisted by any amount of saving throws, forcing them to roll all d20 rolls twice and take the lower result. Suddenly, his Bestow Curse and Slay Living become far more threatening, his Frightening Presence goes from an annoyance to a certainty, and his AC--while lower than most Heralds--becomes much harder to hit with any amount of accuracy. Keeping his enemies close is quite literally his best option, as only immunity to mind-affecting effects can protect one from his luck-sapping aura.

Immunity to mind-affecting effects, or a simple Prayer spell. You see, ANY luck bonus--no matter the source, no matter how small, and no matter what dice roll it affects--protects one from the Unluck Aura. Even the niche Crafter’s Fortune spell can shield the entire party for weeks from the mischief of Gravedragger, halting his foul aura without them risking losing the bonus by attacking or casting spells... to say nothing of how frustrated Grinning Jack must feel when he’s trying to fight halflings, his natural predator, whose simple, racial +1 luck bonus to saving throws completely protect them from his most powerful, debilitating ability. Do not, however, allow yourself to laugh at him or think he’s a joke, or think he’s barely worth the effort of dispatching, because that’s exactly what both he and his god want.

You can read more about him here.

[leonawriter]

One of my favourite ideas with regards to Ryoji is this sort of... thing where he can just exist outside of time somehow, because of how short a time he's allowed to exist in reality.

(massive spoilers for P3 onward past this point, obviously, if you haven't already gone through the game.)

[EDIT: I've cleaned it up a bit and edited and put it on AO3. So, if you want like... an entire extra scene plus some, go here.]

Which is great in theory, but a bit more complicated if you wanna put it into practice, other than going "well, he's here because... oh, a wizard did it." There are possibilities and plausibles, but they're frankly limited if you have (like me) a logical mind and a need for something to suspend your disbelief.

Except then I had a thought - Ryoji is also known as Death, or Thanatos. He takes on that role at the climax, even. So, I started thinking along those lines, and wound up with-

Ryoji the psychopomp. Ryoji, the grim reaper.

Not "the Reaper" as in the one that roams dungeons (he exists during P3 and is implied by design to be connected somehow to Tatsuya Sudou, anyway).

More like, that it's a case of "Life gave her creations to Death, no matter what they both knew would happen the moment he touched them."

Minato (or Kotone) dies on the school rooftop, and there he is, able to talk to them, and they're able to tell him that everything worked out, that everything will work out. Their spirit lingers at the Door, and they talk like it's passing notes in class.

A young girl finds herself on the receiving end of unwanted advances, and then she's somewhere strange, confronted with uncomfortable and unwanted truths, and then- then, there's a boy in a yellow scarf wanting to know all of the things that she loved about her life. At first it's strange, and more than a bit hard to think of things for this weird guy who she's never met before, but the more she talks the more she realises that she really did have things she treasured.

He thanks her for telling him, and as she makes her peace with the fact that this is it, he tells her that he'll keep them in his heart now, too.

Wakaba Isshikki knows about the cognitive realm - a little too much, perhaps, but not enough to stop. Enough, perhaps, to see the shadow of a boy following her for a day or two. Enough to feel as though she's already living on borrowed time, when she feels that surely she knows what's happening, and she simply... doesn't care.

She's a little wispy, still, when he leads what's left of her toward the Sea of Souls where she now belongs. He's concerned, and rightly so, about what that means. Wakaba's more worried about the kids.

(A few people don't get Ryoji. Those unhappy few get the floating mask of Death and a series of coffins to tell them that their time has come. For some it's because even in death they have no humility, and for others still it's simply easier, that way. Easier to not be Ryoji wile dealing with it, even if it would have been easier still to simply walk away and let them find their own way to the Sea.

But Kunikazu Okumura had sent so many his way, that it was only right that Death came to meet him personally.

"I didn't even get to finish my speech," the man said, blubbering after the towering figure that Death made.

You had a daughter, Death reminded him, and he was silent the rest of the way.)

Goro Akechi comes to, and the first thing he sees is a bright yellow scarf.

The first thing he does is swear, because boys with slicked-back hair wearing yellow scarves aren't supposed to exist when you're dead. The second thing he does is look around, and realise that you aren't really supposed to exist in a sea of stars and sit on nothing when you're alive, either.

"Please tell me this isn't the afterlife," he says, mostly because although he figured it could be worse - he could have found himself in hell, or surrounded by all of the people he'd killed over the years, all of the ones who had every reason to make his afterlife hell if it wasn't already - it could definitely be better.

"It is and it isn't," comes the cryptic answer. "Usually it is, more or less. Each of those lights represents a soul, after all." And there were so many of them. "But you're a special case! You're both dead and not dead right now, which, usually that doesn't happen? People can almost die but not actually die, but they aren't usually both at the same time, I mean."

"Maruki," Akechi practically spits out. "In that case, I'm surprised you're not inundated right now."

Blue eyes - far too blue to be human, they almost remind him of Morgana, and he was neither human nor a cat, apparently - duck down, glancing away.

"I felt what happened. Everyone caught up in a lie, completely oblivious... if the one controlling that power had wanted to bring ruin, then..." But he shakes his head, bringing himself out of his own thoughts. "It's a good thing that didn't happen, really! And- you're wrong, by the way."

