#/melvie thought

[stpidpup]

imagine your fucking with someone at the end they give u a star sticker and pat your head being like 'good job u did well today, u get a star'

[c4rdsharp]

meechi. not to be talking about Luck & Melvi parallels on main, but. I really do constantly about that 'we're birds of a feather' comment from Melvi, because there's a lot more truth to it than as it appears. specifically, i'm thinking about how the two of them lack an identity -- all Melvi sees is his own inhumanity & all Luck sees in himself is the Gandor family name. Luck being the face means he has to forgo his own personal interests & wants to serve the family to the best of his ability. This was a sacrifice he was willing to make, mind you, but it does leave Luck without really much of a life outside his own work & business abilities. The two have to put on their own individual facades to convince people that this is what they're like, this is who they are, but in actuality, the two have barely established anything about themselves beyond the goals they've personally tied themselves to.

[mikaelsrose]

Reyna x Tyril Headcanons

A/n: some headcanons are more mature than others, but there's nothing explicit, just a mention. Reader discretion is advised, nonetheless.

REYNA'S BOARD | TYRIL'S BOARD

BASIC INFORMATION

Name: Reyna (House Moonstone, elven Ránasarn)

Meaning of name: “Counsel,” “Queen,” “Pure”

Nickname: Rey-Rey, Reiny, Rey, Rey of Sunshine

Species: Human

Age: 24

Date of birth: April 6

Reyna was born during April’s full moon, often referred to as the Pink Moon. Although the name has nothing to do with the colour of the moon but the bloom of pink moss, being born on this date is considered good luck.  

Orientation: Demisexual ("experiencing sexual feelings and attraction only after developing a close emotional relationship")

Love interest: Tyril Starfury

Weapon of choice: Bows

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Height: 170 cm (5’7)

Eye colour: Hazel

Skin tone: Pale olive

Hair: Wavy, dark brown/(later) caramel honey blonde

HISTORY

Hometown: Little village north of Port Parnassus; Riverbend 

First memory: The neighbour, Nesta, an elderly meat merchantess, teaching her to weave a flower crown. When the girl failed, Nesta placed her own crown on Reyna's head and invited her and Kade for elk stew. At that time, Reyna was 6, and only started meeting the residents of Riverbend who, although kind, were usually busy with their own affairs and did not pay too much attention to the farmer’s new orphans, which is why Reyna remembered the merchantess as kind, considerate, and a maternal figure. She tries to visit her grave at least once a year to leave a bouquet of flowers and talk to her, hoping Nesta can still hear her.   

Religion: Having grown up the way she did, Reyna was never properly introduced to any religion, and until she met Nia, she believed the stories about the Light were just that—stories. Despite discovering the gift in herself, she did not consider herself religious or spirited until she escaped the Shadow Realm and learned that Tyril reconnected with the elven gods. Desperate and lost, she began to pray with him every other night, until she memorised the formula, finding comfort and reassurance in the repetitive, calming activity.  

FAMILY

Parents: Althea (birth mother), Melvys of House Moonstone (birth father), Vrann (adoptive father)

In the year of Reyna's absence, Tyril and Kade would spend many hours together in the library searching for clues and potential leads that would, hopefully, take them to the Shadow Realm. After two months of scrutinous daily work, Kade stumbled across an ornate, although worn-out, journal that drew his attention so much that he stayed up all night accompanying Tyril. At that point, it was only an unverified journal, but the information it contained was groundbreaking for his sister. The title page was covered in elegant, ornate handwriting that Tyril recognised as the same calligraphy, and even the same ink, used by the elves of Undermount that stated: "Abridged History of House Ránasarn. Property of Lord Melvys of House Ránasarn." From the journal they learned that the owner, Lord Melvys, was the son of an exiled couple of House Moonstone, he married a tutoress from Port Parnassus, and they settled down near the outskirts of Riverbend in a modest but homey house. The couple had two children—a boy, Ásvaldr, and a girl—Reyna. They lived modestly but were never hungry or dirty, Lord Melvys was never bitter about the elves’ treatment of his father, although he was falsely accused of practising shadow magic and even dabbling in necromancy and exiled without trial. House Moonstone ceased to exist once the only heir was exiled. According to the author, the couple was very happy, and the children were healthy, polite, and very protective of each other. The last entry was entirely devoted to Lord Melvys’ thoughts and speculations about his daughter who, as he believed, was capable of magic which is only natural for elves (and their descendants), even though Reyna (unlike her brother) took entirely after her human mother. Melvys himself never used magic as nobody taught him and his father refused to do it after his exile, but he knew he had the gift. 

