she who is death

ᵃ ˢⁱᵈᵉ⁻ᵇˡᵒᵍ ᶠᵒʳ ˡᵃᵐᵒʳᵗˢ. ᵈᵉᵈⁱᶜᵃᵗᵉᵈ ᵗᵒ ⁱⁿᶠᵒʳᵐᵃᵗⁱᵒⁿ / ᵃᵉˢᵗʰᵉᵗⁱᶜˢ ˡ.ᐟ ⋆˚࿔

[unmorts]

𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 : a roleplaying blog focused primarily on writing — here i keep inspirations & information posts on the character of 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 as created by amanda, an original concept. navigation links.

[unmorts]

⬩ 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 .ᐟ ⋆˚࿔

death is beautiful — there is no other word for it and there is no need to play at euphemisms. the matter at hand is the contrast between what would be expected of her to appear as : a skeleton or a corpse, the grim reaper in dark robes, morbid and terrifying, and then what she currently presents as, which is a profoundly human woman that looks almost artificial & uncanny. when i say "beautiful", i mean "perfect" as in lacking any human characteristics that would mark her as one of our own. what adult has skin untouched by time, the proof of life itself ? her face lacks marks of it: there are no lines, blemishes, spots, little to no blush or glow upon her pale ivory skin. the point is that she has crafted her looks according to biased ideas of aesthetics, or rather, her own personal interpretation of them which she got from films & paintings. this makes the bodies she creates unnatural in their appearances; so she looks like old hollywood stars stepping out of their time or like animated paintings. it's a feminine face many would readily confirm as beautiful but that seems at odds with everything around her, as if she does not fit in the world around her.

still, her oval face shape has been the same for over thousands of years, the same as the high cheekbones or the sharp angles of her jawline, the long pale neck and that feline stare of her eerie, mysterious silver eyes, like as bright as mercury. her eyes always seem to have a certain radiance to them and there's a classic or antique quality to her features, like she belongs to black and white films. hers is not a face that would fit the era of instagram, social media or aesthetic procedures. the way she looks artificial is a consequence to the fact she is something beyond human, a natural phenomenon, playing at the attempt to look like one : her copy is perfect and in that is her one flaw, for no human being looks perfect the way she does. most humans, if interacting for too long with her, will come upon the afterthought that something is wrong about the woman, even if at first glance, there is nothing about her appearance that would imply anything other than sophisticated distance, a sort of beauty that is almost nostalgic and cold. but if you want to play at poetics, than try to imagine what it would be like to have the all-embracing phenomenon of death & transformation in all universes try to contain all its multitudes into a puppet of flesh.

⬩ 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞.ᐟ ⋆˚࿔

⬩ 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞: oval, with high cheek bones and a widow's peak at the top, a sharp chin and defined jawline on top of a long neck. ⬩ 𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: 5'10'' or 178 cm. ⬩ 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞: ectomorph, or more of less of an hourglass type. there is little muscle or fat in her and no curves worth of notice other than her small waist and equally small hips. she does not look athletic nor voluptuous, she is tall and reasonably slim. ⬩ 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: dark not as in just black but as in almost lacking light or color. it is long and wavy, generally styled in vintage waves like the hair of old hollywood stars which gives her a timeless aspect. it falls to the middle of her back like a veil and she rarely adds accessories to it other than occasial scarf or veil. ⬩ 𝐞𝐲𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: almond-shaped, slightly upturned in a way that resembles a cat's and framed by long, dark eyelashes that give her a heavy look. the eyebrows are equally dark and straight, thicker than they are thin. the iris is too light, the color of mercury and they always seem to glow from within. ⬩ 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬: there is no lively blush upon her cheeks but her lips look always red. her lips are full but her mouth is small. her teeth are very white and straight but for the canine / cuspids which look a little longer than normal, it resembles a cat more than vampires or other creatures. her nails are kept short and oval shaped, which is very normal, but most times they look almost like glass. her limbs are long and make her look even taller than she actually is. ⬩ 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬: in no particular order, just some references and ideas; ava gardner, isabelle adjani, grace kelly, hedy lamarr, lauren bacall, shalom harlow, blanca padilla, monica bellucci, catherine zeta-jones.

[dollehouse]

Grace Kelly, 1956.

