William T. Spears (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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thedispatch2015-03-16 01:57 am
death_glare) wrote in thedispatch2015-03-16 01:57 am
Headcanons!
Hello Reapers! So I was thinking that before we get going with everything, maybe it'd be good to talk about the headcanons we have for all the reapers! Since we wanna make this more of an ongoing plot line type thing, it'd be good to know what everyone has in their head.
I'm especially curious about how all of you interpret the reaper world. Are reapers born that way? Do they have parents and siblings? Do they eventually die, themselves? What about those rumored "reaper crazies?" Or maybe they were all once mortal. What was their mortal life like? And what happened to them that won them a spot as a reaper after death? Or maybe you have something completely different in your head?
I'm eager to discuss this and see what you all think! Feel free to post up headcanons for any of the reapers, not only the one you're playing here! Then respond to other's ideas! I'd even love to hear your thoughts on our new German friends~
I'm especially curious about how all of you interpret the reaper world. Are reapers born that way? Do they have parents and siblings? Do they eventually die, themselves? What about those rumored "reaper crazies?" Or maybe they were all once mortal. What was their mortal life like? And what happened to them that won them a spot as a reaper after death? Or maybe you have something completely different in your head?
I'm eager to discuss this and see what you all think! Feel free to post up headcanons for any of the reapers, not only the one you're playing here! Then respond to other's ideas! I'd even love to hear your thoughts on our new German friends~
no subject
I've addressed my opinions on Grell's gender here, indicated by the red asterisks. It's such a tired issue by now, surely, so I don't press anyone to look.
I do believe that Grell was genuinely in love with Angelina, and while disgusted that the woman fell short of her duties, also felt that she was doing her a service by slaying her herself.
There's also undeniable infatuation for William; however, it isn't that her love isn't true. If you'd been pining after someone for centuries to no avail, wouldn't you pursue fleeting shots at happiness while they arose?
Sorry, but Sebastian doesn't quite make the cut. Oh yes, Grell does obsess over him, but more in the fashion that a girl fancies a superstar. They look good from a distance, but if those feelings were suddenly returned, the allure would vanish in an instant!
I imagine that Grell sees herself as something like Ronald's big sister, and they certainly bicker - but also, have each other's backs - like it; she and Eric are more prone to enabling one another's more devious habits when they're in the same vicinity; and while she can be jealous of Alan at times, mostly sees him as a fantastic bosom buddy and housewife-senpai.
-- That's momentarily all that comes to mind! If you have any further questions, feel free to ask?
I APOLOGIZE FOR THE LACK OF ORGANIZATION!
-Okay so I remember asking about that at some point. The whole payment thing. I always figured they were paid pretty well. I mean Ron here with his stupid Italian suit and his Cartier watch. (that's canon, mind. It's in Yana's notes.) There's got to be a way he can afford it. Plus the dates. All the dates.
-Senpai had some interesting lore that demons and reapers once worked together when it came to human souls. Reapers took care of the souls that were headed to heaven or purgatory and demons took the souls headed to hell. But then demons got greedy and decided they wanted ALL the souls. Then there was a war and shit.
-Also due to the reaper building looking like my building from college, this is my permanent mental image for the company cafeteria.
-I also can't decide between the "company dorms" vs "private housing" thing. Most fics I've seen prefer the dorm setup, IDK. I'm flexible with either.
re: Ronald
-If you're curious about any backstory I might have for Ron, I condensed it all here because we needed it for a thing in Animus once upon a time. Also please don't mind the shippy implications. Faust is a man obsessed with one ship, blah blah blah, I like confused feelings even though they don't turn out to be romantic. I go into detail about several other things here and here but those things have shippy context.
-His scythe wasn't always a lawnmower but I have no idea what it used to be. It's clear from the Circus arc that the lawnmower (named Carrie) is new so it's either Ron's just out of training and had just grown out of his training scythe or he had something else beforehand. (Carrie was an Animus thing and it kinda stuck for nostalgia's sake)
-He'll do anything to get out of feeding Will's pigeons. He thinks they're crazy. (Only because he made the mistake of not being careful when he was sent to feed them the first time, spilled feed all over himself and got mauled by pigeons)
-He's a slob. Anyone coming over without warning will probably catch his boxers hanging over the side of the couch or something. And yes, boxers over briefs.
-As a shoutout to the original Ronald Knox, this one's a fan of mystery novels and rather likes Holmes. He disappears once a month to get Doyle's latest and can't put it down until he's finished.
re: Rutger
-yes I've latched on to this guy and will be considering adding him to the roster once we get more info about him.
-Despite what scanlations say, I'm going with Rutger. It's more German. Rudgar sounds more high fantasy than European.
-He has a certain pretentiousness about him regarding dark chocolate and Eiswein. Other than that, isn't fond of sweets.
-Until we've been Joss'd, he's a Spears. A distant relative, at least. A far related cousin maybe. He looks too much like a young Will not to be and Toboso isn't the kind of mangaka who suffers from sameface syndrome.
