(Picrew can be found here!
Full Name:
Death
Nicknames/Aliases:
The Pale Horseman, The Grim Reaper, Saint Death, Mortem, etcetera, etcetera.
Age:
Older than ancient.
Gender:
Female
Species:
Is Death.
Description:
For the embodiment of something that generations of humanity have faced with dread and fear, Death does not look terribly intimidating. She takes the shape of a young woman in the prime of her life. She stands at 5’3” or so, with warm brown skin, thick, waist-height black hair, and soft curves. Her face is a lot like that one kindergarten teacher you had, the one who’d give you an extra bag of snacks when you looked like you were having a rough day. She even dresses cheerfully, too, in bright, flowing skirts and dresses
The biggest tell of what she truly is is in her eyes. The irises are not just black. They are darker than ink, or shadow, or sin.
They are the endless and unceasing black of death.
When acting as the Horseman, Death’s face does become more traditionally “skull-like”, though not entirely what people might expect. It resembles more the sugar skull masks of Mexico: splashes of color and whimsical patterns.
Though given that she dons this look when on her Horse, you probably won’t be looking all that closely at the fun, silly patterns on her face.
Personality:
Death is a chipper, remarkably friendly being. She holds none of the coldness or distance that might be expected from an ancient entity, instead acting as if everyone she comes upon is an old friend that she’s delighted to see. After all, when everyone who will and has ever existed will one day walk with you, why not be welcoming? That isn’t to say that her nature doesn’t set her apart from humanity, however. There are times where she’s prone to thinking in the grander scheme of things instead of the present, and that can blind her to a more human train of thought. She recognizes people want to avoid death for as long as possible, but struggles to truly empathize with those left behind after a loss: why would she, when all those who die are with her always?
Still, for what it’s worth, Death does her best to be kind. She genuinely adores humanity and watching its progress, and can come across as strikingly maternal at times. It’s no surprise that she dotes on children, who represent potential and possibility.
Skills:
Pale Horseman:
Death’s presence causes dead things to be a lot more...well, lively, to say the least. Spirits and walking corpses are drawn to her, and Death has the ability to influence them to some degree (though they are not forced to do as she commands). This effect only becomes more pronounced when out acting as an official Horseman, with the dead popping up like daisies wherever she goes.
Death Sense:
The shape that Death takes is more or less an avatar of the infinite, all encompassing nature of death as a whole. Just because her physical “body” is somewhere, doesn’t mean that she’s aware of someone dying somewhere else. As such, she can appear wherever someone is dying to reap them.
...Though if she’s particularly attached to a mortal, it’s possible for her to be held up for a life-saving moment or two. Funny how that works.
Death Embodiment:
Is Death. You can’t really kill Death.
Weaknesses:
- Though Death claims all when it’s their time, she is incapable of inflicting harm by her own hand.
- While the undead feel a natural inclination towards her, Death cannot force them to do something if they have a mind to act otherwise. Things are muddied further by the presence of Hel, and her own influence over the undead.
- Her agelessness and status as Death itself means that she has troubles relating properly to humans at times.
Brief History:
Death has existed since Life began.
She will exist when Life ends, as well.
Despite her job entailing the end of everything, Death has always been quite fond of the living. Plants, insects, animals: she loves them all fiercely. Humanity in particular has always impressed her with their ingenuity. They are the one species who invents such fascinating ways of trying to stave her off, inventing medicines and surgeries and health regimens in the desperate fight to live as long as they can. Death is inevitable regardless, of course, but she’s always found the efforts charming. Downright remarkable, actually.
When she and the other Horsemen were called out for the End of Times, Death was disappointed. She had hoped to see much more of the world, and the creatures that lived on it. Still, her job was her job, and she went to do it with grace. The Apocalypse’s hiatus understandably came as a relief to her, and she is content to wait until the proper time comes for it to happen.
Until then, she has found a newfound joy in mingling with the living...even if the living aren’t that comfortable with her presence.
Other: Is a surprisingly good dancer and cook.
Full Name:
Gael Valentine
Nicknames/Aliases:
Hellspawn, “That Little Shit”
Age:
4
Gender:
Male
Species:
Antichrist, Spawn of Lucifer
Description:
On a surface level, Gael looks like any other child, if not a little smaller than other kids his age. He has pale blond hair, fair skin, and large, violet (admittedly, that does set him apart from other children) eyes. He often dresses in coats and jackets much too large for him (deliberate on his part, as they make him look even smaller and more unassuming), and has an odd fondness of ribbons and the color pink. Oh, and candy. His pockets are always full of candy.
When using his powers, his eyes glow like spotlights, his hands become clawlike, and he sprouts wings, not unlike those of a peafowl. The wings actually annoy him a fair bit, given that actually grow out from his body instead of materializing out of thin air. He’s had holes sewn into the backs of his shirts and coats to compensate, which are usually kept sealed with buttons, but that doesn’t make the wings any less annoying.
Personality:
There are Antichrists who favor their humanity over their demon heritage. There are Antichrists who refuse to follow in the footsteps of their sires, and instead walk their own path: a path of goodness, of righteousness, or at the very least general human decency.
Gael is not one of those antichrists.
Despite his being one of the younger hellspawn out there, Gael is much more in line with his demon half than his human. This quickly becomes apparent in any prolonged interaction with the boy. Not only is he intelligent and uncannily mature, but he openly delights in using that same intelligence to try and torment others. Much like how another child might pull the wings off an insect, Gael is fascinated by poking and prodding at other people’s buttons until he gets a response.
Skills:
Intelligence:
As mentioned, Gael is a smart cookie. He picks up on concepts quickly, and has a good enough grasp of normal human behavior to be able to play act at being a normal child when he needs to. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Gael loves to use his smarts to plot to his own advantage, and make things generally worse for everyone around him.
Regeneration:
Like many of his kin, Gael possesses enhanced endurance and speed, along with an increased rate of healing. His natural regeneration is a bit stronger than most, however, allowing him to bounce back from wounds that would completely incapacitate other children.
Child of Pride:
Despite his young age, Gael has a natural inclination towards his demonic abilities. These powers include a natural sense for people’s fears and vulnerabilities, a presence that seems to bring out the worst in people, and, unsurprisingly, the ability to make binding deals with people, among some other tricks up his sleeve.
Weaknesses:
- For all his posturing and powers, Gael is still a small child. In any physical altercation, he is going to lose, and lose fast. His wings in particular are actually very fragile. While his regenerative factor lets him recover faster than any human, that doesn’t change how vulnerable he is.
- Unsurprisingly, the child of Pride is arrogant, and prone to looking down on others. Who'da thunk it?
- Gael feeds off people’s pain and distress. If he doesn’t feed, his powers weaken.
- Cannot feel pain. This is more a detriment than anything, as this leads to him possibly being oblivious to a mortal wound.
Brief History:
Gael doesn’t have much memory of life before the apocalypse. His mother was a woman who, while initially happy to have a child, was much less happy when she realized she had given birth to an actual antichrist. She still took care of him, up until the point the apocalypse started, and Gael merrily went off to fulfill his duty as the antichrist.
And then the apocalypse stopped. And Gael isn’t quite sure what to do with himself at this point. There are some things about humanity he likes- the candy, for one. But he was so looking forward to becoming a dark prince or what have you. These days, Gael usually hangs around pestering his “siblings”, or living on and off with humans who are inclined to back up children of darkness.
Things are awfully boring right now. He hopes to help change that soon.
Other: A big fan of Edgar Allen Poe. He likes to quote his works, and also Shakespeare. Because Gael is pretentious.
