Can you do Charon X Reader headcanons? Please. Pretty please.
Aight lemme find my notes-
Charon Headcannons
TW: War, PTSD, some Depression
Charon, is one I see is very hesitant, he is careful pretty much. Convincing him that you accept him despite the fact and circumstances that he is a corpse, he slowly comes to terms with you loving him.
Charon, to him, everything is meaningless, yet the nihilism does not mean he is indifferent to you. Oftentimes Charon lets you stalk after him and the poppies within his chest bloom when you are close.
The poppies react to you, in the beginning they were slow, but as the relationship developed, the poppies became open, the smell became a sort of comfort to you, Charon once plucked a poppy and tucked it in your hair with a carefulness, you heard the sound of soldiers sharing their love, perhaps their regrets of departing from their lovers and wives, or maybe they somehow felt soothed by the feeling of warmth.
Charon’s hands are cold, yet he makes the effort of making it as warm as he possibly could. It’s a coldness that you grown accustomed to, reassuring him that you did not mind it.
Charon is somewhat clingy, a little protective, he gets a bit of anxiety when you are not around for long periods of time, at first it was slow, but deeper into the relationship, Charon instantly grabbed your hand or gets close to you. Charon is silently stressed, his anxiousness is not revealed until you either address it or his ‘breathing’ gets fast.
Even if he is an awakened corpse, he still suffers symptoms of the war, it’s from his memories as Paul, it ranged from pausing for a long period of time, slight trembles, headaches, or insomnia or at least some equivalent of insomnia.
Charon only stands, he doesn’t sit, it’s until you urge him to sit with you or amongst a sort of scenic landscape, even though he has the urge to stand, he feels a sort of calm when you hold his hand, his thumb will stroke the back of your hand, an assurance that you are there with him.
I like to think Charon gets calmed by the sound of your heartbeat, quiet as he takes in the beating, the thumps of your heart as he feel your pulse through your neck or wrist, like he is just still, his body close to you while his body seems to sort of ‘rest’, the muscles relax, the stillness of it all, it gives him respite from the memories of the war.
Despite going to the battlefield to gather up the dead, I imagine that he still has ptsd, no matter if he is an awakened arcanist, the triggers of loud noises and sights of ravaged lands, it brings him to a point of exhaustion and pain, the way he copes is journaling, along with the grounding of the feel of your warmth, the sight of your clothes, thinking and observing your features become a part of his grounding exercises.
He is similar to Aleph in some ways and aspects, easily exhausted or stressed, or in cases becoming still and unmoving, reluctant to show his face, and holding a journal. Charon holds you or let you hold him so he could be soothed, his maturity or rather his appearance of his composure is sort of let go, relaxed around you over time, he’s basically like putty in your arms.
Charon lets you put wildflowers or any sort of scent on him, mostly to help obscure the scent of the corpse or the smell of gunpowder, he oftentimes stand while you stitch up his uniform or his veil, at first he was reluctant about you patching up his clothes, but soon he softened when you genuinely cared about him, you put care and thoughtfulness into your patchwork.
If there is one thing Charon is firm about, it’s your safety, he will never let you go into a conflict that would bring an unnecessary casualty or is knowingly dangerous. Charon is adamant about you staying while he is gone to the front lines to collect the dead, he may suffer from symptoms, but he rather suffer than bear the weight of bringing an unnecessary loss from his selfishness.
Charon’s firmness can be amplified if you are a fighter, it can go into a scary argument, like he will force you to stay put and not let it go to further discussion.
He recoils from your hands if you ever try to reveal his face, he doesn’t show you until he is comfortable enough, on one rainy night, when the appearance of fireflies barely lit the atmosphere of the Wilderness, his white gloved hands slowly moving his veil to show the sharp blades and bayonets poking through, the way you look with a reverence made his chest bloom with budding poppies.
Charon takes care of his black horse, the gentle giant of a horse patient and Charon guides your hand to touch the horse’s head and neck, oftentimes the two of you care for the hair, grooming, feeding, or just strolling about.