-Sascha is to him what Alan is to Eric. Maybe not to the same degree of familiarity but he's Rutger's go-to partner. But Sascha is a flighty thing and has a tendency to wander off which gives him a heart attack on occasion.
--
If anything else comes up, I'll end up either replying to this with more or editing it.
no subject
So, I wrote up a thing about how the reaper world functions and specifics on William's life over in this post. It's from forever ago, and it's gotten tweaked a bit over the years, but it's my basic go to for William's back story.
All that being said, my William is a very depressed man who dislikes himself very much. He's never let anyone else know about the details of his mortal life and does his best to keep any emotions regarding it to himself. Hence why he comes off as such a stoic, stuffy and work obsessed man. In actuality, he does care for his coworkers, even though they infuriate him with their careless behaviour. If he wanted to, he could always have them transferred or let their carelessness get the better of them and not interject when situations become a life or death matter. It is less about not having enough help in the department and more so that these are the only individuals he has close to him in his life anymore and does not want to lose them. Of course, he will never admit to any of this willingly.
Random other bits:
-Regarding the pigeon thing, William is not obsessed with the birds. But he does have more respect for them as workers than he does most of his subordinates.
-He has a bit of a sweet tooth for
Teddy Grahamschocolate chip cookies.-Every reaper is required to take an annual evaluation that ultimately determines whether or not they remain a reaper or pass on. William has nearly passed each time, but never quite gets there.
no subject
Eric sees Will and Grell as his future. William is emotionless and cold. Grell is twisted and crazy. He knows eventually he and the younger reapers will all be one or the other. Eric himself can't connect with the people he reaps. It's much too hard. He sees himself becoming colder and colder and colder as time goes on.
Then there's Alan.
Alan is gentle and kind and comforts the people he reaps. Eric can't. It's too hard. It hurts too much. It hurts Alan too, but Alan does it anyway. That's why Eric sees Alan as someone who is much stronger and better than himself.
And yes, Eric is deeply and helplessly in love.
He doesn't like his life. He doesn't like the future he sees for himself. He doesn't think that they're... good. But, Alan is. Alan is the only good thing in this life that seems to him like it has no end, and he'd do anything to keep Alan in the world.
Updated William Headcanon!!
I will write it out better eventually, but I needed to get it all down. Prepare to be punched in the feels again as I ruin William's life even more.
Alan stuff
He doesn't want special treatment or to burden anyone, taking great pains to make himself seem perfectly capable - especially in light of his newly acquired illness his desire to be seen and treated just like everyone else rather than someone to be pitied and coddled has become all the more intense. He has a higher level of care for others than himself - IE he will put others ahead of himself often taking on additional duties (writing/correcting others reports, taking reaps when children are involved, tidying up) - he also often provides a listening ear/ kind word/ life advice in the form of notes tucked away with his co-workers things.
As of yet, only William is aware of his condition RE- The Thorns. Alan tries to do his best to hide it as stated above but it has slowly started to become apparent something is - off/not quite right - in small ways. He waves it off as 'overwork' but that excuse only holds out so long.
Grell is his unofficial shopping buddy and yes they do gossip. William is something of a role model to him and has Alan's upmost respect. Ronald has officially been adopted by Alan - full stop. That is his rookie and he will mom at him - even more than he fusses after the others. He is 'mom friend' of the Reaper Family and he is Happy to take that role. He's very passionate about caring for the others even if that means he has to give them some 'tough love' - anything he does, even lectures or the occasional passionate argument with anyone(even if his demeanor is usually one of calm, understanding patience) is usually from a place of love and a desire to keep them safe/out of trouble or danger.
As for Eric - Eric was his mentor; still is but Alan isn't as much as a trainee as he was before now they're closer to equals. Eric often does things that get on Alan's nerves or that he finds mildly distressing - unbuttoning his collar, leaving his tie undone. It makes him flustered and he lectures Eric as a result. Honestly, Alan has only just started to understand his feelings but he likely won't act on them since they work together and it would be inappropriate.
Mortal Life (these are vague AF sorry about that)
- He was sickly at first even as a child; likely born too early or from lack
- His mother was a hand-sewer/seamstress who did simple mending and washing
- Father was likely MIA or Dead
- As a mortal he had one blue eye one green; causing him to be shunned by most people
-- This lead to him becoming a sin eater
--- which in turn lead to him eventually taking his own life (likely done via poison/pills) as he learned the sins/evil acts of some of these people; some of them were truly and utterly reprehensible causing him Guilt and distress at his perceived part in allowing them to go to heaven
Tid bits:
- Flowers & plants are his favorite things; he likes growing then and learning out then "Language of Flowers" and things like other uses for them
- He loves to cook and bake; he absolutely brings treats and snacks even packing Lunches for his main co-workers
- His idea of a good time is a stroll in a garden or sitting with tea and a good book
-- Guilty pleasure reads kids books and romances
- The bolo tie was a gift he was given after graduating the academy (from a professor)
-- the original bolo didn't have a skull it had a green stone/glass
--- this stone was shattered/damaged during the incident when Alan got the Thorns
- While Alan himself doesn't drink all the pubs in London likely know who he is and his number because of Eric and Ronald - if they get too drunk, cause trouble he's the one to come get them/handle things.
