Now close those eyes and let me love you to death

[sarabi]

Love You to Death

For centuries, cultures all over the world have anthropomorphized the concept of Death. It's easier to comprehend something so infinite, so complex as actually being like us. That's how we can wrap out minds around what is inevitable. Characters in many canons have come close to dying, have been in danger of dying, or have actually died at some point. The more that's at stake, the more interesting the narrative. So, naturally, let's take those two commonalities and blend them up into one simple meme: shipping with Death. And why not? Plenty of terms describing death-related scenarios are framed in words that are romantic or intimate. Kiss of death. A brush with death. What if those things were literal? In short, your character has attracted the attention of Death/a grim reaper/a shinigami/any other litany of macabre spirits...or your character is the shadow of death. Is your character not Death in vaguely human shape in canon but you want to play them as such? AU them! Everything else here is played a little fast and loose, after all. Of course, all of this will leave you with more questions than answers: how did this love blossom? Is it unrequited or returned? How can the two characters be together if one is alive and the other is more than just dead? Isn't it against the rules for Death to love a mortal? What kind of shenanigans could this cause, from affecting mundanity to intimacy? Comment with character, preferences, and what role your character to play. Remember, AUing is encouraged. Reply to others. Thread.

Comments

zenji kotodama | tokyo debunker | m/m 18+ or castmates

[hauntingtune]

[if you ever wanted the stupidest bitchass ghost ever to be your doting, possessive stalker boyfriend, here he is!]

Toki Wartooth | Metalocalypse | ota 18+

[dethangel]

[okay so toki is basically the death guy. it's kind of a thing that everybody he loves dies sometimes. he very well might be some kinda death god! who knows!]

Camilla Hect | The Locked Tomb | OTA

[wardenshand]

veryn "rook" ingellvar | dragon age

[mourire]

[ Would honestly love to AU him into some aspect of Death (reaper or Death itself), whether in the DA universe or otherwise. Also I know it's a shipping meme but I'm good to do friendship as well! ]

[spiriteddiscussion]

[okay but Death and a necromancer just makes sense, you know?]

[mourire]

[ Absolutely yes, I adore the idea of this dynamic with them! Any prefs for scenarios/did you have something in mind and want to start? ]

[spiriteddiscussion]

[it depends on whether you wanted veryn to have always been Death, or to have become Death due to some shenanigans? also do you prefer prose or brackets? i'm easy, either works for me :) ]

[mourire]

[ ooh, I hadn't considered the second thing! but my initial thought was that Veryn has always been Death (whether or not Emmrich realizes this at first) and has taken a liking to being around him - especially given Em's particular goals - if something like that interests you. as for format I'm generally good with either but lean towards prose for threads like this. ]

[spiriteddiscussion]

[i like that idea a lot! especially not realizing it at first just because -- who expects Death to hang out with you? was also thinking pre-manfred's big heroic moment, since maybe veryn has some opinions about that. i went with saving manfred, but i have seen parts of the lich run as well.

sidenote but veryn's spooky eyes are very fun :)]

[mourire]

[ oooooh I think that period of time would be fun -- I'm good with either outcome but I think it would be especially romantic if he chooses to save Manfred/accept his mortality and in the process finds that the death he's been so afraid of has been THIS all along ;_;

also thank you!! I'm so glad the game let me do that, I love them. ]

[spiriteddiscussion]

[apologies for the delayed reply! traveling and family stuff. but i love that idea, absolutely. would you like me to write out a starter for them?]

[mourire]

[ no worries, I'm in the same boat for the holidays! if you'd like to kick us off that would be lovely 💜 ]

[spiriteddiscussion]

[let me know if this works, or if anything needs changing!]

As it often does, Emmrich finds his mind drifting towards Veryn, while he's attempting to make some headway in his research. He keeps opening books and closing them. Starting to write something and having to throw away the page because he's paused so long the ink has started to pool.

There's something... off about his companion. Nothing bad, he's fairly certain. Something that feels familiar, but not quite. More than Veryn just being raised in the Watch, no this is something... else. Something Other. He can't quite put a finger on it, and it's been nagging at him, of late.

Giving up on his work, he retreats to the kitchen to make himself some tea. Maybe the familiar act will help him relax a little from whatever it is that's bothering him.

[mourire]

[ looks good to me! thank you for your patience as i return from being devoured by christmas ]

Veryn, by now, has become familiar with the odd - and oddly specific - feeling that comes along with Emmrich ruminating on his own mortality. It's happened several times now, drawing him in like a haunting song, calling to him -- his companion's love of what he does mixed with such abject terror of what it is.

It doesn't occur to Veryn, even as he reaches the kitchen door, that it isn't death Emmrich is ruminating on, tonight, but Veryn himself. The tugging strings of Veryn's being, drawn to fears and worries and ends of lives, don't seem to care much about the distinction.

Veryn pauses at the door, blinking a few times and taking a breath to ground his mind fully back in his physical form, before pushing through, into the kitchen. The light is always so warm and welcoming here -- even moreso with it silhouetting Emmrich like this.

"Oh -- hi, Emmrich," he says, like this is any surprise. "Taking a break?"

[spiriteddiscussion]

[ooc: lord, thank you for yours, in return. recovering from travel, etc]

Emmrich starts a little, nearly grabbing the hot handle of his tea kettle bare handed before remembering to use a towel, so deep was he in thought. "Veryn, hello. Wonderful to see you," he smiles, automatically fetching a second cup, so he can make tea for his companion, as well.

That feeling again. Like gooseflesh, almost. Someone walking over your grave, as the old wives' tale goes. It tends to creep up on him, the more he spends time with Veryn. "I needed a change of scenery, I think. Something to clear my head.