At times, I imagine the frequent spot where the two of you visit or for long times hang out together is a graveyard, times where you bring flowers for a grave or on occasion, having a bit of lunch, or at times being there in complete silence while strolling along, Charon having his journal open and writing the names of the fallen.
Rarely does Charon sketch in the journal, of the crows and ravens, of the sights, and even you, and rarely does he show you, not out of some disconnect, rather in his own sense of flustered stoicism, he makes beautiful sketches.
I like to think that Charon has pressed flowers, preserving small wildflowers, a sort of stillness of memory to these flowers.
On a sunny day or during a nice sunset is when Charon spends the most precious moments with you, oftentimes more outside than inside, the bright sunshine and the cool gentle breeze is where he is the most still, he’s kinda energetic for usually a very stoic and near nihilistic corpse.
Charon doesn’t mind being touched, but he does want you to announce it before going through with it, surprise actions make him recoil. Charon is rather finely tuned to a schedule, he likes to have some control over what to expect, he gets rather uncomfortable if it’s an exact time and nothing is going as planned but he will be around you to ground his slight discomfort.
Charon has a dissatisfied grudge with weapons, even as something simple as a kitchen knife/butterknife will make him focused until it’s placed away, more often than not, he impulsively goes to the kitchen to put away any sharp cutlery or hover around a weapon until it’s either put in a safety lock or it’s put away from sight. Which is why his choice of meal or food is either could be hand held, or if it is wooden like a beer wooden mug.
Sometimes, there are times where Charon would bring you to gather the dead with him, he won’t force you to come, but there is a silence when you do join the effort of providing the dead soldiers some peace in a proper burial, despite the atmosphere, the two of you share something more heartfelt, a compassion.
Charon is more still when you present him with something as simple as a bright green caterpillar, or if you have a fondness for small creatures and bugs, if you have a particular fondness for a type of plant or animal, Charon will slowly equate the sight of the particular to your presence if you are not around, it gives him an extra grounding exercise.
I like to imagine that Charon slowly develops a romantic side only for you, maybe a slow dance or presenting you with something that he collected that he thought reminded him of you.
His touches are intimate yet hesitant, as though on edge of letting you become close to him, at first it started with hand holding, over time it gotten to the point where his fingers are combing through your hair when you rest your head against his chest, it gives him a sense of distraction of feeling your hair and how you shiver with a delightful affection.
Charon has moments of depression, where he doubts the moments of domestic life, thinking that he could not have this for long, but in the end, at the end of the day, when his work is finished for now and he returns to the Suitcase, he silently sits next to you while writing in his journal, at times, adding a new sketch of you.
Some Charon Head Cannons I Finally have the Balls to Share:
He was a US Green Beret captured in Anchorage by Chinese and Russian Special Forces in 2076, 11 months before the Great War and had many experiments done on him while a POW.
He was deployed at 28, one of the youngest in his squad. Charon was born in Pennsylvania and came from a military background, later joining the US Army at 19, soon after the USA announced war against the Republic of China.
In the end, he would be the only survivor from his squad, all others having been executed or dying from the Dachau-Level experiments.
As tensions around the world heightened, the US government burned all records of him and his squadron, considering them casualties of war.
As a POW (Prisoner of War) his physical stature, mental fortitude, and expert combat training made him a candidate for a “Reprograming Operation” by the Russian KGB where he was the only successful test subject.
After months of brainwashing he was finally assigned to a KGB Spy who was planted in the US government, where he was designed to assassinate and perform other reconnaissance operations.
However, the Great War broke out mere months after he was “assigned” and his contract made many unfortunate passes before reaching the Lone Wanderers.
Charon’s previous employers all had dark, ulterior motives that mainly used him as a deviant errand boy. When he becomes employed by the LW, he almost feels at peace. Though he will forever live with PTSD, he is able to put his guard down in certain circumstances, giving him small glimpses of joy and happiness again.
Until he becomes to care too much, and becomes over protective. The LW unknowingly reminds him of his pre-war life. When there was still hope and a dream of change. He doesn’t know why, but he clings to their selflessness. He watches people abuse the LW’s kindness, and then get stuck in a cycle of people pleasing because they are the Wastelands Last Hope.
