i.

'mercy', to him, is not a foreign concept to fathom, but there were barely a time in his life when he took the word to heart like his father had always told him to. there was darkness deep in his chest that grew over time from all the training he had to go through since his childhood in order to exceed expectations of his own family, to be the best of the best, to surpass even his father in the battlefield, sooner or later. without his father realising, gangrim also grew up with the idea that violence is the answer to everything, since his family had always been bound to resorting in such acts due to their service for the empire. his tendency to act out as he pleased only intensified with the sudden adoption of a jurchen child his father had taken under his wing, who later caused a tension among the two; as gangrim worries that his 'little brother', hae wonmaek, will replace him.

after being promoted to a general, gangrim was sent to defend goryeo in several wars that he would win without a fail. his self trained army was an elite team of soldiers that were personally given by the emperor himself upon taking a liking towards how ruthless and deadly he was in every war he has won. he kept rising up and up to satisfy his own pride, getting involved in illicit activities with the nobles on the side too to keep people on his side. sins after sins, he did it all, to the point that there was no room for any kindness or righteousness left.

but in 1107, when goryeo-jurchen conflict was on the rise, instead of choosing him - his father picked his adopted brother to fight in the front line alongside him in the battlefield, with a prediction that even though choosing gangrim would guarantee a win, they could lose their soldiers due to how reckless gangrim is. this brought him to the edge of agony, and fueled with anger, he was sent to instead just defend behind them. when they were unfortunately defeated and gangrim arrived back to the rescue, he finds his father reaching a hand out from underneath a pile of bodies - and, even though he knew he was alive, he ordered his people to retreat, later turning his back and abandoning his own father to die alone in the darkness.

with the patriarch gone, he rose again, knowing where exactly to stand: above everyone else. he banished his adopted brother out of the state to defend the border, ordering him to kill the jurchens while knowing well he was a jurchen himself, taking pleasure in making him suffer and watching him slay his own kind without mercy.

and in this world, he won the game.

ii.

the world of living doesn't know what lies just beneath in the realm of the undead. all the lost souls that walk there will face a judgement where those who lived a noble life and sacrificed themselves for the better good of others will be rewarded a reincarnation and a new better life in the physical world, whereas those who sinned and cheated the lives of others will face several unspeakable punishments that would make anyone wish they weren't dead at the first place.

gangrim's death came in one cold day in the winter of year 1120, after finding out that hae wonmaek had been shielding a group of jurchen children and feeding them a portion of goryeo soldiers' food ration behind his back, declaring him as a traitor and serving his death sentence himself, almost immediately. what he didn't expect the most in his life, though, happens right before his eyes, when he was stabbed by one of the jurchen children raised by wonmaek - yi deokchun. he raised his sword to cut the girl open and there, their three bodies lay on the ground, in a pool of their own blood in the snow.

the list of sins he had done were countless - he murdered the innocent, lived in dishonesty, enslaved himself to wealth, and gave up on filial piety. the supreme ruler of hell, king yeomra, sentenced gangrim to a millennia of punishment to redeem himself - that is, by living in the world of afterlife to serve the king as a messenger of death who reaps the souls of the living, especially those who lead illicit lives, as a penalty that's considered his responsibility to 'rehabilitate' in the afterlife. as another punishment, his memories will be as clear as day for him to remember every second of his life, while hae wonmaek and yi deokchun's will be erased. his name in the humans' history, too, will be erased, just so he suffers alone with the memory of his wrongdoings throughout his life.

and thus, he takes on a disguise as a human with many mysterious identities, aiming himself to bring the worse in humanity to drag them to hell himself. his name then rose again to existence once again, but now only as a part of well-known myth among the humans who worship jowangsin, goddess of fire and the hearth. his name is accompanied with mentions of his underlings, hae wonmaek, and yi deokchun, who had become his most loyal subordinates throughout the centuries of him reaping souls.

