Character Questions: Izanami
Full name: Izanami-no-Mikoto, Izanami of Japan, Sannosuke Izumi (the name she took up after returning to the Living Plane)
Nickname: Lady Death (Formal Title)
Occupation: Primordial Japanese Goddess of Death and Life, Royal Family's Gardener
Appearance: Ammy takes her philosophies of deific appearances from her mother. Much like her daughter, Izanami looks like a beautiful Japanese woman. At worst, she could pass for someone's mother who took good care of herself. (Makes sense since she's a mother) Her skin is slightly paler than Ammy's because she's been in the Netherrealm for centuries. Her hair is pitch black and always down, unlike when she was alive when it was properly tied up. Her dark eyes were warm brown when she was alive, and her finger and toenails also became black.
Age: Unknown, though she is still younger than Mai, Okada, Ilah, and Duffeck.
Mannerisms: Like her daughter, Izanami is well-mannered, well-spoken, and well-educated. Her death and rebirth have allowed her to loosen up now that Izanagi ascended to Titanhood. However, as a mother who was given a chance to become a part of her family's life again, she will relish the opportunity to do so. Much like Mai, Izanami also carries an air of elegance but brings forth an aura of regality due to being Primordial.
What does he/she wear?: Regardless of when being alive, dead, or reborn, Izanami always wore a kimono. Differences depend on her state of being. Alive, she wore an all-white kimono strung tightly to where it was officially modest, only showing skin on her hands and face. While dead before being given her mission by Duffeck, she could pass for a zombie. Her white kimono was so dirtied it could pass for beige or cream, and her socks and sandals she initially wore were off. After being reborn, Izanami now wears a red kimono with white and black accents. The fit was looser more often than not, and the top would fall past her shoulders and only catch itself on her upper arms, revealing her well-endowed chest. She prefers to keep it this way, showing how life in the Netherrealm removed some of the strict routines of her appearance and wardrobe. She remains barefoot as she grew accustomed to not wearing shoes while dead, and her katanas are both sheathed on her left hip.
Favorite color: Sanguine Red
What is he/she good at?: Izanami, from the moment she was reborn as the Goddess of Death, has gained mastery in the Art of Death, whether by the blade or by the fist, though she prefers the blade to not bloody said fists. As a Goddess of Life, she can create life from anything that serves well during her day job as the Royal Family's Gardener. Though she prefers being Goddess of Death as God of Life was originally her husband's before he ascended to Titanhood. And she and Izanagi ended their relationship on horrible terms.
What is he/she bad at?: All Izanami has left since being reborn, as well as Amaterasu and co. brought her back to the Living Plane is her blood family (Ammy, Raiden, and Fujin), retainer (Ashrah), and extended family (Kim, Xan, Baiken, and Nox), so she will be incredibly defensive when any of them are threatened. It will take a while for her to learn that everyone I mentioned can defend themselves.
What does he/she want?: To reintegrate into mortal life and assist her family in any way.
What is his/her goal?: To keep her daughter sane as she reluctantly fulfills her duties as Japanese Pantheon Leader.
What lie does he/she believe?: Her dual divinity will cause her not to be as present in her family's lives.
What flaw results from the lie?: Izanami will tend to be closed off, relying on Ashrah as her outlet.
What truth does he/she learn?: She can balance her dual divinity and still be an ever-present mother.
What is his/her background?
Not much is known about Izanami's mortal life before she became a Primordial Goddess. When the One Being split into the current realms, Izanami was among one of the very first settlers of Japan. Izanami wasn't even her original name, lost when she first ascended. How did she ascend?
The Primordial God of Life, Izanagi, looked at her and was so awestruck by her natural beauty that he came down from the heavens and offered her quite the deal. Be his lover and become a Goddess of her own. She accepted and was reborn as Izanami. An aspect of life wasn't hers to control; she was merely a trophy wife in a deity's clothing. Still, the pair loved each other deeply.
