Dax Lavigne
He/him
Dax was born in Bordeaux, France. Due to having a somewhat unmonitored childhood, his right foot needed to be amputated when he was three years old. Then at four years old, he slipped and drowned in a bathtub when his aunt wasn't watching. Thus, he died a child and grew up dead in the Underrealm—the afterlife. Because he never got to see much of the living world, he enlisted to become a grim reaper.
Queen Amirah—the queen of the dead—assigned Dax to an important mission following the Acceleration events in the late 2040s. During this time, he fell in love with Jesús, a human who accidentally became a religious figure (Yehsuus) in the rising Mononousian religion.
As of "Death's Mending Touch," Dax was a reaper who had proved himself worthy of being part of the queen's council. When Queen Amirah required communication with the mortal realm, Dax was one of the ones to volunteer. Thus, he got to know the Enforcers as the group realized how connected they were to the supernatural world.
This section includes major spoilers about "Death's Mending Touch." Please read the book first, unless you want the ending spoiled.
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Appearance
Dax was a human before he died and became a grim reaper, so he primarily used a human appearance. As a reaper, he could shapeshift into any kind of mortal creature; the purpose of this capability was to calm any mortal he was about to lead to the afterlife. Like every grim reaper, his irises were hot pink. Although not every reaper wore pink, Dax liked showing grim reaper spirit by wearing hot pink. In the supernatural world, the color pink was recognized as representing primordial power.
In his teen years, Dax was a thin, white guy who tended to wear a gothic/grunge style incorporating hot pink. His recent lineage was French and Scandinavian. He retained his French accent despite not spending much time growing up in France. He had short, straight, blond hair with pink streaks. He had a cloaked skeleton figure with a scythe tattooed on his right bicep. He enjoyed wearing boots that made him a bit taller—he was 5'7". He had a gap in his front teeth. He also had a right foot prosthetic. He enjoyed wearing dark makeup, especially purple lipstick to cover his blue lips. Since he died from drowning, his blue mouth was an annoying reminder of his death.
He carried a few magical items with him when he was in the mortal realm. He always had a metal pocket mirror decorated with a pink rose—those were used to identify fellow reapers.
By "Death's Mending Touch," he had built more muscle. He liked jewelry that moved with him, like chains on his boots and armband. He wore blue lipstick as a way of accepting his death and fear of water.
Personality, Behavior, Et Cetera
Dax was a flirty, overly friendly guy. He often tried charming people to prevent them from seeing his pain. Despite growing up in the land of the dead, he retained a fear of drowning and didn't go near a bathtub/shower (good thing he didn't need to shower to smell okay in the afterlife). He craved validation from people he liked for his self-esteem and to stave off his depression.
With the help of his therapist, he acknowledged and addressed his Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) symptoms. For a while, he was afraid that he would push away anyone he loved. Jesús got through his walls though.
He was an amputee due to an accident as a child. He was gay.
He liked cheese and didn't like mushrooms. A pink glow showed up around his eyes when he was happy.
By the time of "Death's Mending Touch," Dax was more confident in himself. He had a soft spot for mortals who died young, which was especially why he looked out for the Enforcers.
Relationships
Although Dax had extensive family in the Underrealm, he was primarily connected with his group of friends and coworkers. He was a dutiful worker for Queen Amirah. He adored his spouse, Jesús, and his sister-in-law, Glacia.
In "Death's Mending Touch," he watched over the Enforcers—particularly Bian.
Trivia
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Dax's birthday was November 4, 2030
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I wrote the Acceleration book with Dax as a main character before writing "Death's Mending Touch"
