Cheating Death (Gladis & AlphaZero)

[Gladis]

 

RP between Gladis & AlphaZero

 

T H E M E ♪ S O N G

 

 

P P R E M I S E

Death is not usually welcomed by its clients — that is one of the first things a Grim Reaper has to learn at his first day on the job. While most adults can’t even see them, most who do regard the workers of Lord Death with either fear or contempt; sometimes both. Yet this young boy was different. As the grim reaper entered the room of the sickly child who’s soul had been scheduled to be collected this very night was sitting upright, staring in the same direction the grim reaper was coming from. The child looked death straight in the eyes with neither fear nor contempt. Instead he offered the grim reaper a charming but due to his condition — weak smile.

 

”I know you are here to claim my soul, mister reaper,” said the child as though he were speaking of a cheerful walk in the park, ”but before you take me with you, will you indulge me with answering my riddle?”

 

Slightly puzzled by the child's fearless attitude and perhaps charmed by his natural innocence, the grim reaper gave his word that he would solve the riddle before he claimed the boys soul. That was perhaps his largest mistake by far. A grim reapers promise is absolute and as such, he would not be able to claim the boys soul until he’d solved it. The rules were simple: he was not allowed to cheat and ask anyone for help and once he’d solved the riddle, he could proceed with his job. Thinking the riddle would be easy, he agreed to the terms.

 

My first is foremost legally,

My second circles outwardly,

My third leads all in victory,

My fourth twice ends a nominee,

My whole is this gate's only key.

What am I?

 

No matter how hard he tried, the grim reaper could not solve the riddle. As such, the boy was allowed to live and as the years passed, he grew into a fine and rather healthy young man. Being the heir of a wealthy family, he inherited his fathers company, making a name for himself both among aristocrats and in the business world.

 

Every so often he would gets a visit from the grim reaper who’ll give solving the riddle another attempt — yet every time his answer is wrong. What makes the whole situation even more frustrating, is the fact that the grim reaper has started developing feelings for the tricky human. Feelings a worker for death definitely is not allowed to have for their client. And the human? He too seems to have some trouble inducing ideas of love…

 

C H A R A C T E R S

 

AlphaZero

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Name:

Thanatos

Nicknamed Than

 

Age:

3,000

 

Gender:

Male

 

Position:

Uke

 

Sexuality:

Unknown

 

Occupation:

Grim Reaper

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Personality

 

✧Difficult - He will usually be seen sporting a scowl on his face or a frown. His words tend to be harsh, but they occasionally contradict what he is actually feeling on the inside. He is hard to get through, and is stubborn to a fault.

 

✧Lazy - He is the type of person to think of the easiest way to accomplish something. He doesn't like stress-related emotions caused by his work and usually refrains from things that require lots of time and energy.

 

✧Doer - He will always get the job done; what he does to get the job done does not matter, hence his lazy trait.

 

✧Sensitive - He is able to quickly appreciate a person's feelings and can detect a change in their mood quite easily.

 

✧Altruistic - He is the type to put others before himself. People don't usually know this, they usually think of him as selfish because of his difficult attitude towards almost everyone.

 

✧Persistent - He will continuously try and try again if he ever fails. This is only on certain things that he deems important. The rest, just don't really matter.

 

✧Loyal - He is loyal to his one and only Lord Death.

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Background

 

Despite being approximately 3,000 years of age, he is still one of the youngest reapers ever to have passed the test in becoming a reaper. Thanatos never cared much for his career, but will still do what he is meant to do all for Lord Death. He, like many other reapers, have no blood-related relatives, which means no family. It is unknown how reapers are born, thus Thanatos only knows of his life from after he was turned 20 years of age. Most of his life consisted of schooling, reaping, and his life's pleasures. Although he is what someone may call a virgin, his mind is not naive to the sexual activities that takes place in the human world. No one has ever made him aroused enough for him to want to do anything with them. Every reaping he was ever assigned to came out successful, until a young boy's riddle released him from his impeccable record.

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Quote

 

"Death may be the greatest of all human blessings."

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Character Song

 

 

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Gladis

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Name:

Alexander Wilhelm von Schwarzwald

Nicknamed Alex

 

Age:

21

 

Gender:

Male

 

Position:

Seme

 

Sexuality:

Bisexual

 

Occupation:

The Schwarzwald Family Head

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Personality

✨Resourceful: Alexander is good at making wise use of what others might overlook or discard. His creativity when it comes to finding solutions which will benefit him in the end is quite admirable; a skill that should certainly not be underestimated.

✨Ambitious: Alexander certainly has a ambitious character; always striving to reach a higher plain of sorts. Often the goals he sets for himself could easily be seen as a little too ambitious, even for someone of his social standing. As such, he has received a lot of doubtful scrutiny from fellow aristocrats. Nevertheless, he has yet to fail impressing those very same individuals.

