Profile
Grim
The Laughing Devil
Domains: Food and feasting, as well as decay and rot (especially when things are being eaten by bugs), and subsequently the cycle of giving back to nature. The Laughing Devil’s most sacred events are usually wakes, or death celebrations with food. Any event which invokes both aspects is automatically more sacred.
Symbols: Hyena(s) or scavenger bug(s)/beetle(s). When symbolizing the food and feasting aspect of the deity, only one of their symbol creatures is depicted and is referred to as he. When depicting the decay aspect of the deity, a pack or horde of their symbol creatures is depicted and is referred to as they.
Background: As a deity, the Laughing Devil has no clerics or prophets, no temples. Instead, they have small shrines in kitchens, taverns, and cemeteries where offerings can be left. Businesses with the Laughing Devil as a patron deity often specialize in banquets, parties, and companionship. You cannot enter the Laughing Devil’s domain while alone; drinking or eating alone in a business with them as a patron is not permitted and anyone doing so will be viewed with suspicion.
Invoking the true name of the Laughing Devil is generally seen as bad luck, an omen of decay or plans spoiling (hence the moniker). They are also a bit of a trickster figure, due to their young age compared to many deities. They have been known to steal offerings and followers from the deity Crow. The rivalry is slightly more affectionate on the side of the Laughing Devil, usually doing his poaching and tricks on Crow with good humor, as if the whole thing is merely a game. Crow does not seem to feel the same way.
In recent years, it is because of this rivalry that the deity has been trying to find more dedicated followers at all. The Laughing Devil rarely will find a mortal of their own, and is more likely to poach them from someone else. They can sometimes approach people as themself, but they also like to approach people as a whispering beetle. Their humanoid form is reserved for more intimate encounters, or for battle.
