Headcanons!

[death_glare]

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~

Comments

[untodeath]

the lady. THE LEGEND.
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!

[diehardreaper]

re: general reaperdom
-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.

[death_glare]

First off, I wanna put a trigger warning on mine for suicide.

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 Grahams chocolate 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.

[ochitashinigami]

We know from canon that the age order for the reapers reapers is Will and Grell are oldest, then Eric, then Alan, then Ronald. Eric is SUCH a middle child. He shirks responsibility and likes attention.

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!!

[death_glare]

Here is a hastily written update to my headcanon for William's mortal life.

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

[amongthethorns]

He's a very hard and dedicated worker even as a rookie - you won't find him slacking off; even if later on this intense worth ethic leads to him pushing beyond his limits as the thorns takes hold. He's very meticulous about how he dresses, how he acts and the image he projects because he wants to prove he belongs and is a top-class reaper. Compassionate and selfless, he finds it easy to empathize with those he reaps; often becoming upset/emotional to the point of tears and anger. He adores children and is perfectly content to reap them; treating them as if they were his own children when they pass.

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)