now he lives a life full of regret and guilt as he watches the two people he has killed during his time as a human smile back at him with full of adoration.

iii.

they said when the living looks into the eyes of the reaper, they will be pulled into a whirlwind of dark abyss that will drive them to the point of insanity with no way to turn back. to what extent this was true, nobody could tell; as no human who got into his grasp was able to walk free from him.

he dresses in all black not to turn any attention on him, a uniform of some sort that will hide him from the naked eyes of a human whenever he's out there reaping souls. but whenever he lets himself be seen by them, he is a branch manager at a well known bank - stern, precise and cold, one of the youngest in the country. and behind the scenes, he uses the benefits of his power to hide his lucrative criminal acts - fraudulent dealings with firearms, drugs and illegal human trafficking, all the worst things rejected by society, wrecking havoc in underground seoul as the notorious 'big brother' of a gang called the rogue serpents. with this identity, he's able to get close to the souls of the outlaws, with them all wrapped around his fingers.

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DISCLAIMER.

This is a literate 18+ roleplaying muse based on twitter. Muse is based on a mix of Along with The Gods, The Miracle That We Met, Goblin, Hotel del Luna and Korean history and mythology, though most of this muse is purely fictional. Important note that he only answers to 'Hwan' and not Gangrim, unless your muse is either Hewonmaek or Deokchun, a fellow reaper, or another supernatural being. Due to who he is, being the head reaper, any supernatural being originating from Korean/East Asian myths knows him very well, so feel free to address him as Gangrim if your muse is one.Replying pace varying from SLOW to OCCASIONAL depending on my mood. I take my sweet time to reply since I also have responsibilities out of roleplay. This is also a side muse so keep that in mind.OPEN TO ALL. Any interaction for this muse isn’t limited from face claims, verse and fandom. I accept everyone, except less likely to illiterate/fl roleplayers.I’m fine with any genres, including angst, fluff, gore, except triggering topics.I try my best to match length although you don’t have to match mine. You’re free to write however you like with me!PLOTTING as well as PRE-ESTABLISHED relationships are more than welcome. I also accept random starters as well so don’t hesitate to hit me up anytime. The DM is open for you to hit up.Feel free to make as many gc you want to chat with my muse!

TYPIST NOTES.

Common roleplay courtesy applies here. That includes:

Softblocking before unfollowing. I don't want to linger around someone who makes it clear they don't want to interact.Respecting ic/ooc boundaries. Whatever happened ic is not an ooc business, but if you have any problem you are free to discuss with me. I hate drama so stay clear out of those.That being said I hope it's also clear that whatever Hwan said shouldn't be taken personally, it does not come from me.Godmodding or metagaming. Your muse shall not know of his origins unless plotted, your muse being another supernatural being, or eventually consented by Hwan.Typist and muse are both of age. Please don’t smut with me if you’re a minor, I don’t want to go to jail. NSFW content will appear often as well, please take note of this.My timezone is GMT +8.

RELATIONSHIPS

hae wonmaek - m - (0/1)
gangrim's adopted brother during his lifetime, now his lieutenant, fellow reaper and loyal subordinate, however all to prideful and a tad too rebellious for his liking. he appears to be only a few years younger than gangrim.
yi deokchun - f - (0/1)
a jurchen orphan in her lifetime, now gangrim's fellow reaper, lieutenant and subordinate. she can appear to be within the age range of 16-20 years old, and beside wonmak is seen more as the innocent, childish one between the two.
king yeomra - m - (0/1)
the supreme ruler and fifth of the ten kings of the underworld who gangrim answers to. he judges the sins of the deceased and decide what to do with them, and sometimes meddle with the affairs above ground when he has to, taking the form of a human.

* note: these are merely prompts based on the movies, which means it's up to your interpretation if you ever want to adopt the plot. if interested, do hmu so we can discuss their paths together!

