Don't Fear the Reaper/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: The Grim Reaper, feared by all as the chilling inevitable reality of death, turns out to be a pretty nice person.

  • Straight: Bob meets Death, expecting Him to be a cloaked, scythe-wielding skeleton. Turns out Death is actually that, but a kind and compassionate individual
  • Exaggerated:
    • Bob meets Death, who is dressed in pink robes with a smiley face pattern.
    • Death is a little girl with flowers.
  • Justified:
  • Inverted:
    • Death is a cruel and heartless being who takes pleasure in taking the lives of countless people, no matter what the circumstances of their death.
    • Death is worried His next client is going to be the same frightened lump they all turn out to be. Death is surprised to find that Bob has been waiting patiently for Death and is kind of glad to see Him.
  • Subverted: Death shows up, in the form of a dapper young gentleman in a suit and top hat... Before pulling a giant scythe out of nowhere and grinning like a madman.
  • Double Subverted:
    • Death is something of a practical joker, taking Bob out for ice cream as a way of apologizing for the prank.
    • ... And then twirls the scythe as he breaks into an elaborate song-and-dance routine.
  • Parodied: Death appears to Bob in Sleep Mode Size. He's chibified and unbelievably adorable.
    • Bob and Death's first conversation is incredibly nonchalant. If it wasn't for Bob's dead body lying on the floor beside them, you'd think this was just some guy Bob was trying to get directions from.
  • Deconstructed:
    • Death appears before Bob. He tries to be nice, but Bob's utter terror depresses Death. He's seen the same look on millions of other faces and this one unending image of Death as fearsome and terrible has lowered Death's self esteem greatly throughout the millenia. He wanders around performing his task while feeling incredibly sad about the whole deal.
    • Alternatively: Bob is irate because he feels his untimely demise isn't being taken seriously.
    • Or: Given a choice between a kind Death or the cruelty of life, suicide rates skyrocket, leaving Death heartbroken, frustrated, and overworked.
  • Reconstructed:
    • Believing there to be enough misery and fear in the modern age, Death permanently changes his appearance in order to lessen the gravitas of dying.
    • Death just shrugs and tells Bob he needs to let it go and move on. It's time for them to go now.
    • Death Takes a Holiday every now and then to rejuvenate. Suicide being impossible for now, the people learn to cope with life.
  • Zig Zagged:
    • Being an Anthropomorphic Personification, Death's appearance changes based on personal expectation.
    • There are two gods of death, one a kind and compassionate being, the other a soul-eating, all-destroying Eldritch Abomination whose evil and malice cannot be grasped by mortals.
  • Averted:
    • Death is neither kind nor cruel. He has a job to do, and he does it.
    • Or: Death is not given a personification.
  • Enforced: "Let's make Death look less threatening. It'll make for good comedy."
  • Lampshaded: "Were you expecting something else?"
  • Invoked: Death appears to Bob as a guy in his 30s, wearing a nice suit and cheery smile. Bob points out several instances of the cloak-and-scythe days, but Death regards them as ancient history.
  • Defied: Death picks out His clothes for the day. He briefly considers a cheerier look, but then disregards it and puts on his familiar black cloak.
  • Discussed: "Don't worry: He isn't going to be that scary."
  • Conversed: "How do you think Death will appear to you?"

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