Why are characters with death-based abilities always written like walking knives full of angst?
I’m so fucking tired of death power characters always being like this. Death can mean so, so many things to many people. Death character, for one, can easily be written as extremely full of emotion and passion for whatever hobby they pursue. Death is the only reason life has any value at all, and deaths always spur about the most raw and extreme emotions one could feel. Someone that truly understands death (like say a mf with death powers) would understand to, in effect, live life to the fullest. Memento Mori, but don’t forget the life that you do have right now. Always try your hardest in every endeavor that could be worth it, because you don’t have all the time in the world to succeed.
Death can be seen as extremely honorable of a person as well, partially because of just how many people have died for the sake of honor/mfing duels to the death. Death can be merciful as can be, for what other option is there for the man that suffers indefinitely with no cure? Death can be a joyous adventure, for there exists many heavens across all the pantheons and religions, giving yet another reason for someone to truly try their hardest while they live.
Death can be the fairest judge of all, for it does not discriminate. No matter how rich or poor you are, you will die. No matter how high or how short, how smart or how dumb, if you’re a pulsar spammer or a savant, death comes for us all. It is the most fairest judge imaginable, it’s only fault being it’s busy schedule delaying some’s end.
Death is a wonderful ending to some that lived wonderful lives. Death can spur the greatest imaginable emotions and actions that we as humans can feel or do. Death is the reason we live, and the reason anything matters.
Idk, I feel like this is more of a matter of perspective.
Think about it though, you’re someone with the power of LITERAL DEATH, the power to wipe out and literally eliminate the existence of anyone before you.
Thats gotta take a toll on your mental state.
You could argue that “oh, but the philosophy of it, death is a beautiful thing, and is what makes life truly valuable”
But like, it doesnt really seem that way when someone could have been truly so much more if they hadnt died, if their life was cut short
Theres a reason why veterans in wars become so traumatized and jaded afterwards, just seeing the life drain from people’s eyes, people whom could be literally anyone, and realizing that the blood of that death is on YOUR hands.
Death is an ending, the final chapter of it all, and all this power grants is the ability to rip out pages from a person’s story and rush an ending that nobody deserves
This is fine though if you’re referring to like, personifications of the idea of death, like the Grim Reaper or something
You know that web comic (I forgot the name unfortunately) where a Grim reaper comforts hopeless animal who died that also brings commentary about global warming and stuff like that?
I felt like that is one example of Death based character depicted as chill and a good one too.
the entire reason people are given the power over death is because of them being immortal, it’s literally mentioned in the series how the scythedom was formed to give life meaning again after people became immortal
But like
(Sorry if im getting this wrong, I havent read the story and im just picking at context clues)
They get a choice, do they not? They get the option to be immortal at all, and to die AS AN OPTION
They see death as a relief, and a beautiful thing, as they’ve already experienced it all and have finished what they once started. As immortal beings, they don’t have any more stories left to tell, and are willing to move on.
We as humans, with a limited amount of time to live, don’t get the choice to extend our spans for as long as we want, only cut it shorter by the seams.
I’m not saying that immortality is a good thing, or that death isn’t something that’s needed. An ending comes for us all eventually, and one will eventually have to accept death once theyve lived a full life and become wise past their years.
I’m referring to when they never get that chance, when they never get to experience and have it all stop abruptly due to something that they cannot control
The fact is, if there was a human being in our world capable of controlling death, that’d honestly be quite concerning. You’d be giving someone the ability to quite literally control life as well, and to choose who lives or dies. Its like a nuclear bomb, they can choose yes or not to launch it and kill thousands of people at a moment’s notice.
Maybe they might not be edgy, maybe they’d be someone capable and understanding of the complexities of what such a power means, but has humans, we are flawed in that regard, and can never understand such consequences beyond cause and effect.
Death-related characters aren’t simply edgy just because, they’re that way as a result of the mental toll of what the power means to them and their environment. Being edgy isn’t necessarily a bad thing in writing, it’s just a character trait that, while being an overdone trope, shows what such can do to a person and their perception of the world.
I guess you could say death is perceived as edgy because we as a society has made it that way. Typically, the whole culture of ‘edgy people’ like to associate with the concept of death whether that’s through music, philosophical morals, and plenty of other mediums. In addition to that, death can be beautiful, but it is often a depressing, painful experience to witness. Sure, knowing that your grandmother gets to rest peacefully after a long life is a relieving feeling, but when you’re not in the zone of retrospect you begin to remember your past attachments to the person you once knew and get all sad about it. The sadness of death just far outweighs the beauty of it in most cases, as do many other natural cycles in this thing we call life. I think it’s important to note that even when death is considered edgy, there still is an aspect to it that is much appreciated as it gives our lives a somewhat further means to exist. Sometimes things are edgy, and that’s okay.
Also I just hate this quote in general.
Death is not what spurs the reason to live, or the reason anything matters. It’s what removes the ability to live, its what stops such emotions and actions from happening.
All it does is put everything on a time limit, and make you have no choice but to appreciate what you have before it’s all gone.
Whenever people are living their best lives, having fun and enjoying what time they have, death is never truly a thought until it takes everything away
Fun Fact: Only half of the global deaths annually are from Old Age.
The rest of those deaths can be from any one of us, anyone who could have had a bright future and happy life that never was able to come to be.
Sorry about going on a rant about all of this, I just really don’t like people dying prematurely or the idea of death in general.
I dont think any person really likes death, theyre just forced to accept it as a part of life
in Scythe, they can’t die of old age (they can set their age back into the 20s) and will be revived when they die, no matter what thanks to the thunderhead, a benevolent AI that is the best thing to have happened to humanity
noone actually wants to die thanks to the thunderhead, but after a while people just kinda get bored.
anyways, if you could not die, ever, what’s the point of ever doing something? it’s not like it will hurt if you do it the next day…
If I couldnt die, I’d be able to do way more that I want to do, since the only thing stopping me before was death.
You’d be able to get so many new skills, learn as much as you want, etc, without the constant time restraint lingering in the back of your mind telling you that you could be using this time doing something more fulfilling
Yeah, you could procrastinate, but like that happens either way regardless
Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you over again! Don’t make me change my mind 
