#I wrote ssoooo much on this man holy shit

[devil-doll13]

Some Brahms Heelshire headcanons that have been little worms rotting my brain for a while. I want to understand him better <3

Many of these are x reader bc I couldn’t help myself

Starting with some ‘common knowledge’ stuff I generally agree on: yes, he is a sweaty boy. I actually think he has more anxiety than you might initially think he has, and this nervousness sort of goes towards causing it.

I touched on this in my Brahms fic months ago but this man really needs a routine in his life. He needs consistency and structure, and doesn’t react well to sudden change. He needs to approve of every nanny that is offered to him, they can’t just be introduced without his say-so. Nor can any of his rules be broken or altered, or ever strayed from. He’s very particular about certain things and what he likes and dislikes. Put it this way: if he isn’t pleased with something, you will know one way or the other.

His diet is very predictable and simple - some might even say bland - and this is also along the same line as this need for routine. Side note, but I think if you gave him spicy food he’d probably die or something… He’s English after all kwkdflf

Being confined inside the walls of the Heelshire estate most of the time has led to him developing a touch of Agoraphobia. He’s also definitely an indoors person, while I believe he may be able to appreciate the beauty of nature, mostly something like a well-tended garden, he’d prefer to remain at a distance. If he had to choose, he enjoys admiring english roses the most. He wouldn’t protest much if you decided to bring in a few to put in a vase.

Also, the vast amounts of time Brahms has on his hands (when not spent watching his nanny or parents, when they were still alive) goes towards cultivating his many hobbies; and he has many different interests. He may not have been part of any public schooling system, but that doesn’t really mean anything, he absorbs information eagerly regardless. He’s an avid reader and probably knows the Heelshire mansion’s library inside and out at this point, with both fiction and non-fiction (although you just know he was raised on a diet of pre-approved classics) catching his interest. Some of these beloved favourites are quite weathered and worn-out now. You know the kind I’m talking about, hanging practically by a thread from the spine…

Brahms is also a big music guy. His parents probably were as well. I mean, I personally believe they named him after the composer. We see in the movie that the music needs to be played loud, probably so he can hear reverberating all through the house (although tbh the way the house is, it doesn’t take that much. He still just wants it LOUD). Given that we can see a violin in his room, as well as sheet music, I think he can play both it and the piano. It would’ve been difficult for him to stop enjoying this, since he had to pretend he didn’t exist when a nanny/Greta was there.

Before the fire, his parents (particularly his mother) saw his upstart skill with music as the potential to become the next great composer, and pushed him towards improving it. Even if these expectations caused some stress for him back then, Brahms still loves playing dearly now.

He also sees this as an opportunity to impress upon you that he’s incredibly suave and attractive and cultured™️ so that you’ll stay. In his mind, if he comes across as interesting enough, he’ll have a better chance of wooing you into permanent residence in his house. That grocery boy is his sworn enemy in part because, deep down, he‘s self-aware enough to know that there are many difficulties to being with a man like him. Brahms is a complex mixture of quite spoiled and entitled vs insecurity, and he doesn’t enjoy confronting these thoughts either.

Oh, as for how he’d react to new music that isn’t classical, I don’t think it would entirely be a hatred for something new. While there may be a period of ‘what is this s/o this is not on the schedule?’ Brahms is a curious boy at heart, a man who was sequestered from the rest of the world and had much of his knowledge intake restricted, particularly by his mother. It will not be an immediate appreciation from him, but I think that this curiosity - and his desire to get to know you better - will win over in the end.

While I know it’s popular consensus that he’s a horny boy and very clingy and touch starved, (which I agree with to some degree), I also think one thing he’s been missing his entire life is good, intelligent conversation. His parents tended to talk at him rather than to him, and, well… It’s left him quite isolated and lonely, only able to imagine making a human connection through novels and daydreams. Brahms is one of the few slashers who does speak and I think he can speak quite well and eloquently. This might surprise you if you’ve gotten used to the doll persona, but Brahms the man is so real, so raw, and he’s formed an unbreakable bond with you before you’ve even realised he exists. He craves a genuine connection with you that goes beyond just lust, and I honestly believe he can be gentle. We see how tenderly he treats the Greta doll for instance, how it seems to be well looked after and given lots of space on his bed. A real person isn’t the same as a body-pillow, but… I don’t think he’d be as terrible a lover as people think.

He absolutely has major attachment issues and separation anxiety though. It only gets worse after Greta, after his parents… And yeah, he is clingy as fuck. Brahms can get addicted to actual, physical human touch very quickly. For far too long, he’s been substituting with pillows and dolls; but he’s had quite enough of dolls, now. I can honestly see him developing some resentment towards the thing, because although it has been his ‘persona’ for many years, it isn’t really him. Basically, once he’s revealed himself, Brahms could care less what happens to it… It might be therapeutic for him to even smash it himself, yeah? It’s a tantrum he needs to throw.

Anyway on a lighter note, it gets very draughty in the Heelshire mansion - it’s old, after all. He’s a hound for cuddles all the time, but especially during the winter months because he’s desperate for some heat and human connection. He enjoys lying on top of you like some kind of weighted blanket, and also likes it when you do the same to him. Curl up on his fuzzy chest and pour over a book together, it’s practically mandatory at this point <3

I can’t see him wanting children with you at all, sorry. He’s way too selfish honestly lol. He hogs your affection and love day and night and he’s pretty shameless about it. Besides, he’s just not father material to be entirely honest. he’s your baby why do you want another one

Also any pets you have are on on thin ice… He wouldn’t hurt them (I wouldn’t like to believe so anyway) but he’s always jealous and sulky if he thinks you’re spending more time with them than him, even if it’s like. Five more minutes yes he has a record, probably a calendar or something. He tends to plop his curly head on your lap and demand you stroke it and lavish your attention on him until he’s satisfied. Which will probably be never tbh.