May I make you some tea, as well?"

[mourire]

"I'd love a cup," he says warmly, coming to a stop by the stove, shoulder bumping then leaning against the stone wall as he watches Emmrich go about the familiar tea-making ritual. Watchers have so many rituals, and this one, Veryn thinks, is just as important as the rest of them.

Something tingles at him, too, but he can't name it. Something in the way Emmrich has looked at him, lately. The dark, unknowable part of him is sure it could just pluck that information out of the other's brain — but that would be rude.

Besides, he likes talking to Emmrich, and something to clear my head is already opening enough.

"Something on your mind?"

[spiriteddiscussion]

Were Emmrich to know that Veryn is refraining from delving into his mind, he would be very appreciative of that fact.

He hums thoughtfully as he lets the teabags steep, leaning back against the counter a little. More casual in just his shirtsleeves and waistcoat, and feeling a touch vulnerable without the protection of his coat around him. But Veryn has become a good friend. An excellent companion, kind and patient. Willing to listen. Emmrich feels safe with him, he's a little surprised to find. He normally doesn't feel this sort of peace with the living.

"There is, but I'm not sure how to phrase it without coming off as impolite. While I choose my words, please remind me how you prefer your tea?"

[mourire]

(( Since we've been keeping it vague I think it might make the most sense if Veryn is another companion instead of Rook? Tagged along after Emmrich's recruitment or something and though he technically isn't supposed to be here no one thinks about it too hard (a la Varric)? Death is just trying to be helpful :3 ))

Veryn quirks a smile, raises his eyebrows. "I'm not sure you could be impolite if you tried," he teases. Creatively frank sometimes, yes, but rarely impolite about it — he enjoys that about the professor.

But he'll give Emmrich time to think. That, itself, is an important part of the tea ritual: thoughtful pauses. "A little milk and sugar's fine," he says, pushing off the wall to straighten back up. "Want me to grab us a couple of those cookies Lucanis brought back?"

He's already heading over to the shelf with the tin.

[spiriteddiscussion]

(ooc: oh yes! i like that idea, quite a lot. not the protag but along for the ride, which lets him come and go more easily. makes sense! :) )


"Oh that would be delightful, thank you. You know I've given him the recipe for my mother's hazelnut torte? I think the rest of the group will like it. I hope, at least." Though he doesn't sound quite present, even as he's speaking. A little distant from himself.

He fixes his own tea with lemon, and just a touch of honey, and adds the milk and sugar to Veryn's as well. Picking through his thoughts to find the best way to express them.

"There is something that has been... intriguing me about your magic. It feels unlike any mage I've met, though I couldn't put a finger on why that is, exactly. Not stronger or weaker, per se. Simply... different."

[mourire]

(( woo, thanks! ))

Emmrich might not notice it - distant and focused on the tea and his thoughts as he is - but as Veryn plucks two cookies from the tin, his interest does look piqued by the mention of hazelnut torte. It's the confection itself, but also the source; he's tried plenty of foods, over all this time, but none carry the same warmth and sweetness of recipes passed on from loved ones, like the memories themselves are adding their own layer of flavour.

All the dead and dying are far too numerous to hold in his mind, in this shape, but Veryn can almost see her: Emmrich's mother, handing a spatula - still streaked in chocolate - down to her small son.

Noticing he's gone a little distant, too, Veryn pulls out one of the chairs closest to the stove - and then the other - with his foot and sets the cookies down on the table, just as Emmrich starts to speak again. He looks interested in what Emmrich says he's noticed — and he's not surprised that he has. If anyone was going to pick up on any oddities with his necromancy, it was always going to be Emmrich.

"That's interesting," he says. "You're the Fade expert. Is the way I draw from it... weird, or something?"

He's feeling it out. Has Emmrich picked up on the fact that he doesn't exactly draw from the Fade at all, but instead... well, himself, in a way?

[spiriteddiscussion]

Emmrich sits with a murmured thank you and does take a cookie, though he doesn't eat it, yet. Merely toys with it, with that same thoughtful expression.

"That's just it, actually. When I watch you work, it's almost as though you don't touch the Fade at all. Like you... you reach through it, somehow. Beyond it. Like you draw from something more than what I've seen other mages do.

Forgive me," he says, taking up his tea, brow pinched in a faint frown. "I don't know how clearly I'm expressing myself."

hel/geiravor lokisdottir | the prophecies of ragnarok | ota

[sinne]

[ she's the queen of the underworld and death's chosen, so that counts, right? ]

jannah || star wars || ota

[uprising_storm]

[ooc; either role. i love a good au!]

Dᴇᴀᴛʜ | Dɪsᴄᴡᴏʀʟᴅ | OTA

[come_binky]

[sʜᴇɴᴀɴɪɢᴀɴs ᴏɴʟʏ, ɴᴏ sᴇʀɪᴏᴜs ɪɴǫᴜɪʀɪᴇs ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ]

kim dokja | orv

[protagonies]

kaydel ko connix || star wars || ota

[lt_connix]

[ooc; either role. i love a good au!]

Elisabeth "Sisi" Wittelsbach | Elisabeth das Musical

[dancedwithdeath]

[Look, this is 1000% canon for her. She absolutely fell in love with Death. And then Shit Happened. But yeah, definitely the mortal one in this. AUs could be fun, too, though.]

Emmrich Volkarin | Dragon Age The Veilguard | OTA

[spiriteddiscussion]

(i mean, he's a necromancer, so... also, i have played through endgame, but will avoid spoilers if needed!)