Death
In some universes, there existed an intelligent embodiment of Death, also sometimes referred to as the Grim Reaper. Some incarnations of Jenny Everywhere occasionally ran into incarnations of Death.
Description
Physical appearance
Death typically appeared as a tale, pale man in dark clothing, or a robed skeleton.
In one universe, the Grim Reaper encountered by Jenny wore a black medieval cape and cowl. He had a a human face with a bone-white, waxy complexion, no eyebrows, and dark lips that emphasised his mocking smiles. (VIDEO: Mitigating Circumstances)
At the Redoubt in the Collapsed Cosmos, the version of Death who dated Julie was “a gloomy-looking individual dressed in a black suit, with black lipstick and nail polish”; they had a “deep, sepulchral voice”. (PROSE: The Hermetic Garbage of Jenny Everywhere)
In one universe, Death of the Endless manifested as a goth girl in a sleeveless T-shirt with elaborate make-up; her black hair and marble-white skin led Jenny to momentarily mistake her for Jenny Nowhere. (PROSE: Psychopomp)
In another universe, a similar Death appeared as a Black girl, who gave no outward signs at all of her supernatural essence. She sometimes liked to go barefoot. (PROSE: Shippy Shifter Snippets)
The Death of the Discworld appeared as a skeleton in a midnight-black hooded cloak, holding a scythe in his left hand. He had two pupils, which glowed “stygian blue” from within his dark eye-sockets. (PROSE: Pratfall)
In one universe, upon seeing Jenny Everywhere's costume based upon Jenny Nowhere, Peter Griffin guessed that she was dressed as Death. The costume included a black wig, a dark grey hoodie, a purple shirt, a dark red scarf, and dark grey trousers. (COMIC: The Curse of a Fairly Normal Halloween)
Personality
Although antagonistic to most people it encountered, by virtue of its nature, Death was generally tractable or even affable, having no further agenda than to fulfill its grisly purpose. Death lightly mocked mortals who hoped to cheat their fate, but was actually not infallible; if challenged, made to accept a wager for the life of a mortal, and beaten in accordance with the terms to which it had agreed, Death would indeed let them go. (VIDEO: Mitigating Circumstances) It was known for Death to attempt to form romantic relationships with mortals; this rarely went well. (PROSE: The Hermetic Garbage of Jenny Everywhere)
Jenny thought that most embodiments of Death tended to be “cold, imperious and inhuman”, but recognised that there were exceptions, such as one Death who, because she defined Life as well as Death, “liked watching people being, things happening”, and was generally personable. This Death also harboured clear familial love for her siblings, and mourned them after their passing. (PROSE: Psychopomp) The Death of the Discworld was polite and even personable, and performed his duty without enjoyment, though also without reluctance. He had a sense of justice and was very punctual. (PROSE: Pratfall)
Powers & abilities
Death had the ability to walk unseen, the better to shadow those whom it would soon reap. This suggested Death could also be in several places at once. (VIDEO: Mitigating Circumstances) One Death displayed the ability to simply appear to mortals in the blink of an eye, without sound or prior warning. This Death noted that, so long as she was fulfilling her function, the recently dead tended to know who she was on instinct upon seeing her, sparing her the need to introduce herself. (PROSE: Psychopomp)
The Death beaten by one incarnation of Jenny at chess in one universe spoke Swedish. He claimed to be a chess player “of some skill”, although Jenny managed to beat him; (VIDEO: Mitigating Circumstances) a different version of Jenny suggested that she had, over the years, beaten various versions of Death at chess on many occasions. (PROSE: Psychopomp)
Biography
Chess game with Jenny
In one universe, Death spent some time shadowing the local incarnation of Jenny Everywhere before making himself known to her. She admitted that her body was dying, but, telling him that she was not ready to pass on, she challenged him to a game of chess. Death accepted the challenge, with Jenny's life as the prize for the winner. Ultimately, Jenny succeeded, living on for more adventures. (VIDEO: Mitigating Circumstances)
Denied by Jenny
- See main article: Death (Memento Mori)
In unknown circumstances, one incarnation of Jenny faced Death. When Death tried to convince her that “it [was] too late”, Jenny simply answered “No”. (PROSE: Memento Mori)
In the Collapsed Cosmos
After the Multiverse collapsed, the resulting Collapsed Cosmos's version of Death was a non-binary individual who had a gloomy appearance and a sepulchral voice, and wore a black suit, black lipstick and black nail polish. They took up residence at the Redoubt, the stronghold of the Archons at the End of Time.