"What?"

"Like I said, you're a special case. I've been able to talk to a lot of people, but I've never been able to ask anyone to send a message back before!"

"Back?" For a moment, Akechi is reduced to parroting back words. Surely they mean something, but the obvious meaning is impossible, and he can't think of anything else. "Who would someone like you even want to send a message to, anyway?"

"Would you believe me if I said they were old enemies, who were also old friends? But, I guess you've had a few of those yourself, right?"

"What would you even know about me?"

Akechi got a lopsided, bittersweet smile in return.

"I've been following you for a lot longer than I think we'd both have liked," come the words that send a shiver down his spine as instincts and senses that were rusty from disuse told him what that meant even as his more conscious mind shied away from the idea of it. "But I hope that after this, we won't be able to talk again for a long, long time."

Something tells Akechi that he's both in no danger whatsoever, and also that he really shouldn't refuse. He expects to be on a strict deadline (ha, dead) but time moves differently here, and apparently they have exactly as much time as they need. No more, and not a second less.

When he opens his eyes again, he can remember everything-

Someone really wanted you to live, Ryoji had said, with a teasing smile, and bright eyes.

It makes him feel small. It makes him feel indebted - to Akira, to Ryoji, in ways that he can't even begin to examine or think of how to repay. It makes him want to give it all back, so that he doesn't have to deal with it, but that would be purely theoretical and besides, he has promises to keep.

First, a debt to Akira, something that to Akechi feels like barely a drop in the ocean and that hopefully Akira and his friends will feel the correct amount of gratitude for.

Secondly-

"Hello- yes, this is Goro Akechi speaking. Is this Mitsuru Kirijo-san? I have a message to pass on to you. Are the names Ryoji Mochizuki and Minato Arisato familiar to you, at all?"

[mabeljonesrock]

Azrael

True name: Abel Nicknames: Death, the grim reaper, the angel of death, the shepherd of souls, the prince of purgatory, the son of Adam and Eve Home/Location: Purgatory Age: young adult(biological). He was in his 20s when he died. Personality: Before his murder and transformation into the angel of death, he used to have a personality similar to Charlie Morningstar. Optimistic, compassionate and empathetic to a fault, he always believed the goodness in everyone(including his father and twin brother) no matter how bad they were. That is until Cain betrayed and killed him and it shattered his belief. Not everyone is a good person. Back to the present, Azrael(What he renamed himself now) is now a cynical, jaded and cantankerous yet efficient grim reaper whose job is to claim the souls of those who died and sees it as a necessary public service. He is something of a busy workaholic and always takes his job very seriously. He loves the job not because he enjoys reaping souls but because he enjoys helping and guiding souls to the afterlife. He is very bitter about how his life is cut too short and he never gets the chance to experience a full life(like falling in love, starting a family or dying peacefully of an old age). He admits he envied those who managed to experience a full life and felt sorry for those whose lives were cut too short. Azrael holds life sacred and is disgusted by those who don't treat their own lives with true appreciation or care. He can get very intimidating and dangerous when you get on his bad side. Overall, he still retains his kind-heartedness from his old life and was supportive and loyal to his friends, and an affectionate son and brother to his family. He's intuitive, observant and perceptive, with a sharp eye and a quick mind. Likes: his family, collecting and helping souls move on to the afterlife, playing his piano/keyboard, animals, sheep, herding sheep, his horse, all kinds of curries, cake, coffee, peppers, gardening, baking, Halloween, dios los Muertos, gothic fashion, travelling, Charlie’s songs, Charlie’s hotel, music, ghosts, skulls, children and babies, reading romance novels, rainy days, playing puzzles, art, drawing/sketching/painting, doing commissions, trying new things, movies, Emily Dislikes: his dad being a dick, bullies, animal abuse/cruelty, Emily being hurt, his past, those who wasted their lives or didn’t value life, trolls, death cheaters, exterminations, humiliation, ecocide, being all alone Sexuality:biromantic demisexual Species: psychopomp, human(formerly) Gender: male Pronouns: mainly goes by He/Him but wouldn’t mind any pronouns Abilities: Multilingualism, shadow manipulation, gravity manipulation, invisibility, levitation, flight, pyrokinesis, electrokinesis, cryokinesis, super strength, super speed, clairvoyance, mediumship, possession, illusions, nigh invulnerability, immortality, skilled weapon mastery, scythe proficiency, enhanced endurance, musical talent, piano-playing skills, weapon transmutation, high intelligence, strategic mind, shapeshifting, size manipulation, duplication, soul collecting, skilled combatant, parkour, soul reading, omnipresence, portal creation, teleportation, necromancy, horse-riding, temperature immunity, intangibility, Zoolingualism, soul manipulation, conjuration, and life absorption Weapon: the magic Scythe, the scroll of souls Status: Active Occupation: Grim reaper, shepherd(formerly) Family: Lucifer(spiritual father), Adam(biological father), Eve(mother), Cain(Fraternal twin brother), Seth(younger brother), 25 other siblings Romantic interests:Emily(future girlfriend) Backstory: Long ago in a time before death existed, Azrael was once Abel the son of Adam and Eve and the twin brother of Cain. Abel grew up appreciating life around him and had many dreams and goals awaiting for him in the future like trying new things, falling in love and starting a family. He even dreams of making a hotel for animals.

