The 4/13 Rhymes With Orange brings us the Grim Reaper and his cats (we know from Terry Pratchett that Death is fond of cats):
(#1)
We don’t know if this Grim Reaper is a general operator, reaping souls of many creatures, including mice; or whether this one is a specialist in mice — perhaps of a tribe, or race, of Grim Mousers; or of a professional guild of them. (See below, on the Death of Rats.)
On the pun mouseleum. From NOAD on its source:
noun mausoleum: a building, especially a large and stately one, housing a tomb or tombs. ORIGIN late 15th century: via Latin from Greek Mausōleion, from Mausōlos, the name of a king of Caria (4th century bc), to whose tomb in Halicarnassus the name was originally applied.
So, a bit of eponymy, with the (proper) name of a specific giant tomb building (itself named after a specific person) coming to be used as a common noun referring to any such building.
Death in Discworld. From Wikipedia:
Death is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series [of comic fantasy novels] and a parody of several other personifications of death. Like most Grim Reapers, he is a black-robed skeleton usually carrying a scythe.
(#2) Death as illustrated by Paul Kidby in The Art of Discworld; the small figure at the bottom right is the Death of Rats… Death is not invisible; however, most people’s brains refuse to acknowledge him for who he is, unless he insists. Under normal circumstances, only those of a magical disposition (e.g. witches and wizards), children, and cats can see him, or allow themselves to see him.
… He is fond of cats, who can see him at all times
… The Death of Rats, also known as the Grim Squeaker, is not, strictly speaking, a personification in his own right but rather an aspect of Death allowed an independent existence. His purpose is to usher on the souls of dead rodents, as well as assisting Death in other ways.
The Death of Jockstraps. By stunning coincidence, the Daily Jocks on-line ad on 4/14 featured a skeletal underwear model that I took to be an inadvertent image of the Death of Jockstraps (y’know, like the Death of Rats):
(#3) Ad copy: “Sleek, stylish and renowned for its powerful designs, Modus Vivendi underwear is a Thessaloniki based brand with a God-like aesthetic”
#3 would appear to be a product of the Modus Morendi division of the company, supplying glistening, sinewy, wild-haired, starvation-doomed models wearing showy jocks that are about to be discontinued. The Death of Jockstraps.
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