I was recently reminded of an old ship from Twisted Crests that wormed its way into my head and wouldn't leave ever since I worked on that part
It has to do with two characters who absolutely hate each other (well, maybe not so true for the other one) but represent similar things.
Ellis who chose 'death' and became a sower of death because he lost a loved one in a tragic way, and now bargains with a demon hoping that he will be able to have a second go vs. Roach who also embraced death and bargained with a demon, but who only sees herself as 'dead' and enjoys participating in the world even if she's just a witness.
She sees Ellis as selfish & stubborn because he forces his experience on others while she embraced her own. Likewise, he thinks of her as an aimless loser and considers her path to be less valuable because he is 'doing something great for love' while she slithers among humans like a shadow.
They've both been through unimaginably horrible things and they're both trying to twist it into something they can accept.
The irony is that Ellis believes he has to kill an entire world to experience being in love again (And greatly fears that if he tries with someone else it won't feel the same, he is motivated by fear and loss rather than „love“ itself) while someone right next to him, with uniquely similar circumstances wants to give it a shot. And for her, it doesn't even have to be „fate“ or something special.
She simply thinks he's cute and they have a lot of experiences to talk about (Their circumstances are very unique, they're probably two of a kind). Every time she mentions losing someone important, he's like „I didn't lose anyone!“ and she can pretty much just respond with „sure“ and change the topic. He never thought about doing anything else, and he's committed to his way until the end. It's like trying to connect to someone but they're so hurt that they're completely delusional.
She is less fatalistic and has less of a drastic view of things unlike Ellis. She also protected him a few times by using her powers (and teased him just as much). Unlike other characters, she heard him out instead of immediately treating him as a monster, even though it wasn't reciprocated. She usually manages to stay calm while he freaks out, and only intervenes when she sees he won't be able to handle it. Also, it's kind of funny that Ellis grew up with three very energetic and headstrong sisters.
... And Roach is kinda like that too XD she's also much taller than him, and since she also teases him, he definitely feels threatened. He probably has a reason to, since she kinda runs her own gang that's loyal to her.
Another parallel is that while Ellis treasures and protects the corpse of someone he loved (Yes, an actual corpse), Roach is stuck living in a corpse-like body herself, yet she based her personality on wanting to live carefree and enjoy things.
oh, and they're also both considered villains in the story so they're similar in that regard as well.