Cain became a farmer due to his strength and knowledge of agriculture while Abel became a shepherd due to his love for animals and caring nature. Adam often favors Abel over Cain because he has his looks while Cain doesn’t. This makes Cain envious of his younger brother and begins resenting him.

Cain and Abel would constantly ask their parents where they came from, but Adam and Eve would try and dodge the question. One day however, they realized they couldn't dodge the question any longer so they told their children the truth. They were told that they were created by the angels from Heaven and that they were kicked out of the Garden of Eden after breaking the one rule they had.

Cain became furious from this revelation, and stormed out of the house with Abel not too far behind. They ended up finding their way out into a field, where Abel came up with an idea. Abel stated that they could possibly call upon the angels from heaven by trying to offer them their gifts in the hopes to apologize and be let back into Eden, and with nothing better to do Cain took him up on this.

The next morning, they went to the tallest mountain and prayed to the heavens.

First, Cain tried to offer some of his crops, grass and wheat. They waited for the angels to arrive but they didn't. Then, Abel tried offering up one of his sheep, and to their surprise, it got the attention of the angels. The angels arrived and thanked Abel for the offering. The two brothers watched in awe and bewilderment as the angels took the sheep and flew to the heavens. Cain became frustrated that the angels didn’t accept his offering but Abel suggested they try again tomorrow.

Every day, they would repeat the same thing. Wake up early, go to the highest mountain and pray, offer them with their gifts etc. But the angels always took Abel’s offering instead of Cain’s. Cain’s hatred for Abel grew stronger every day when the angels repeatedly neglected his gift. Abel, on the other hand, got more curious every day and began to wonder why the angels only accepted his offer. He took a look at Cain’s offering and began to realize why. The crops, grass and wheat were not ripe enough. Abel decided to help Cain by farming in secret.

At night when everyone is asleep, he puts on his cloak, takes Cain’s scythe and he sneaks off to the crops to do some farming. But he didn’t know that Cain awoke and went outside to find him farming in his crops. Out of blind fury, Cain picks up a rock and throws it hard at Abel’s head, killing him.

The last thing he knew was a sudden sharp blow in his head and saw nothing but red….

Abel slowly opens his eyes to find himself in a strange realm that is neither Heaven or Hell. It was nothing but darkness and the only light was his new glowing eyes for him to guide the way. Confused, He wanders aimlessly in the darkness, trying to figure himself out why he died and end up in this new realm instead of heaven and hell. Along the way, he encountered ghostly spirits of animals quietly wandering around in this strange new place, confused and scared. Abel felt a wave of sadness when he saw them with no home to go to.

Wanting to help these poor animals, he began to try to think up a plan to find a new home for them. As Abel thought up new ideas to find an afterlife for them, he imagined Eden. Suddenly, a new garden(that looks weirdly similar to the Eden he imagined of) appeared right in front of him and the animals quickly accepted the garden as their new home. He was startled and shocked by his new power to summon the place he imagined when suddenly a scroll appeared in his hand. He opens it and a list of names magically appears in the scroll.

Reading the list from the scroll, Abel finds himself teleporting to the real world. He saw an old fox dying near the tree. As he gently caressed the dying fox, a warm, ethereal light enveloped the soul as it left the fox's body. The fox’s soul, now freed from her mortal body, hovered happily in the air before cozying up in his shoulders.

Abel smiled as he glanced at the ghostly fox resting on his shoulders and a portal to the realm opened up in front of him. With a soft whisper, he guided the soul of the fox towards the realm he had discovered earlier, where the garden awaited. The soul of a fox hesitated for a moment, looking back at Abel with gratitude before stepping through the portal, disappearing into the serene landscape beyond.

Feeling a sense of fulfillment in guiding the fox's soul, Abel understood the gravity of his newfound responsibility. He glanced at the scroll in his hand, realizing that it held the names of souls whose time on Earth had come to an end. Each name on the scroll represented a life that had ended, and it was now his duty to ensure their transition to the next realm.

Suddenly, he saw Cain walking towards the tallest mountain. Abel was delighted to see his brother again. He ran up to him and was about to hug him…only for his fingers to pass right through Cain, as if he was a ghost. Abel was shaken by this revelation but what was more shocking is when Cain quietly muttered something about killing his brother. That is when Abel finally finds out who killed him. It was none other than his beloved brother, Cain!

Heartbroken by the betrayal, Abel wanted to cut ties with his old mortal life and decided to shed his old name and become something more. From that on, he was no longer Abel, the kind but naive human shepherd who always looked up to his brother. Instead he renamed himself as Azrael, the grim reaper and the ruler of the new realm called Purgatory.

Embracing his new identity as Azrael, he accepted the responsibility bestowed upon him and set forth on his journey, traversing the mortal world to claim the souls of the departed.

Despite the bitterness and sorrow that lingered within him for the life he had lost, Azrael found solace in his ability to offer comfort and guidance to those who passed on. Though he could never experience the joys and sorrows of mortal life himself, Azrael found fulfillment in his duty to guide souls towards their final destination.