[funeral]

Jean Baudrillard, The Intelligence of Evil

[saintsebastiensbf]

José Saramago, Cain

[marejadilla]

“Whether we like it or not, the one justification for the existence of all religions is death, they need death as much as we need bread to eat.” ― José Saramago, "Death with Interruptions"

[unmorts]

⬩ 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 .ᐟ ⋆˚࿔

an important part of the concept behind this blog, as stated previously (as in my rules), is that i see death, the character, as the narrator of every story, which means, essentially, that most writing here is primarily focused on her impressions regarding the feelings or psychological aspects of those who interact with her. the reason for my stylistic choice of using the first person when writing. in other words, if you go through the blog, all threads / interactions are much more descriptive of other people’s characters than my own or if not them specifically, the setting of the scene is so that my writing partner can use the scenery in their favor (and most often the scenery will match the character in some way or metaphorically expose inner characteristics or details of a story). the attempted experience here is that your character is the main character in a story you are simultaneously reading and collaborating with and death presents herself as a sort of omniscient figure that is simultaneously the third-person narrator who observes the story and the first-person witness narrator that is part of it, which is the core of her character. by this i mean: curiosity & understanding through observation and experience.

this blog is a reflection on storytelling and how it shapes identity and the very essence of what it means to be human ( word that i use here in a very vague sense ). try to imagine something or someone who has never had a previous sense of individual consciousness or need for it, but is forced to confront the perspective of "being" by the simple fact it was anthropormophized. human beings, as a rule, have great fondness for assigning anthropomorphic characteristics to those that are not human and i'm no different. my objective as a writer on this blog specifically is to present us with an informal study of humaneness and storytelling as intricately linked ideas.

death here takes on more abstract meanings than merely the permanent ending of vital processes or the end of the life of a person or organism ( both the psychopomp grim reaper figure as well as the phenomenon ). death, as she appears, is also a representation of the tarot card, or rather, the meaning of it: the end of a cycle; or to better reference the rest of the blog, the end of a story. she is the end of all things and she stands at the end of them and apart from them at the same time. death knows the unfolding of everything.

another important point regarding death acting as narrator is that she will very subtly tell her own opinion of human experiences, their actions but she herself believes she’s detached from them and that her opinions are exclusively neutral which is not true, the narrator, even the most detached one, is biased through the hands of the writer and so i act through her to express my own opinions. for example: anti-war propaganda, the issues of duty without critical thinking or the exploitation of children being forced as soldiers — most of which will be directly related to the matter of the self / identities. an important aspect of understanding death as a character beyond the narrator is that she has no "self" because she exists as an event, a natural phenomenon. by interacting with others and having a physical manifestation, a body, she is subjected to feelings, she constructs an identity that is no longer as neutral or detached as she had previously imagined.

it is by interacting with others and then experiencing things by her own accord, such as love, desire, empathy or even annoyance, that she creates her ever-changing sense of "being" and by interacting with humans or those capable of human reactions, she learns she too is capable of them. the one aspect that is truest to who and what she is or rather, what she embodies in this blog, is "curiosity".

what i meant to say is that all this is a lesson in storytelling which is the very principle of human nature & death is the ultimate witness of the human existence and as she looks into you, you may look back at her.

[unmorts]

⬩ 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐬 .ᐟ ⋆˚࿔

⬩ 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞: death or "helena diehr". some might call her the pale rider, the grim reaper or the angel of death. she has no direct association to any faith or mythology, she belongs to all of them, as all stories are the same. ⬩ 𝐚𝐠𝐞: ageless, as old as any concept of a multiverse. exists independently of any external influence or higher beings and is, in fact, a being that exists as only one version of herself across all alternative universes. ⬩ 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬: anthropomorphic personification of the concept of death. universal, omnipresent, beyond belief, religion and divinity. ⬩ 𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: psychopomp ( both her occupation and her identity ). ⬩ 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧: knows all deities, folkloric and mythological characters on a personal level and yet, does not associate with none of them. ⬩ 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 & 𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: presents as female ( she/her ) but is indifferent to other pronouns. she does not limit or restrain her desire or interests to a single gender. ⬩ 𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲: presents as a white woman. ⬩ 𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: her self-made vessel is around 5'10'' or 178 cm. ⬩ 𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞: simultaneously type 1 and type 5 or: the reformer & the investigator ( nuanced, perceptive, isolated, self-controlled ). ⬩ 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: true neutral. ⬩ 𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: scorpio sun, capricorn moon. in astrology death is signfied by pluto as well as scorpio while the grave and funerals are matters of the moon. ⬩ 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐬: patient, charming, charismatic, diplomatic, versatile, nurturing, responsible, honored, agreeable for the most part. ⬩ 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐬: distant, self-indulgent, secretive, condescending, detached, controlling, capricious.

