#heehee haahaa tgis is both the nest and the worst idea we ever had

[itstaisstuff]

ok now I gotta know: what’s the deal with death au about??

Oh my, thank you for asking! That was a mistake:)

First of all, I'm gonna make it clear: this whole au is still pretty much work in progress, we change or add new ideas almost every day, but I'm gonna write down the main concept of it!!

Behold, long post below!

Basically, the whole idea is about Tango being possessed by good old Zedeath. It all starts on the early season 9, when Tango has no idea what to do after finishing the Nether hub. Of course he has some base ideas, but he wanted to make something big, something that will not be forgotten. Lucky, he got payed a visit from his best friend's clone, who he hasn't seen for a few years. Tango knows Zedeath is not as evil as any of the helsmits, he's just there to kill you a few times in a fun way, but it's okay. They're good. Right? Zedeath offers him a great idea, a fun project for this season. The idea is to rebuild the game Tango spent countless hours on few seasons ago, Decked out. Tango gets a cool project, a bit of Zedeath's magic that allows him to ignore exhaustion and sleep, with this comes a new look, and a friend who will be around all the time for the rest of the season. Hermits loved the first game, what will they say about the second one? Even bigger, scarier, and much more deadlier? It is hard to forget a game like that. But what will Zedeath get out of this? He gets to enjoy hermit's deaths. He's tired of always hunting them down, time to take it to another level. Tango will build him a never ending food supply, he will get enough souls for the rest of his... Afterlife? Of course the deal had some important point, like:

None of them can talk about the deal or mention each others in any way in a dialogue with others.

The dungeon is allowed to have some magic elements that will keep track of players status (heartbeat/clank/hazard) which Zedeath will provide.

Tango is not allowed to have any big side projects.

No deadline is set, although the more time it takes- more consequences there will be(not set what "consequences" are).

Tango can't be hurt by any outside sources+ hunger/lack of sleep etc.

There is a mark in the back of Tango's hand as a reminder of all the work Tango has to do.

The deal will be over once the winner of Decked out is given the prize.

It goes well for the first few months. Tango is having a great time. It feels weird, kinda like the Demise, he did not feel anything. But that was a good thing. He could work for hours without being tired, he doesn't need sleep or food. It's hard to get used to the new appearance, but it's not like he's having any problems with it: he can't see his new appearance, the reflection is just as it always used to be with his blonde fire hair and ruby eyes. But there is one major issue... Tango is not working fast enough. At least not fast enough for Zedeath. So he finally makes use of the mark on Tango's hand which he hides under bandages to avoid any questions and makes it burn. Literally. With blue flame. It was not the real fire, just a bit of magic that couldn't burn anything but could hurt Tango very bad. It was the only thing that could actually hurt Tango, anything caused by Zedeath himself. Pressured by the constant pain, Tango starts working harder. But turns out the consequences Zedeath mentioned in the deal are actually painful ways to pressure him. As time goes on, the fire spreads on his hand and arm more and more, making it only harder to work on the project. Of course Tango's allowed to have visitors and leave the dungeon from time to time. And yet, Zedeath is always with him. In his mind speaking to him, or in his shadow.

Things started to get worse once levels 1 and 2 became playable. None other than Zed was invited to be the first victim of the dungeon. It was going great, right up to the point where he dies to the Beast. And that, being the first official victim of the dungeon, gave Zedeath so much power. Tango starts to notice that he doesn't control his actions or thoughts. Every time he wants to do something not Decked Out related, Zedeath would not let him do it by mind controlling Tango. He has no option then just play along and try to finish this project. More time goes by, more fire spreading on his hand slowly making it to his shoulders and back still causing burning pain, more testing and players dying causing more possession. By the time Decked out is almost finished, Zedeath realizes that he can't trust Tango with running the game. So he takes everything under his control. Tango, being extra tired of all the work he's done, is trapped in his own body without any ability to do anything. He can just observe, watching himself do things he doesn't want to do or say stuff he didn't think about. After all the fine spent in Tango's mind Zedeath manages to copy Tango's behavior perfectly, so no one even noticed the difference. During the playing period Tango doesn't get a chance to get control over his body back. He starts to realize that all his works wasn't worth it. At the end of the day, it is all just to feed Zedeath. Hermits enjoy it and thank "Tango" for this game, but they do not realize that Zedeath is taking a little part of their souls for each of the runs. Even thought Tango doesn't have any control over his own body, he still feels the pain from cursed flames. By the time Decked out is close to finish, the fire scratches started to appear on the visible parts of his body: it was covering all his neck and started getting to the face. Zedeath was more than satisfied with the results of this project, and once the winner is given the prize, Zedeath is ready to leave. He doesn't leave much after him, just a little goodbye.

And then there's nothing left. Decked out is done. Zedeath is gone. Tango is left all alone, he has no immunity to hunger or sleepless nights anymore. Now Tango can see the real reflection, and for the first time he sees how terrible he looks: all pale from the lack of sleep and sunlight, super thin, with huge bags under his eyes, basically looking dead. He feels every thing possible in one second, but he's finally freed for the burning pain. He almost passes out but pays a visit to Zedaph, the only person who will surely let him stay. Or maybe he comes there because Zed reminds him of Zedeath too much. Tango is still afraid to talk about Zedeath, even if it's all over, but Zed doesn't force him to. He just lets Tango to stay in his place for as long as he needs to, just to get better. Tango needs help with getting used to eating and sleeping again, and Zedaph is here to help his best friend recover from the evil things his clone did to him.

Anyways, there are a lot of bonus ideas which would make this post never ending so I'm gonna tell em another time. Anyways, I hope you had fun reading it, once again thank you for asking!! Can promise more content on this au for sure:D