✨Stubborn: Alexander is stubborn, and so to a fault. He'd coldly walk across a field of corpses, if that's what it takes to achieve whatever he's set out to do; anything to achieve his ambitions. Once he's set his mind on something, it's extremely hard to make him think otherwise. Unless, of course, he himself changes his mind – which isn't all that unusual.

✨Whimsical: Alexander can be extremely unpredictable. One moment it may seem like he's about to do one thing, and then ends up deciding to go for the exact opposite. Sometimes his decisions seem to make no sense whatsoever; though it should be noted that Alexander rarely does anything without a reason.

✨Sly: Other nobels have a tendency to refer to Alexander as playfully artful, mischievous of roughish. Whilst that isn't a incorrect assessment of his personality, there is also a darker side to him. He is cunning and resourceful, always calculating the situation and manipulating his surroundings to his advantage.

✨Intellectual: Already during his early childhood, Alexander was deemed to have a high mental capacity. He is not only cultured and refined, but also highly academical – with an ever so insatiable desire to learn more. Most of the time he relies on the intellect rather than emotions; though this is not always clear, which makes him seem so whimsical.

surroundings to his advantage.

✨Reckless: It ties in with his whimsical nature, and is another word people would use to describe Alexander. It is clear that he's no fool, and yet he sometimes takes actions which seem risky and wild. He isn't afraid of trying new ideas or exploring uncharted territory. From time to time, he enjoys taking a gamle; wants to leave things up to fate. So far it has been going well for him, but chances are this is the very trait which one day may lead to his ruin.

✨Charismatic: Alexander is a charming individual, and usually tends to make more friends than enemies. He knows how most kinds of people work, and has learned how to turn that knowledge into a powerful tool. He is a naturally born leader, and generally possesses a presence which brings forth a sense of veneration in those he interacts with.

✨Mildly Possessive: Whilst this may be one of Alexander's traits, it only truly holds up with the few things he truly has come to care about. In the center of this is, of course, his grim reaper friend.

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Background

As the one and only child of the Schwarzwald family, it was clear from the very day he was born, that he would be the family heir. Much to his parents dismay, Alexander had always been a frail and sickly child. As such he was raised in a very sheltered environment, rarely allowed to go outside or meet and play with other children his age. He was home schooled and fussed over daily; everything to keep him healthy and more importantly – alive.

 

Yet no matter how hard they tried to shelter him, tragedy could not be evaded. At the young age of nine, he was diagnosed with a severe case of tuberculosis. Although he did fight the illness for several months, the outlook on his future was grim. No one really believed he would make it.

 

And yet he did. Somehow, Alexander made a miraculous recovery. Some would claim that he'd been blessed by god and thus allowed to survive, others said he'd just been lucky enough to retrain an extra watchful guardian angel. Alexander of course, knew the truth. As long as the reaper could not answer his riddle; Alexander could not die. His life had been prolonged, and that for an undecided amount of time. It wasn't a blessing or luck; it was his own (possibly intentional) tampering with death itself which allowed him to keep existing.

 

The years passed and Alexander grew into a fine young man. Thanks to him, his fathers companies became more successful, and he soon made himself a name amongst the nobles. The Schwarzwald family saw more wealth and prosperity than ever. Whilst most gazed upon him in admiration and wonder, Alexander also made a lot of enemies over the years. As jealousy and greed often bring forth the darker sides of the human nature, this was inevitable. Amongst some groups rumors of how he must have sold his soul to Satan started spreading, casting a certain shadow onto the Schwarzwald family name. The fact that he was also known for sleeping around with countless of women (and some would claim even men; oh the scandal!), yet refusing to settle with one of the many wives he was offered did little to improve his reputation.

 

Little did Alexander care, for he still retrained a high standing in the aristocratic society – and even with all the rumors, his position didn't exactly seem as though it would change any time soon. No, there was something entirely different that would often occupy his thoughts. It didn't matter how many men or women he bedded; his feelings regarding a certain grim reaper remained unchanged. So the young aristocrat eventually came to a conclusion. To once and for all end that painful ache for what had become his closest friend; he'd need to face his hardest challenge so far, and conquer the heart of death.

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Quote

"The phrase 'til' death do us part' gets an entirely new meaning in our case; wouldn't you agree?"

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[Gladis]

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Schwarzwald. I have tried everything I could but... it truly doesn't look like he's going to make it..."

