DeathPuss

DeathPuss is the slash ship between Death and Puss in Boots from the Puss in Boots fandom.

Canon
Death and Puss are canonically natural enemies with a mutual respect towards one another.

In canon, Death is depicted as an intimidating force of nature, the grim reaper himself. He is driven by his own anger towards Puss In Boots, the protagonist, after the hero wastes 8 of his 9 lives without any consideration towards his own mortality and the concept of death itself.

Through out the story, Death hunts Puss down, consistently instilling fear and anxiety into him that drives him on his journey to wishing back the lives he lost in order to "avoid" death and remain a legendary hero using the help of The Wishing Star. However, Death himself does not take lightly to this, and makes an effort to take Puss' life numerous times until Puss is forced to realize the value of his own mortality and earn Death's respect by fighting for his life

Moments
''' The Bar. '''

Puss first encounters Death inside of an empty bar while bantering about not wanting to "retire" after losing 8 of his lives.

Death enters the scene with an ominous whistle that catches Puss' attention, until he sees Death sitting next to him at the bar counter. Death greets him with an eerie but respectful attitude, making an effort to compliment Puss' attire and even asking for his autograph on a wanted poster. Puss, however, takes discomfort from his presence, sensing the off-putting energy that Death puts off.

Puss automatically assumes Death is a bounty hunter when Death shows off his wanted poster, and the feline hero quickly challenges him to a fight, though Death is unprovoked by his efforts. It is not until Puss attempts to physically attack him does Death react aggressively, and he pushes Puss back with ease, even managing to cut Puss' forehead for the first time, leaving Puss stunned.

Upon defeating him, Death mockingly tells Puss to "pick up" his weapon, and Puss is filled with immense fear and reluctancy. The hero runs from the fight, abandoning his sword, and Death pursues him with a calm anticipation, even after Puss escapes the bar and leaves town.

 The Heist 

Puss' second encounter with Death happens a fair time later, after Puss chooses to hide away in retirement to escape him.

In the process of doing so, he encounters a young dog named Perrito who quickly grows attached to him as a friend. The friendly pooch joins him on a journey to find The Wishing Star, which Puss learns about through encountering his next enemies, Goldilocks and The Three Bears, who plan to use Puss' abilities to steal a map that leads to the Star from a strong villain named Big Jack Horner.

Puss is immediately motivated to taking the map for himself so that he can wish back all of his lives to avoid Death, but not before he is stopped by Kitty Softpaws, a fellow feline who seeks to use The Wishing Star for her own gain as well. The two of them fight and bicker over the map, until they're forced to flee together when they are chased down by Goldilocks and The Three Bears, and additional enemies who guard the town which Puss first finds the map in.

Together, with Perrito and Kitty, the trio escape on a carriage. Puss stops their pursuers by spilling a chest of gold onto the path, causing a flood of greedy bystanders to block their enemies and allow for an easy get-away.

It is then, in the middle of his triumph, that Puss is shocked by the familiar sound of whistling among the crowd. For a tense moment, he sees Death standing among the civilians, whistling and looking at him with deathly intimidation that causes Puss to desperately encourage Perrito to drive the carriage faster until Death is out of sight.

 The Fight With Jack Horner 

Puss' third encounter with Death takes place after the trio finds themselves inside of The Dark Forest, a magical dimension that is said to be where The Wishing Star resides.

As Kitty, Perrito, and Puss move along on their mission to seek The Wishing Star, they are eventually halted when Big Jack Horner, in his efforts of revenge for their thievery, follow them into The Dark Forest. He captures Perrito and threatens his life if they do not give up the map. Kitty and Puss are stunned, and their problems only increase when Goldilocks and The Three Bears show up to fight for the map too. What follows is a flourish of chaos, as Kitty and Puss attempt to save Perrito while also protecting the map from their enemies, who fight ruthlessly and try to capture them.

Puss is left thrown back by their efforts, finding himself in a daze and losing the map. In this tense moment, his surroundings become slow and muffled, as he is placed into a temporary state of shock. It becomes apparent that his life is at risk if he keeps fighting, and his fears of dying only grow when he is frozen stiff by the sounds of Death's whistling. He spots the wolf standing behind him in the distance, watching him imposingly as he flashes his sickles with deadly intentions.

