When a character dies in the very act of sexual intercourse, to the shock, embarrassment, or mortification of the still-living partner. In many cases, the cause of death is a heart attack or stroke — which is generally Played for Laughs. If the moment was particularly heated, the character may also Go Out with a Smile. Alternatively, someone may be killed through other means during sex. If it's murder, then the killer may do it to get their jollies , or because that's when the victim is particularly vulnerable.
The expected outcome for a Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex scenario. Contrast Mate or Die , where the character must have sex to live, and Pre-Climax Climax where the likelihood of death encourages sex. If death is averted, expect Glad-to-Be-Alive Sex instead. Both Making Love in All the Wrong Places and being Overcome with Desire could lead to this if the couple were particularly careless about the circumstances in which they make love.
This trope can also be a result of Lust Makes You Dumb , where a character's libido leads them to making stupid decisions. Not to be confused with a person blowing themselves up , or with people deciding to make their demise a memorable one. This should also not be confused with Sex Signals Death , where sex is a method of foreshadowing death rather than causing it directly.
Also not the same as Coming and Going ; although that also juxtaposes sex and death, the people involved don't have to be the same people. Truth in Television for some people, although the chances of someone dying naturally during sex are very low, unless there are already some serious medical issues, usually pulmonary, cardiac, or blood pressure-related, usually due to age.
Also true for some animal species, most notoriously drone bees, whose genitalia literally explode inside the queen bee during mating, and octopi, who both die in relatively quick succession - the male from rapidly going senile and either dying of aging or from being eaten by a predator, and the female from slowly starving to death while protecting the eggs. May happen to those who sleep together with a Shady Lady of the Night. As this is a Death Trope , unmarked spoilers abound.