During the first years, It was just the souls of the animals. That is until many, many years later, he collected his first soul of a human…his dad. It was a ball-like object containing his dad’s soul. After reading the instructions from the scroll, He threw his father’s soul up into the sky and watched as his dad’s soul floated up into the sky, going to heaven.

Over the centuries, Azrael continued his work and learned to embrace his role as Death. With each passing soul, Azrael learns about the souls of humans. If the soul of a human is coloured gold and was destined for Heaven, he threw the soul up into the sky. If the soul of a human is coloured red and destined for Hell, he threw it down into the ground.

Though his path was fraught with challenges and hardships, Azrael remained steadfast in his commitment to serve as a beacon of light in the darkness, guiding souls towards their eternal rest.

Trivia: 1. Cain and Abel are twins in my version(With Cain being a few minutes older than Abel). They were conceived when Lucifer possessed Adam and he had an affair with Eve. In other words, that makes Adam and Lucifer both their fathers. Cain takes more of Lucifer’s looks while Abel takes more of Adam’s looks. 2. His presence is completely invisible to mortals except the animals, children, babies and those who are close to death. 3. He rules over a realm called Purgatory where ghosts with unfinished businesses and souls of deceased animals live. 4. He can grow wings that are similar to angels but they are pure black. 5. The reason he shed his old name and renamed himself Azrael is because he wanted to forget his old, worthless human life and remind himself that he was no longer Abel the human son of Adam and Eve but Azrael the angel of death. 6. A true animal lover. Not only is he a very devoted shepherd in life, but he kept the souls of deceased animals in his realm where they live happily in his garden. 7. He owns a horse named Ghost and an enormous herd of sheep to keep him company. They weren’t just ordinary sheep, they were the spirits of the deceased sheep and the caretakers of his castle. They take over his duties whenever he gets too stressed out and needs to relax. 8. His castle includes a library, a cinema-sized home theatre, an art studio, a music room, a pool, an aquarium, and the most ginormous garden you have ever seen(this is where the souls of the deceased animals live). 9. His garden is an almost replica of Eden. 10. He loves children and babies as much as he loves animals. That is mainly because he never gets a chance to be a dad. He died before he could start a family and have children of his own. 11. He is nonbinary and biromantic demisexual. 12. Underneath his mask and hood, he looks like Adam but with longer hair, a much skinnier figure, darker skin, a scar on his head and glowing blue eyes. His strong resemblance to his father is the main reason why Adam favours Abel over Cain. 13. His favourite colour is blue. 14. When not working, he spends his time gardening, reading, drawing/painting/sketching, playing his piano, singing, baking/cooking, playing puzzles, listening to music, watching movies/TV shows and taking care of the animals in his realm. He sometimes visits Emily when he gets the chance. 15. Like his brothers, he is a mama’s boy. 16. Despite not needing to eat or drink, he enjoys food and is a fan of spicy and sweet. His favourite foods were curry, ghost and Carolina peppers, coffee and Death by Chocolate cake. 17. Unlike his father, he doesn’t swear but when he gets angry, stressed out or frustrated, he swears as much as his father. 18. He is a big movie buff and a total bookworm. His favourite genres are horror, romance, adventure, mystery, thriller and musical. 19. In life, he used to look up to Cain because he thought he was cool and yearned to be more like him until Cain killed him and he lost his appreciation for his older brother. Now, he wants nothing to do with him anymore(although a part of him felt he should forgive him). 20. He knew several languages due to collecting souls all over the world. 21. His favorite holidays are Halloween and dios los muertos. 22. Inspiration for his character are Sans(undertale), Lewis Pepper(Mystery Skulls), Grim(the grim adventures of Billy and Mandy), Death(Discworld), and Death(the loving reaper). 23. Because he was murdered by his brother he used to admire, he was having a bit of trust issues. 24. He is one of four horsemen of the apocalypse.

(I planning to draw an art of him)

[fawnforevergone]

Quick List of References to Dante's Inferno in "Unreal Unearth" (Part Two)

HELLO !!! there is now an updated list since we have now heard the old album so please go check that out instead: [ the ultimate "unreal unearth" reference list" ]

[ PART ONE ]

I'm back!! A bit later than intended but here are the rest of the references we currently know :]

THIS WAS WRITTEN BEFORE THE ALBUM RELEASE !!!! please take it with a pinch of salt.

"ALL THINGS END" This song, similarly to "Eat Your Young", doesn't have many specific references, but, as Hozier himself has said, the song is about the sixth circle of Inferno, 'Heresy'. The act of Heresy is the act of holding a belief contradictory to (especially Christian) religion, and this idea is very prevalent throughout the song. "Just knowing that everything will end should not change our plans when we begin again." 'Ending' is used in two ways throughout the song. One: A breakup. Two: Death. The latter is important for Heresy, where Hozier clearly defies the idea that death will be the end for him. 'Beginning again' is often a term used to relate to the afterlife, and, here, Hozier shows himself going against God's plan to give him a restart, saying that he won't allow death and finality to dictate how he lives his life. No specific references to Inferno, but Dante was a religious man, and that theme especially sticks out in this song.