Puss panics from this encounter and abandons the fight, as well as Kitty and Perrito for a temporary time. This small experience sends Puss into a state of major anxiety, causing him to see Death everywhere he runs until he can no longer keep running.

 The Cave of Lost Souls 

Puss' fourth encounter with Death takes place inside of a location called "The Cave of Lost Souls".

During his journey to The Wishing Star, Puss becomes trapped inside of a cave that puts him face-to-face with all of his past lives instilled inside of crystals. He quickly learns how lonesome his life was, and how selfish he use to be after his lives attempt to convince him to abandon his friends and seek out The Wishing Star for himself in order to go back to being a lone hero.

Puss proceeds to attempt to leave the cave, not wanting to bother further with his lives, but is quickly stopped when Death enters the scene, re-igniting his fear. Through-out this scene, Death begins to reveal to Puss his motives behind his aggression, emphasizing his power by smashing each crystal that represents Puss' lives. He tells Puss that he was always around to watch him lose every "frivolous" life he had, showing his proof by displaying 8 carved marks of Puss' lives on one of his sickles. Because of this, Puss realizes who he is, and Death confirms his suspicions by finally telling him that he is "death, straight up."

Death tells Puss he has come for him, but Puss responds with confusion, acknowledging that it is not his time to die yet. Death takes his concerns with amusement and confesses that he never liked the idea of cats having 9 lives. However, his prime source of bitterness is caused by the reality that Puss never valued "any" of his lives to begin with. Death believes he is doing a favor by wanting to kill Puss off early, having no faith that Puss will value his final life.

Puss runs away from him, barely managing to escape his grasp, until he is left running from his friends and directly to The Wishing Star where he decides to make his wish to have 9 lives again.

 The Final Battle 

Puss' fifth, and final encounter with Death takes place on top of The Wishing Star.

After fighting against Goldilocks and The Three Bears and Big Jack Horner to keep his chance to wish, Puss gains wise insight from his friend Perrito about how special a life can be. Perrito tells him that one life can be enough, but before Puss is able to make a decision, everyone including himself are stopped by the familiar sound of whistling.

Puss fearfully looks in the direction of Death, who strolls into the scene, sickles ready for action. Puss momentarily responds to Perrito's confusion towards this new opponent, saying "He is here for me".

Without any warning, Death uses his sickles to create a powerful barrier of flames, leaving Puss trapped and isolated from the help of his friends. Terrified, he looks at The Wishing Star map, seeming to debate whether he wants to wish for his lives back or not.

Death calls out his cowardice, telling him to fight. He throws Puss his sword, telling him to "pick it up" the same way he did in their first battle. Puss proceeds to remember all of his experiences through out his journey to The Wishing Star, only thinking about his friends and the love they shared with him for the first time in many years. It is in this moment that he realizes his life is worth fighting for, and that he does not have to live alone and stuck in his lonesome "Legendary" ways. Death questions if his lives are "flashing before his eyes", but Puss confidently denies it, telling him that "just one" is all he saw. He has decided that he is tired of running for his life and proceeds to face Death head on, weapon in hand, much to Death's excitement.

The two proceed to fight, clashing blades and dodging one another. However, as the battle intensifies, Puss loses his sword once again, causing himself to be left seemingly defenseless and giving Death the advantage. But, just when all hope seems lost, Puss pulls out his "gatito blade", a newly acquired gift from his close friend, Kitty, which allows him to deflect a critical attack from Death just in time.

With a new determination, Puss manages to regain his sword and fight earnestly against Death with both of his weapons at the same time. For the first time, Death is pushed back, and Puss finally gains advantage over the wolf. He kicks Death down, causing him to lose his sickles and fall back, putting distance between themselves. Then, in a show of true bravery, Puss gives Death one of his sickles back, telling him to "Pick it up". He then tells Death once and for all that he knows he can never defeat him, but that will not stop him from fighting for his life.

His words appear to impact Death, who makes a final stand against him in an effort to intimidate the hero. But Puss does not back down, showing off his willingness to survive by staring Death in the face. Death is left frustrated by this, regretful that he took so long to kill Puss.