-- Same for bars.
The Thorns (Symptoms)
- Headaches
- Muscle aches/Cramps & Muscle Weakness
- Bruising
- Chest pain (vise like squeezing/wheezing/shortness of breath/pained labored breathing)
- Coughing up blood
- Nausea
- Hallucinations (auditory and visual)
- Tiredness/Fatigue/Restlessness/Drowsiness
- Irritability
- Fevers/Chills
- Appetite loss
- Hoarse voice/Laryngitis
- Dizziness
- Balance and Coordination issues
- Confusion/Being disoriented/Word confusion
- Blackouts/Fainting
- Worsening vision (Issues even with his glasses)
- Memory issues (Which he usually subverts with his journal and post-it notes)
- More likely to have injuries (sprains, pulled muscles, broken bones)
Alan Stuff
Shortly before the events detailed in The Dispatch, Alan was send out on alone on a mission to review an retrieve a soul. A young woman due to die from blood loss after a mugging.
Alan arrived early and kept an eye on her, taking notes of his findings. There was nothing really remarkable about her. Young mid-twenties, with a child also due to die a few days after the mother. There was no reason to spare her, nothing amazing she could really provide the world so Alan was prepared to reap her.
Things went mostly to plan but after she was stabbed and nearing the time of her death she saw him and started to panic and plead. Alan, in an effort to ease her distress about leaving her baby all alone in the world told her that they wouldn't be separated for long.
Which was the wrong thing to do.
The woman became absolutely incensed. Rather than crying and pleading in her finally moments, she launched herself at him in a vicious attack. While her body might have been dying, her soul was still very much a living thing; even as her body crumpled and her heart ceased its beating, her soul and record lashed out.
It wasn't in the normal way, not like a soul that simply didn't want to die because of some selfish reason. No. This was the soul of a mother fueled by her frantic desire to save her child. A soul that seemed to have gained strength and overpowered the young reaper - winding and coiling itself around him but not just him but his very soul. Imprinting her anger, her sense of injustice onto him - into his very being in a way that could not be purged or seen; excruciating its painfulness, bringing tears to his eyes. He gasped and writhed feeling as if his entire being were being flayed and burned before he wrestled that now weakened soul from his own and collected it.
Alan was left horribly shaken and in pain. It didn't help that he could hear the wailing screaming of the child. When he didn't return when he was expected, William as keeping of the master To Die List when to go find him and found him perched high out of sight curled into himself gasping, panting, tear tracks on his cheeks.
After a bit, Alan did eventually confide in William what had happened - not that he had to because he reviewed the soul's record to see it for himself. It was a painfully familiar experience that William remembered and yet it was different than his own. Alan admitted that he didn't feel the same as when he had before he tried to collect her and was escorted to the infirmary.
There was a careful examination and Alan recounted the incident; the record reviewed. One of the older and Senior most members of the health staff was called and the process repeated. With a grim face, he dismissed most of the staff and told William and Alan what was wrong.
The Thorns of Death.
A fatal illness even for a Reaper.
The diagnosis was kept as a need to know secret. Only a few members of the infirmary staff were told - all sworn to silence. Alan and William have yet to tell any of the others; Alan truly would rather never tell anyone else if he were to have the choice.
Sascha things
They're very interested in humans but not in the way that most reapers are - Sascha seems more interested in the chaotic advances that humans have made as well as an interest in weapons, war, politics, and so on. Sascha is oddly cheerful and seemingly happy to be doing this job and reaping people; stating that he is happy to be a Reaper which even Rutger says is strange. Sasha is happier now that they are a reaper going so far as to call being a reaper their vocation.
Unlike most reapers, Sascha's waist coat is a knitted wool cashmere sweater vest and their glasses are actually a translucent brown plastic frame with tortoiseshell temples/earpieces. Sascha uses a Super Ikonta 530/16 as their deathscythe taking pictures of those to die to collect their records; though like all reapers Sascha does have a small handheld scythe.
Random bits:
- Favors peppermint tea
- Coffee is a 50/50 mix of Coffee and Creamer with three sugars
- Pastries & cakes preferred with coffee: Donauwelle, Bethmännchen, & Bienenstich are Sashca's favorites
- Very fond of Rutger; always asks to be partnered up with him - Likely because while Rutger gets mildly annoyed when Sascha wonders off he knows Sascha would let him know if something went sideways
- Sees Rutger as one of the few people they can be 1000% open with and not judged by; they're close and likely at the very least friends
-Like all Reapers Sascha committed suicide; we see in the manga that this is gone by hanging in this instance. From what we've gleaned in the series thus far - Sascha was deeply unhappy. This may be because their interest in things that would be frowned upon in polite society.