PLOTS

hell to pay / any, spn/non-spn (0/?)
they would do just about anything to steer clear out of trouble, but hwan holds a secret they wouldn't be able to bear being outed in public. what would you have done to escape, with the reaper's foot on your neck?
one of our own / any, spn/non-spn (0/?)
an acquaintance - any muse whose life and occupation revolve around underground seoul and has ties to illicit operations.
caught in trouble / non-spn, m/f (0/1)
in the middle of a job where gangrim is tasked to chase a vengeful soul, a human somehow gets caught in the mess.
i'll call you / any, spn/non-spn, m/f (0/1)
the two meet, make love, rinse, repeat. but when they find out what gangrim could be up to behind the scenes, it's up to them to drown further or pull back for their own safety.
curiosity kills the cat / spn (0/1)
they have not known of the existence of the reapers, and life was all well wrecking havoc left and right. until one day, gangrim finds his way towards them, whose supernatural existence is a threat to maintaining order around this world.

current residence: a penthouse in samseong park apartments.
personality: might come across as hostile or unfriendly due to his tendency to be stoic, but has a soft spot when he's around people he can actually stand. he's usually blunt and transparent with his thoughts and feelings unless he feels it's unnecessary to express them. tends to insult and doesn't feel sorry, having lost his empathy a long time (few hundred years) ago.
likes: felines, jjolmyeon, vodka, pipe smoking, money, sex. as someone with little to nothing left to live for, he now only cares about luxuries of life.
dislikes: hypocrites, humans, demigods (especially the greeks who mostly find their way in south korea), ignorant rich people, those who step on others. a lot of these used to reflect who he was in the past and he despise it. he also hates living, and quite frankly just wants the world to end.
hidden talents: dance, from traditional, jazz, ballet, contemporary and hiphop. it was a hobby he acquired in the late 1800s when he met the spirit of an entertainer who died from fatigue.

education: in his first lifetime he excelled his gwageo, martial arts and combat. in his new life, he obtained (more likely forced to by living conditions) several degrees and doctorates in law, psychology, finances and humanities.
current job: branch manager in shinhan bank, supposedly 'the youngest' in the country, also a renowned financial analyst. owns a cabaret-themed nightclub called serpentin, located in hongdae and soon opening up in more locations. invests in traditional and western musicals, ballet and plays, having been a producer for several production for nearly a decade.

reaper responsibilities: escort souls to gehenna (the underworld) and represent them in at least 7 trials within 49 days, finding out their virtues and sins during their lifetime to determine whether or not they can reincarnate, or be doomed in hell. in return, he collects merits for himself that will set him free from his millennium-long punishment as a reaper. he's also responsible in leading other reapers in any tasks, like cleaning up after other supernatural beings' messes and maintaining order in assiah (the living world).
abilities: omniscience, immortality, shapeshift, invulnerability, flight, teleportation, telekinesis, element manipulation and absolute power over other supernatural beings (only to make sure they don't wreck havoc). able to erase memories of humans who could see or accidentally given the ability to see the reapers or creatures of the underworld. he also possesses a demon sword to seize or fight enemies.

alignment: answered to daebyeol (the supreme king) until king yeomra took over, which makes yeomra his one and only master. he's mostly neutral, and will not favor bullshit regardless of who it's from.

other headcanons:
tends to take back home stray cats and foster them before letting others adopt the felines. he feels like this is the only one act of kindness he would never regret doing. as of now, he owns three cats, which all he picked up from a fish market in insadong.he has a high taste, all roots back to his sense of superiority above humans and that includes his preference in partners. thus far, all of them are rich, influential people, if not powerful gods or deities. he even thinks he peaked the most when he married a dragon god who was also a japanese minister, kazuya. as of now, although briefly divorced for a few months, they are back together.throughout the millenium, he only had a few identities as his human disguise, mainly hwan for the majority of it. he's able to evade suspicion due to this ability to manipulate the humans' perception towards him. meaning, in 50 years time, no one would notice he hasn't aged, and it would just appear that he's just there the entire time and no one questions it.tba.