Through unknown circumstances, this Death then began a relationship with a version of Jenny Everywhere's sister Julie Jacobs who had also been pulled into the Redoubt. It so happened that Jenny dropped by at Julie's just as Death was due to pick their new girlfriend for a date; after a fairly tense greeting between Jenny and Death, the two lovers departed, leaving Jenny to house-sit. As she watched them go, Jenny wondered how long the relationship would last. (PROSE: The Hermetic Garbage of Jenny Everywhere)
Death of the Endless
One archetypal version of Death, known as “Death of the Endless”, existed in several universes. She was deemed a more pleasant person by Jenny Everywhere than other incarnations of Death she'd previously run into. Embodying Life as well as Death, much as her fellow Endless also defined their opposites, she actually liked people and life in general. Every native of her universe who died would meet her, and she innately knew who they all were.
Helped by Jenny
- See main article: Death of the Endless (Psychopomp)
One universe's version of Death of the Endless appeared as a girl with “a shock of black hair” and marble-white skin. She wore “striking” make-up, a black sleeveless T-shirt and matching jeans.
At some point, she reaped the local Jenny, as she would later recall.
After untold aeons, as the universe began to die, she reaped the last stars and her six siblings, ending with Destiny. Although she had previously thought that she might cease to exist alongside Destiny, she instead found that she remained as the last “living” thing in the now completely empty cosmos. She existed in this silent darkness for a literal eternity (as linear time had died with Destiny) until Jenny Everywhere shifted into this world by chance. (PROSE: Psychopomp)
Flirting with Jenny
Another world's version of Death of the Endless appeared as a Black girl. She liked to walk amongst humans unnoticed, and sometimes went barefoot. On one occasion, a version of Jenny Everywhere from another universe accosted her, making it clear that she knew who she was and making small talk. Death was surprised to meet someone who knew her for who she was but whom she herself didn't know — and even more surprised when Jenny, deciding to follow Death's example, made her own shoes vanish with a snap of her fingers. Jenny began literally flirting with Death, who seemed receptive. (PROSE: Shippy Shifter Snippets)
Death of the Discworld
- See main article: Death of the Discworld
The Death of the Discworld appeared as a tall skeletal figure with a “stygian blue” glow emanating from his eye sockets, wearing “a hooded cloak the color of a black hole’s event horizon”. He spoke in “exactly the voice of someone who would see every living thing from the creation of the universe until its final end”.
This Death was calm and polite, performing his duty with quiet dignity, neither reluctant nor gleeful. He was famous for being extremely punctual. He usually greeted mortals who had just died in the Desert, an otherworldly, seemingly infinite desert that served as the antechamber of the Discworld's afterlife. He had dominion over the Life-timers, supernatural hourglasses that represented all living things' allotted lifespans.(PROSE: Pratfall)
Mentioned by Peter Griffin
- See main article: Death (The Curse of a Fairly Normal Halloween)
In one universe, upon seeing Jenny Everywhere's Halloween costume based upon Jenny Nowhere, Peter Griffin guessed, among other things, that she was dressed as "Death". (COMIC: The Curse of a Fairly Normal Halloween)
Impersonations
Strach, the Abstract of Terror, briefly posed as Death when trying to throw Jenny Everywhere off the scent as to his true nature. In his Death disguise, he appeared as a skeleton in a purple, hoodless robe, with glowing red eyes, holding a book and a scythe. (COMIC: Jenny Everywhere in the House of Terror)
Other references
Matthias Geist sounded “like the Grim Reaper” when he reprimanded Novastar and Wyldchild for implying they cared more about Ms. Blitzen than he did. (PROSE: Angel Falls: Vengeance)
Behind the scenes
The personification of Death as a Grim Reaper figure is a standard mythological and folkloric image, by which token the character can be considered public domain, although the details of specific versions may be copyrighted by specific creators.
The version of Death seen in VIDEO: Mitigating Circumstances was inspired by the version in the notorious 1957 film The Seventh Seal, portrayed by Swedish actor Bengt Ekerot (hence Daniel Lynn's Death speaking Swedish).
Death of the Endless, as she appears in the fanfiction Psychopomp, is the (copyrighted) version of Death created by Neil Gaiman in the late 1980s for The Sandman, a DC comic series. Likewise, the one who appears in Pratfall is Terry Pratchett's Death of the Discworld, who debuted in 1983 in The Colour of Magic, the first book in the Discworld series. The version who appeared in Chapter 1 of Shippy Shifter Snippets was the adaption of Gaiman's Death from the 2022 Sandman TV series, as portrayed by Kirby Howell-Baptiste. Notably, Howell-Baptiste was also the voice actor for Grace Monroe, used as a love interest for two other incarnations of Jenny elsewhere in Shippy Shifter Snippets.
| Open-source elements making up the core Jenny Everywhere mythos | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Concepts from Greco-Roman Mythology in Jenny Everywhere media | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Biblical & other Jewish or Christian concepts in Jenny Everywhere | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