Throughout their seemingly lifelong union, they conceived many children, most notably Amaterasu, the Goddess of the Sun and Leader of the Japanese Pantheon, and her twin brother Susanoo, the God of the Storm. In need of a counterpart for their eldest daughter, the duo created Tsukuyomi.
But on the birth of their last child, disaster initially struck.
Due to complications of giving birth to Kagutsuchi, the God of Fire, Izanami died. In grief and anger, Izanagi killed him. To add to the misfortune, Izanagi accepted the offer to ascend to Titanhood before going to the Netherrealm to retrieve his wife, leaving Izanami alone in the Realm of the Dead. And had that been the end of her tale, her life would've revolved like the mythos. Thankfully, Duffeck, the Elder God of the Netherrealm, bore witness to her entire story. Summoning her into his palace while she was a grotesque zombie but still smart enough to retain a sound mind, he took pity on Izanami and offered her a deal of his own. The Realm's most secure jail, the Dark Prison, had 1000 inmates escape in the past few decades. Knowing it was a herculean task but having faith in Izanami's drive, Duffeck offered to restore Izanami's beauty and rebirth her once again as a deity on the condition that 1000 escaped inmates be brought in or slain by her. Though skeptical, Izanami accepted and tirelessly slew all 1000 inmates in one day.
True to his word, Duffeck brought out a separate beauty in Izanami and redubbed her as the Primordial Goddess of Death of the Japanese Pantheon. He even offered her a place to stay in the cities and offered a retainer in the Demoness Ashrah. Izanami was reborn, and thanks to her third lease on life, she ensured the Japanese dead were properly judged and never overran the Netherrealm.
Doing so would re-earn the ire of Shinnok and the Brotherhood of Shadow Cult. Once she caught word of her son's corpse being in the Sphere of Wrath, she and Ashrah would descend and tirelessly defend his corpse from any zombie or soldier of Shinnok who would desecrate his body for decades. And what she would say was the best day of her life: her eldest daughter, her daughter-in-law, surrogate daughter, and brother-in-law's life partner would descend to the Sphere of Wrath themselves, inadvertently helping her cull Shinnok's forces and retrieve her and Ashrah from the Sphere of Wrath and brought her back to the Living Plane.
Nowadays, Lady Death can be found in Edenia, working her day job as the Royal Family's Gardener and occasional advisor in Benji's place. If not there, she is most likely in Earthrealm, spending time with her new family, her stepdaughter Kim and Ammy.
Additional Questions for Lady Death?
How often does Lady Death think of her unfortunate demise and where she ended up now?
Though she grieves her youngest son's death every day, Izanami doesn't think about the events leading up to it and the aftermath often. She acknowledges what happened, but for her to constantly dwell would stunt her growth as a being. Something that few gods share. Remember, Izanami was a mortal woman in this continuity first.
Exactly when did Lady Death decide to become the Royal Family's Garderner? (Would be the last thing I expected her to do)
Oh, that was simple. While cherishing every moment of her time with her family of blood and bond, Izanami knows she can't be around them all the time. Knowing she would be bored of not doing anything, she simply requested an audience with the Edenian Royal Family and offered herself as an employee and servant. In turn, Sindel made her the gardener of the Palace's plants, something Izanami is more than happy to do since she was a gardener in her mortal life. Ashrah serves as her bodyguard since she's Izanami's retainer. This will accelerate her purification and ascension out of demonhood due to her residing in Edenia alongside another demoness we both know and love.
Does Lady Death interact with other main cast members a lot?
While I would classify Izanami as a satellite character, I would love for her to be why Ilah eventually moves back to Edenia with Mai. (Ooh, interesting. We sure haven't heard from Ilah for some time either) Eventually, she will integrate herself into that group as those two would be the first two people she regularly interacts with who aren't family members. She will interact with Mai in the next chapter since the latter will be the first person to be called to inspect Xan after he passes out from activating Abyss' soul.