"TO SOMEONE FROM A WARM CLIMATE (UISCEFHUARITHE)" Now, this placement of this song confuses me heavily, I'll be honest. The word "Uiscefhuarithe" is an Irish word meaning "water cooled", which wouldn't align with where we are in Inferno. We are either in circle six or seven, so 'Heresy' or 'Violence', both of which deal with the idea of heat, fire, or boiling sands/rivers. Since the song is name "To Someone...", I believe the song could be written towards the idea of someone in this circle of Hell, rather than Hozier, or whoever he is writing as, residing there themselves. No references with the lyrics we have so far, but the 'warm climate' is interesting for where we are at this point in Hell.

"BUTCHERED TONGUE" So, at this point, I'm highly unsure of where we are in terms of circles, but I'm trying my best. This song will either be 'Violence' or 'Fraud', yet, as far as I can tell, and please correct me if you spot something I don't, I don't see any specific references to anything in particularly. "And ears were chopped from young men, if the pitch cap didn't kill them. They are buried without scalp in the shattered bedrock of our home." However, this lyric does seem to display unjust and violent imagery, so perhaps the song is leaning towards Hozier's distaste of those deserving of the punishment that the circle of 'Violence' holds.

"ANYTHING BUT" Now, I believe we are at 'Fraud', the eighth circle. The issue with these last three circles, especially the eighth, is that they are split into subcategories, 'Fraud' of which has ten. However, the first few circles of 'Fraud' contain people such as panderers, seducers, and flatterers, and the song appears to be very flattering. "I'd lower the world in a flood, or, better yet, I'd cause a drought. If I was a riptide, I wouldn't take you out." This song could be in a similar context to most of the album where Hozier admits to the sin, yet argues against the idea of the sin being a bad thing when it's not practiced in extremity. For example, the 'Lust' in 'Francesca' is portrayed as harmless yet consuming love. Aspects of 'Eat Your Young' convey hunger, 'Gluttony', in a, again, harmless lustful way and then contrasts it with a political hunger. 'Anything But' seems to fall into that category of turning a sin into a love song, as Hozier often does.

"ABSTRACT (PSYCHOPOMP)" I'm going to make a leap and say that this song could possibly not be about a circle at all, but, instead, the transition from one circle to the next. A 'Psychopomp' is a chauffeur of death, someone like the Grim Reaper or, as aforementioned, Charon, who plays a heavy role in the story of Inferno, and, obviously, Virgil, the second main character of Inferno. "The poor thing in the road, its eye still glistening. The cold wet of your nose, the earth from a distance: See how it shines, see how it shines." The lyrics seem to reflect on the idea of something dead, yet also still recognising the beauty in its now-faded life. Since the album seems to be a metaphor for one or more relationships, and the song after this is 'Unknown/Nth', I'm going to make the assumption that this song is Hozier reflecting on the goodness of a previous relationship from the persona of a Psychopomp, delivering this love from life to death. Inferno is about the idea of death, and Dante spends most of his journey being lead, delivered, and guided through sin by various people, but particularly Virgil, who, after the final circle, he parts with.

"UNKNOWN/NTH" This song is stacked with references to the Nth and final circle of Inferno, 'Treachery'. "I'd have walked across the floor of any sea, ignored the vastness between all that can be seen and all that we believe." 'Treachery' is a frozen over lake, where winds grow stronger the closer you grow towards the middle. It's a vast, frozen expanse and, although not a sea floor, crossing the lake of 'Treachery' evokes a similar image in my mind to what Hozier is saying. "Where you were held frozen like an angel to me." There are many 'angel' lines but, with the mention of 'frozen' and the ice of 'Treachery', I'll pick this one. The reason why the winds grow stronger in 'Treachery' the closer you get to the centre is because, stuck in the middle, too big to escape, is Lucifer, the fallen angel. The winds are caused by the violent movement of his wings as he tries to move, only trapping himself further. "You called me angel for the first time, my heart leapt from me. You smile, now, I can see its pieces still stuck in your teeth. And, what's left of it, I listen to it tick, every tedious beat, going unknown as any angel to me." The imagery of Hozier having his heart stuck in someone's teeth is a metaphor to the fact that, when Dante and Virgil arrive at the sight of Lucifer, they see that he is chewing on Judas, another betrayer of God/Jesus. "Going unknown as any angel to me" is gorgeous. Hozier realises, as God did with Lucifer, that the one he loves is no angel, but a traitor. 'Treachery' is a betrayal of trust, and the song clearly references neglect or mistreatment of Hozier's love and trust, and the metaphor of God and Lucifer is a beautiful way to put that. "That I'd walk so far just to take the injury of finally knowing you?" The walk through Hell is a long and tiresome journey, to which Hozier references here. He relates his experience of this relationship to the walk through Inferno, arriving at 'Treachery' and feeling like, despite the outcome not being a positive one, he finally knows his lover in their painful entirety.