⬩ there is a timeless quality about her, something calculated and meticulous that makes it hard to place her within any defined stereotype for any generation or social niche, even her accent is impossible to place, she sounds to each person in the room as a native of their own language but with a strange otherworldly quality to her voice. in most social situations, she is a source of intrigue and mystery, with a reserved but dominant personality and a self-controlled way in how she speaks and moves that is as graceful as it is too sharp for human comfort. she holds curiosity for the mysteries within the depths of the human psyche or in the world around them, how everything is touched by myth and symbolism. she appreciates art and creation or rather, anything related to storytelling and human connection as she has a natural inclination towards transformative forces. what is of uttermost importance is that her observations of society do not make her a slave to to the ephemeral interests of the masses, or in other words, she stands as a neutral bystander of the narrative. there is a subtle dominant energy about her and a deep magnetic intensity in the way she watches others. some may want to define her as uncanny in her perfectionism. ⬩

⬩ 𝐭𝐯 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬: the grim reaper, psychopomp, the problem with fighting death, death takes a holiday, hanging up on the grim reaper, the sacred darkness, anthropomorphic personification, don’t fear the reaper, death and the maiden (subverted) ⬩ 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐲𝐦𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦: when upright, it stands for transformation, endings, change, transition, letting go, release. it is often a major change, transition, or transformation. the old version needs to die to allow the new to be created. when reversed, it means fear of change, repeating negative patterns, resisting change, stagnancy, decay. the death reversal means resistance to change, which can cause the feeling of being in limbo. ⬩ 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐲𝐦𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦: black cats ( the unknown, mystery and transformation ) , ravens ( messengers between worlds, associated with both death and creation ), barn owls ( the potential for transformation and beginnings, death messengers ) & moths ( the connection between the physical and spiritual realms ). animals associated with her are often harbingers of death or the spiritual realm and are accompanied by ghost stories and mythologies of the underworld and transformation. she is known to talk to them and through them or to take on their shape when not in human form. ⬩ 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐲𝐦𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦: brown, black and grey as the colors of decay, as variants of mourning and grief, but also as colors of the first creation, the beginning of the universe in primordial darkness. ⬩ 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: the endless from the sandman (1988), the graveyard book (2008), discworld (1987), the seventh seal (1957), death takes a holiday (1934), death with interruptions (2005).

[unmorts]

⬩ 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 / 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬 .ᐟ ⋆˚࿔ ( under construction )

⬩ the concept of the character. ⬩ the concept of the blog. ⬩ basic personality analysis. ⬩ general curiosities and details. ⬩ physical appearance and visual inspirations.

[cinemaspam]

Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) dir. Maya Deren, Alexander Hammid

[xshayarsha]

“She puts out her hands and we disappear into them. She is something unmovable inside us, living there, going about her business in our bones.”

— Catherynne M. Valente, from The Bread We Eat in Dreams.

[everythingiread]

“I don’t know why it’s easier for some people to talk about aliens than to talk about death. Aliens only happen to some people. Death happens to everyone.”

— “The Surfer,” Pretty Monsters, Kelly Link

[finelythreadedsky]

keep thinking now about the idea of the ancient greek stage building as a doorway into death, which is separated from the stage (the space of the living) by the screen of the skene. cassandra calls it as much ("the gates of hades") when she enters the house of atreus. by convention characters cannot die on stage but must exit, usually into the skene, to be killed. cassandra's just extra explicit about it because of her foresight, but every entry into the stage building is a step into death. and then some people come back out of it!!!

[hellooldsmelly]

[yellow-snow]

“For a moment, death let herself go, expanding out as far as the walls, filling that whole room and flowing into the room next door, where a part of her stopped to look at the sheet music open on a chair, it was suite number six opus one thousand and twelve in d major by johann sebastian bach, composed in köthen, and she didn’t need to be able to read music to know that it had been written, like beethoven’s ninth symphony, in the key of joy, of unity between men, of friendship and of love. Then something extraordinary happened, something unimaginable, death fell to her knees, for she had a body now, which is why she had knees and legs and feet and arms and hands, and a face which she covered with her hands, and shoulders, which, for some reason, were shaking, she can’t be crying, you can’t expect that from someone who, wherever she goes, has always left a trail of tears behind her, without one of those tears shed being hers. Just as she was, neither visible nor invisible, neither skeleton nor woman, she leapt, light as air, to her feet and went back into the bedroom.”

[nikidontsurf]

LAUREN BACALL as VIVIAN RUTLEDGE

THE BIG SLEEP (1946) dir. Howard Hawks

[funeral]

Pyotr Ouspensky, A New Model of the Universe