However, Death quickly lets go of his anger, and acknowledges that Puss has changed, and that he is no longer the same arrogant little "legend" he use to be. Puss is relieved by this, and Death expresses his mercy and respect by telling him to live his life "well", before turning away and leaving. But, before his final departure, he looks back at Puss. He reminds Puss that they will meet again someday, and Puss, no longer afraid, but no longer cocky either, smiles at Death and accepts his warning without denial. Death calmly disappears through the flames, whistling one last time.

Fanon
Deathpuss is a growing ship within the Shrek fandom, and is one of the most popular ships involving Puss in Boots. Despite the canonical hostilities the characters share, many fans enjoy expanding on both characters in fun, soft, and loving ways.

For example, one popular fantasy is that Death, after leaving Puss at The Wishing Star, finds himself incapable of forgetting Puss and how he impacted him enough to make him break his own rules. He realizes that Puss, being at the exception of his rules, has left an imprint on himself. He develops a curiosity towards the cat, wanting to know why he was so invested in him in the first place and allowed him to be a rare subject of his mercy. What follows is Death coming to develop feelings for Puss, who causes him to experience mortal desires for the first time.

He feels angry and confused with himself for wanting to form a relationship with Puss, who, depending on the circumstance, fears him any way, which restricts his confidence in earning his trust. But, these new desires combined with Death's primal instincts, create a potent drive inside of Death that encourages him to seek Puss out and begin to meet with him more and more, hoping to see for himself if what he feels can be put to rest until he is too far gone.

In scenarios like this, Death can be depicted in his usual creepy, aggressive fashion, becoming obsessed with Puss and only wanting to experience his fear and irresistible cockiness. He toys with him and spooks him, appearing when Puss least expects it in order to satisfy his sadistic desires. In this case, sometimes Death will realize he wants more than just fear from Puss. His hunger for the feline grows outside of natural territories until he cannot even fathom taking his life, and instead, he wants to earn Puss' attention and claim his heart for himself, finding the idea of Puss desiring him back to be more intoxicating than him being afraid.

Alternatively, Death can be depicted as lonesome and misunderstood. He wants Puss' love, but knows he cannot over step his boundaries as a God and as a natural enemy. But, his affections tempt him into making an effort to win Puss over, and the two of them develop an unexpected, forbidden romance that causes Death to feel his first experiences of attraction and desire to protect a living soul.

The two of them clash together pleasantly, and most of the time, Death is shown as possessive and protective of Puss, while Puss is either distrusting of Death at the start, or willing to show his heroic side and give Death a chance. If he trusts him, Puss enjoys using his charms on Death, flirting with him and teasing him in his usual lover-boy fashion. These are traits Death tends to find cute and amusing, his own affections for the feline stemming from how determined Puss is to make him happy and flustered, even though Death does not fluster easily.

Often, Death views Puss as a prized partner in most situations. He admires Puss for his cockiness, sass, charms, and skills in battle. He watches over Puss often, and uses him to develop a better understanding of mortals and what it means to value a person outside of his work as a grim reaper. Puss is the one person he cannot bring himself to kill, which can open room for angst when ever the time comes for Puss to pass on.

In cases where morality is a prime factor in this ship's dynamic, fans enjoy the idea of Death losing his immortality in exchange for Puss' love. The concept that Puss makes Death feel alive for the first time is a popular preference, one that is used to focus on the idea of Death losing his immortality because his love for Puss fills him with mortal emotions until he develops his own heart, or becomes so invested by Puss that he neglects his duties as death and loses his powers.

The ship is often related to Romeo and Juliet because of these ideas, their love being deemed as "forbidden" and "once in a life time". One way or another, the ship can become a tragedy, because Puss' fate to die is always prominent. Therefore, realistically, Death will have to suffer the heart ache of taking Puss' soul when his time comes, a bittersweet end to their love that neither will forget.

Alternatively, however, if Death loses his immortality due to the love he feels for Puss, then he, too, will die, abandoning the world and his purpose all for the one he cares for most. This selfish choice of loyalty to Puss is something shippers have developed on in various ways, through both art and writing, and is considered one of the more preferable methods of tragedy and romance that this pairing can have due to its risks and effects it has on the character's universe, and the sheer message it carries about how much Death and Puss are willing to sacrifice for each other.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

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