"FIRST LIGHT" Though we have no lyrics, I have a theory... as always, but, at the end of this day, this title means SO much being the closing track. At the end of Inferno, Dante and Virgil leave Lucifer stuck, and make their way out of Hell through the same tunnel that Lucifer's body left behind after he was thrown through the earth, down to Hell. They emerge on the other side of the earth and Dante says they can "see, once more, the stars", ending on a cadence of hope, similar to a 'first light'. I mention in part one of this post the utter darkness of Inferno that Hozier references in the earlier songs on this album, and this title seems like a perfect conclusion to emerging from Inferno, and recovering from the damage he suffered throughout his journey.

---

OKAY !!!! If I missed anything, let me know, I'm so excited to know what everyone else thinks of the album, and WE ARE GETTING DE SELBY PART TWO IN LIKE FOUR DAYS ?!?!?!?!?! SOOOO

I'm thinking of doing a long winded break down for each song on the album, and previous albums too, so perhaps I will share more of my theories later since, surprisingly, some of you are actually interested in listening to me word vomit over a text post. ANYWAYS!!! I hope this was helpful to some people or at least interesting :] I had fun writing it, so <3

[preservationofnormalcy]

Hi. My name’s Tim. I used to be a mortician, and then I died. Went through the whole rigamarole in Purgatory, but I ended up getting a job offer. The powers that be have a lot of Grim Reapers, apparently, and they’re trying to sell me on it. Wanted to know if there’s anything I should know about the job from a human perspective before I take it? Thanks.

- Tim Reaper

Wuff, this is a tricky one.

The Office's official position on psychopomps is that while they perform a valuable service for some of those who have recently passed, eg, guiding to whatever awaits them, they are capable of making mistakes and are not actually empowered by any authority we recognize. All Office staff are advised to be extremely capable in at least one “game” in which to challenge potential Reapers, carry less than $50 on their person in order to not be able to pay the Ferryman, etc.

I would personally advise you not to take that position, but I can’t stop you. The discrepancy between the amount of death you’ll see there and that you saw even as a mortician is immense. The pressure is inconceivable.

[fantasticalbiology]

Godtale

So does anyone remember anything about the undertale au Reapertale other then the fact that Sans is a grim reaper. If you answer yes to this your probably lying. So here is Godtale plus Godtale yellow

Asgore- All father and god of Mount Ebott, he who started a war with Mortal due to the death and disrespect of his son by Chara the Blamed. Said to have slain the six mortal champions that came to the mountain to quell his fury

Toriel- The goddess of Hearth, family, and symbol of the mother bears and Formally married to the All father Asgore. After the declaration of war on mortals, Toriel left Asgore ands retreated for a cave until the time was right to strike against the foolish all father

Sans- The god of good times, relaxing, bad humors, tormentor of the god of good mental jests, judgement and psychopomps who found himself in good company with the goddess of the hearth Toriel. She asked of him a promise to judge the mortal fairly when they cross hin and he agreed

Papyrus- The god of wheat, tomatoes, mental jests, platonic friendships, brother to the god of good times and allies to the warrior god who serves the all father. When Papyrus encounter Frisk the Determined he himself was determined to capture them so that he could join the illustrious ranks of the warrior god

Undyne- The one eyed Warrior god of wrestling, the spear of the All father and fire ironically as she’s often depicted as a humanoid fish. She is good friends (and nothing else) with the goddess of occult knowledge, considered a good friend with the god of wheat to which they get into cooking matches. Now supposedly when she was still a young wild god she encountered the mortal warrior known as either Gab or Cody the kind, sources vary. There is an even more  conflicting information that she has an aspect known as the Undying remains to be seen, but what is held as fact is that this due to her encountering Chara the blamed who was trying to kill a young spirit, she took the attack and from her body sprang the Undying.

Mad Dummy- A spirit that represents anger, one of their epithets is Mad Dummy Za Worldo, but that neither hear nor there. What is important is that Mad Dummy has a major aspect known as Mad Mew Mew, who represent a form of death and rebirth ironic if you ask me.

Naptstablook- A spirit that represent malaise. They often credited as being a great musician with toon capable of sending you to a different realm

Alphys- The goddess of the occult, forbidden knowledge, accidental corruption of life and golem making. Ancient scripts says that she usurped a god known as Gaster, but that is only hear say and rumors of the crazy.

Mettaon- A spirit who inhabits the body of a golem the goddess of the occult created.

Mettaon the cubed- An aspect of Mettaon that represent constraint, but solid defence

Mettaon Ex- Represent coming out of your shell, and performance

Mettaon Neo- Another aspect similar to the Undying after an encounter with Chara the Blamed. Some say that they represent a solid defense, but that is a lie spread by mad men

Frisk- Frisk the determined is one of the mortal warriors who came to Mount Ebott for unknown reason. It is said that their journey ended with them getting other mortals to respect the old gods as they are said to be the only to reach Mount Ebott’s top.

Chara- It is said that Chara is an aspect of Frisk or the other way around as they share the epithet of the determined. They also go by Chara the blamed as they represent those whose curiosity got the best of them and now need a scapegoat to blame. Ironic as it is said that they were adopted by the All father and goddess of the hearth.

Flowey- A trickster deity and the husk of Asriel the god of hopes and dreams. He tricked the god of Wheat into bringing the other god together so that he could steal their power, turning into or back into Asriel the absolute. It is said that Frisk the determined defeated Asriel the absolute and with his defeat able to ascend to the top of the mountain

Godtale yellow

Dalv- god of lighting and lord of the deep dark within the cave Toriel dwells in. He accept offering of corns and has association with the goddess of sweet dreams.

