Afterpants: Afterlives (mashup)
There are several entries on the tvtropes list today that I just found relatively boring. I will mention them here w/ a brief synopsis;
"Died happily ever after" That scene from Lion King gives you a visual. A character in the story dies but for whatever reason they return as a fluffy cloud or whatever so you can see that they did not die in vain.
"Duty that transcends death" Wherein a character in a story has such a strong sense of duty (to whatever) they continue doing their job even after they die. While this trope DOES carry weight I didn't feel like writing about it any further.
This is the idea that there are creatures in the underworld that are made of pure energy. These beings are often portrayed as balls or globs of light. Meh. While there is enough precedent in folklore from Europe's "willo the wisp" to Japan's "Hitodama" again, I was not moved to write further:
Lastly, "The ferryman"
This is the quintessential idea of the psychopomp. It is a character (usually non-human or "the first person to ever die") in a story that guides/carries/sails etc...a dead person to an afterlife destination. This is super-true. People get lost when they're newly dead. The 'powers that be' understand this. There are Spirits who's entire job...for all eternity...is to help dead people get where they need to go!
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