 

Silvery moonlight was streaming through the window, illuminating the bedroom in a bluish tone. Tucked in between satin bedsheets was a young boy, a child perhaps no older than nine. He was awfully pale, and thin, too; his limbs appearing as mere bones. Alexander, as he was named, had been ailing for a long time now. Diagnosed with a severe case of tuberculosis, it had become quite obvious that he would die soon. The doctor had never directly said it to the boys face; but he knew. He could feel it in his bones. He could feel it in his burning throat and lungs, every time he coughed; every time his illness would have him spitting blood. He could feel it in the entirety of his body, every time he was burning up with fever. Even without overhearing his mothers and the doctors conversation in the hallway, Alexander was well aware of that his end was near.

 

Yet the child wasn't afraid. On the contrary; Alexander quite looked forward to the day Lord Death would come knocking at his door. He was eager to end his suffering, to end the long days where he was confined to his bed and and the burning pain in his chest. Even if he knew his mother would be sad, he also knew that she was very likely to recover eventually. His parents could perhaps have another child; and then everything would be well. In fact, Alexander had already decided that he would make his mother promise that she would move on, even when he was gone. He was, after all, just going to embark on a new journey. The maid who often looked after him had told him as much, when he'd asked her what it would be like to die. Of course, she hadn't been able to exactly tell him what it would be like; but she had told him to "think of it as embarking on a new journey", so that was exactly what he did.

 

Shutting his eyes, the young child tuned out on the quietly chatting voices and occasional weep. What would lord death be like, he wondered? Would be be kind? Would be look like a skeleton? Would he look like a man in a black cloak? Did he have a scythe? Could he speak? And would he answer the riddle Alexander has so carefully prepared for him? The young child hoped so. If there was one thing he loved, it would certainly have to be riddles. As he was rarely allowed to go outside, solving riddles had become one of his favorite games. The aforementioned maid knew some really hard ones, and it was unfair that she could always solve his riddles so easily. Nevertheless, it was fun. Solving riddles brought a small ray of sunlight into the child's life.

 

"Mister Death," he mumbled weakly, squeezing his eyes shut harder as he got into another coughing fit. Droplets of blood splattered onto his bedsheets, his petite hand quivering as he placed it over his mouth, to prevent the rest of the blood from doing the same, "please don't take too long. It hurts. It hurts a lot..." he whispered, his voice barely audible as he let his bloodied hand drop back to his side. "Please..."

[AlphaZero]

"Mister Death," the grim reaper heard the beautiful, yet ailing young child murmur with a pain filled voice, coughing out blood splatters in the process. A thin, quivering, sickly colored hand covered the blood stained mouth, as a prevention for the rest of the blood that might do the same.

 

"Please don't take too long. It hurts. It hurts a lot..." The trembling hand dropped back down to the petite boy's side, words ending with another desperate, weakly spoken plea. "Please..."

 

Unforgiving imperial red colored eyes continued their unrelenting scrutinization as the darkly clad angel of death watched his target for the night just outside of a large, intricately designed balcony window. Tucked in between satin bed sheets, was a young boy that has not even lived a day over ten. The glittering, silvery moonlight streamed into the room, causing it to illuminate in a startling bluish tone that complimented the boy's aquamarine eyes and navy blue hair.

 

What contradicted the boy's appearance however, was the red blood that marred those satin sheets and his own beautiful face.

 

Thanatos was tasked with reaping this boy's soul, just for the purpose that it was time for him to leave the world of the living. Most of the dying that he's reaped before, have never wished for him to come and "not take too long." There were some humans that did wish to go quickly. Because they, like this young boy, were in too much pain to even want to bother with the living anymore. When he did arrive however, and those humans felt it deep within their dying gut that they were about to leave soon, only then, did they beg to live. Only then, did they choose to cry pearl-shaped tears. Only then, did they choose to grovel. Thanatos knew for a fact, that it was going to be the same when he stepped inside the room to take the boy's life.

 

Despite the fact that his target was a child, it didn't matter much to him. He's taken many lives before throughout countless ages. And throughout those ages, he's taken lives whether they be young, old, children, women, men, everyone. Plus, there was the other fact that he was literally death itself.

 

Death wasn't supposed to feel. That was how he could take lives as easily as he did.

 

Thanatos waited until the humans inside the child's room left and dispersed, leaving sorrowful tear-stained sheets and the boy alone. He opened the balcony door, soft enough for any human to believe that it was just the wind that did it, and stepped in.

 

He didn't worry about being seen, as rarely did any human ever see him.

 

There was a stereotype that grim reapers all had death scythes, and were quite literally, skeletons. Not much of it was true, except for the fact that he did dress all in black clothing. And on the contrary, he looked just as human as real humans did. He wore jeans, t-shirts, jackets, whatever humans wore these days. In any case, it didn't matter much without anyone to see him.

 

With a pale face cocked to the side, he peered at the young boy stationed on his bed, awaiting for death to come and send his soul somewhere beyond the living.