Martlet- The goddess of craftsmanship and duty. Apparently traveled with the Mortal Clover the just, according to some stories. Was imprisoned by those who surround the god of corn. Some say she an  aspect of Papyrus, but this is false.

Zenith Martlet- An aspect of Martlet and a psychopomps from the story of Clover the unjust. Represent the fury against those who believe themselves to be just and will punish those with claws and feathers a flying. Some say the Zenith is an aspect of Sans, but this is false because they were kicking about at the same time

Starlo- A god of corn, heroism, justice (debatably), honor, the sands of the west and friend to the goddess of motherhood and legacy. He is accompanied by four minor gods. 

Morray-A minor god of the sword, who was incorrectly labeled as an aspect of Undyne until it was discovered Morray uses a sword. 

Ed- A minor god of strength and is alway willing to lend a hand.

Ace- A mystery minor god of luck and card play

Mooch- A minor god of thievery and sneakiness. To me it kind of odd that Starlo is associated with this one.

Mo- A god of commerce and persistent merchants. Apparently if you believe the tales of Clover the unjust, Mo himself is also the god of illegally squandering money.

Ceroba- Originally thought of as an aspect Toriel, but later denied. Ceroba is an oddity in that the yellow pantheon she and her “family” seem to have come from somewhere else, but that’s neither hear nor there. She is the goddess of motherhood, legacy and the willingness to keep it alive.

Chujin- A god thought of by yours truly as a god of the occult, technically not untrue he is more known for the creation of golems. Apparently one of his golems dispatched one of the champion Flo the integral, after they almost harmed his child, the goddess of sweet dreams.

Guardener- One of Chujins golems, they are known as the protector of flowers

Axis 014- The soulless champion slayer, apparently in the tale of Clover the unjust he was integral in unlocking the bounds of which Clover lived up to their epithet as the unjust.

Kanako- The goddess of sweet dreams and sacrifice and the child of Ceroba and Chujin. Its not written any where, but apparently one tale describes after Chujin death Ceroba did something to Kanako and that’s why she’s not widely worship and she was later given to Alphys to aid her. Now this is speculation on a lot of people parts, but apparently Frisk the determined did meet them in the realm Alphys wished not accessed, to tuck them in.

Clover- Clover the just or unjust depending on who you asks, is the mortal champion before Frisk the determined. They entered the mountain to find and rescue those who came before them, but ended up among the ranks of the dead by their own choice. There also are two retellings of Clover, one in which it ended with Clover defeating the trickster Flowey, and a more grim retelling of their epithet as the unjust, in which they slaughter everyone including the all father.

Flo- The champion before Clover the just. Honestly not much is known about Flo the integral, but what is known is that they were at the very least somewhat violent and that they were ended by Axis

[myhauntedsalem]

Ireland’s Carriage of Death

The Cóiste Bodhar (say it like coach-a-bower) is a psychopomp of Irish folklore that appears as either a black coach or sometimes a hearse, carrying a black coffin. The coach is pulled by a team of black horses and driven by the Dullahan, a sort of Headless Horseman of Irish legend. The Dullahan drives the coach to the home of one slated for death to collect his or her soul, much as the legendary Grim Reaper does. According to legend, if the The Cóiste Bodhar is passing through, all gated roads should be opened so as to allow him swift passage through and away to somewhere–anywhere–else.

In 1806, a man lay dying while his family waited for the doctor on the stoop outside. Hearing the furious roar of a fast approaching coach, the family eagerly stood to greet the doctor. Two of the man’s sons ran to open the gate but found it locked. It was never locked. This was strange. One of the sons ran back inside to find the keys, but the coach only raced on at break-neck speed. The family was confused by this and then startled when the dark coach suddenly vanished. It wasn’t the doctor who drove by at all; it was the Dullahan atop the dreaded Cóiste Bodhar. When the son came back from inside, he said he found the keys hidden beneath the innkeeper’s pillow, as if he knew the sick man in his bed would surely draw the attention of The Cóiste Bodhar.

Probably it is for the best. Legend claims that anyone who opens their door to the apparition, will be splashed in the face by a basin of blood.

It is recommended that anyone who spots the coach avert his or her eyes. Making eye contact with the Dullahan could force him to stop and unexpectedly claim a new passenger.

One man, Michael Noonan, witnessed the coach while out riding and described it as completely silent even though the six black horses pulling it were galloping furiously. Noonan, knowing the legend, quickly averted his eyes and the fearsome carriage flew past him on its silent quest for souls.

On December 11, 1876, a servant working for the MacNamara family at Ennistymon House in County Clare had been walking the grounds late at night when he hear the approach of a carriage. What an odd hour to arrive, he thought. But as he peered into the darkness, the servant had the horrible realization that this was The Cóiste Bodhar. He quickly raced along the road and opened the gates leading to the home before throwing himself into the vegetation at the side of the road just in time to witness the black coach fly past. Sir Burton MacNamara was spared that night as the coach rode past the house without stopping. Unfortunately, it must have rode on to find it’s quarry elsewhere: Sir Burton MacNamara died only a day later, in London.

While no one truly believes the legend anymore, the Dullahan and The Cóiste Bodhar are still something of a bogeyman that children in parts of Ireland still fear.

[ultravioart]

"But one might wonder how Juno aquired such abilities, and why she has such a sense of awe and adventure with her quirky personality."

"Well I can tell you! (proceeds to explain Juno has an anxiety disorder)"

Okay, that doesn't answer the question at all?? Lol.

I hope we get info on Mars technology (is it a new energy? Or is it just different tech?) and why IS Juno doing all this? is Juno Mars' last hope? Or is Mars station so sheltered and rule strict that earth seems like scary chaos? Or does Juno just have... anxiety. The way this is presented, it feels like they made Juno have an anxiety disorder to feel 'relatable' without giving us story to make it feel like an authentic representation of a condition... feels hollow, token. Maybe that person did try to say more about the lore but couldn't so that part is a retake? Idk. Very odd.

On a positive note, I thought the hover explanation was cute, being that she works like old retro alien invasion shooters, hopping up and down rows. I also feel like her blaster does fit what they aimed for, more so medical as well as fitting the retro scifi single blaster look.

Mythic discussion below:

But... a 30 minute meeting being 5 minutes? If they had said "Oh Reyes is into fashion(Halloween event confirmed he makes his own costumes, is into design) and the bejeweled tombs matched with 'judging souls in the afterlife' fit Reaper's 'grim reaper' theme, so that's why we chose this mythic for Reaper," I would have been like "oh, okay."

But they litterally went "oh anubis is the god of death? Reaper lol."

Mind you, they messed up Hades as Pharah in greek mythos bp because they gave Hades a red and black firey volcanic color scheme (that's Hephaestus, not Hades) like a Christian 'gates to hell' type deal. That's not what Greek mythos Hades is at ALL. Hades is rivers (like water!!!) of souls, and the spiritual underworld, not the Christian hellfire. Cerberus theme instead of Hades maybe could fit the Helix guard aspect for Pharah, but a FLYING character for the god of the underworld??? Hades Pharah is what you get without doing any research. (And don't get me started on the ship nonsense with that skin. Persephone is the story of a mother losing her child to death stealing her away, and it explains a mother's mourning as the cause for winter. It's not really meant to be romantic, it's tragic with a touch of kidnapping/marriage drama for sport, as Greek mythos does lol. Greek mythos isn't always litteral, it's often metaphor.)

This instant pick of Reaper to me shows the team chose it for shallow reasons, and probably did little to no research on Egyptian mythology. Atleast they got the psychopomp (entities that escort souls) aspect correct, kinda. Both the Grim Reaper and Anubis escort souls, but Anubis judges them to determine if they can enter the afterlife. I mean sure, Reaper is out to inflict his sense of justice (kinda Anubis like to be the judgement?), I could see that. But why wasn't it explained...

I would have loved to see an Osiris Ramattra skin instead (Osiris is connected to Anubis in how the worshipping changed) or 'Anubis' or even Set skin. Would have fit better for the character, made more sense for a Tank to get a mythic. I KNOW Ramattra just got a skin, but come on. Ramattra was originally going to be the embodiment of the Anubis ai(or simply codenamed Anubis) as a hero based on a Pharaoh themed PVE boss that uses sand powers and resurrection of mobs. Then they turned that into nanites and made it into Ramattra (also lifted off of an ow oc from Argentinian fans called Voltikko most likely).

ANYWAYS this is a PR mess, really shows they don't know the community. (Not to mention clash+new maps in comp day 1 when people haven't been able to practice???)

Venture, the omnic archeologist character, was used in promo vids to advertise the new Anubis clash map, yet Venture gets no skins or emotes?

Ramattra, created by the anubis ai, gets no skins or emotes? And you can't say 'oh but Ramattra got stuff already--" SO DID Reinhardt! And he's seemingly getting ANOTHER collab skin right after the Optimus Prime and Mythic Weapon!

The people in charge need to understand promising one theme and delivering disjointed bp themes hurts the hype cycle and makes people stop caring about the new seasons. If you can't guess what might come bc ANYTHING unrelated could, there is no hype and it creates disappointment for what could have been... it's makes it look blatantly like a souless cashgrab skin factory at that point lol. How can you promise Egyptian mythology theme and have random unrelated heroes and skins (Genji, Kiriko) on the cover page? The Greek mythos bp was better than this.

Atleast Ana is getting a mythic weapon, ig.

Looking at the other skins, I was suprised to see Polar Reinhardt and Polar Brigitte. It gives me hope future Egyptian skins are just out of order right now (like null sector Zenyatta).

[starsfic]

MK delivering noodles with the address of “the big rock behind Wukongs temple”

He finds 3 psychopomp, a jackal headed warrior, a Shinigami, and a grim reaper stalking Wukong

“Ummmmm”

“Look he will slip up one of these days and we owe it to our bosses to be there when it happens”

“I would have expected an incarnation of Heibai”

“His shift is next week”

"So, uh...do you know about all the guys..."

"Oh, they can wait all they want."