Siblings: Kade (adoptive brother), Ásvaldr (birth brother)

PERSONALITY

Qualities: adventurous, courageous, persistent, sensitive, broad-minded, charismatic, compassionate, impatient, quick-witted, opinionated, and at times snappy

Nervous ticks: tugging at her earlobes or the front strands of her hair 

Mannerisms: biting her lower lip, drumming fingers on a surface, hugging as a greeting, standing with arms crossed or hands on hips, Northern accent reminiscent of Low Elven

HEADCANONS

Although she used to use her seduction skill often, once Tyril and her started flirting she refrained from using it, which resulted in her mastering the charisma skill. 

Tyril is Reyna's first boyfriend—despite making out with the mayor's son, she didn't want to go further as she believed the relationship was pointless and didn't feel right. She ended things between them the day after they were caught, and focused on her work and supporting Kade ever since. 

Despite growing up in Riverbend and not having any particularly bad memories from there, she hopes she'll never have to live there again. Ideally, she'd love to settle down in Whitetower near her friends or with Tyril in Undermount. 

Before setting out on the adventure, she worked at a tavern as a waitress and taught archery a few days a week. She also voluntarily aided Kade with writing his ballads and securing performances. 

The murder of her parents always heavily bore on her heart and she would spend countless hours in the local library and talking with people all over town in search of any information, unfortunately without any luck. 

Reyna treats Adrina as her own sister. When the group visited Undermount, Adrina swung by her room one evening to chat, and they ended up gossiping all night, bonding almost immediately. 

She often thinks of Tyril's dad's words ("You remind me of an old friend"), wondering if the information she gained from an elderly couple living in the southern part of Riverbend was true. The woman, Sereia, told her that back in the day a young couple with a small girl and a bit older boy would sometimes visit and spend time in the nearby woods, that they were incredibly polite but one day they just stopped coming.

Despite living close to a forest and often chasing Kade with a bug in her hands as a child, Reyna's terrified of spiders and bats. 

As a kid, she was bullied. It was when Kade got very sick and couldn't attend school, and she was left to fend for herself. Reyna used to be shy and kept to herself, which is what made her an easy target, and since her older brother wasn't there to protect her, she became the target of a well-known bully. 

TYRIL HEADCANONS

Tyril’s 196cm (6’5) tall. Reyna can (and does, occasionally) climb him like a tree. 

He swears. When he's annoyed by someone (Mal), he calls that person (Mal) an idiot in elven. There is so much anger in him that I will never believe he doesn't swear. 

Although he's fluent in Common, he sometimes forgets certain words and becomes very frustrated. That's when he tends to swear most often. 

He has an accent. It's been my headcanon for years that the residents of Undermount speak with an RP British accent when speaking Common, which is just a bit more posh version of the accent of the Valleros family, but I imagine he has a slight Elven accent as well, especially with words that have the "th" fricative. The reason for that is simple—there is no such sound in Elven, and they tend to struggle with this consonant, which they usually pronounce as a hard "t."

Elves' ears twitch when they are happy, relaxed, excited, or try to hear low noise. They are also very sensitive to touch. 

Given how old he is and that he's an important noble in Undermount, and that he himself admitted he used to be stuck up, harsh, and opportunistic, I think it's fair to say he took advantage of the romantic advances of other noblewomen. The headcanon is that Tyril is sexually experienced, which fits into the idea that elves are not sexually monogamous.

Tyril is…concupiscent. Look, he is young, attractive, and has the means. This headcanon actually dates back to 2021, and at this point, I treat it as canon. 

Before he left Undermount, he used to be a very pious adherent of Light. Tyril would spend a lot of time in the Starfury Manor's Chapel of Light, praying, meditating, or simply relaxing in its serenity. Until Reyna's disappearance, he never asked for anything, aware that Gods are not djinns who exist to listen to his alms and make his wishes come true; however, in his desperation, he begged them on his knees for help, for any sign she was still alive. When his hope waned, he continued meditating, although in a manner reminiscent of the one pre-exile. However, he always remembered to end every meditation with a short prayer for Reyna. 

After his partner's kidnapping, he used to struggle with nightmares. When he went back to Undermount after three months of research in the capital, he would stay up as long as possible to avoid seeing the images of Reyna suffering. He could resolve this problem with a simple spell, but he also felt guilty for not being able to help her, which is why he endured it without a word. He had to be reminded to eat, and some days even forced by his little sister—and as much as it pained her to see her brother in such a state, she knew forcing him to eat and look for positives was vital to keep him alive.

Tyril is a total boob guy. 

RELATIONSHIP HEADCANONS

Reyna used to worry a lot about not being good enough for Tyril, given that he's a wealthy, very well-educated noble, and she's just a commoner from a small town, and Tyril would reassure her until she finally believed him that he doesn't care about their titles. 

They kissed for the first time while stargazing at the edge of Deadwood. That's when they couldn't deny the chemistry between them any more and just went for it. 

Tyril never goes to sleep before Reyna, he always has to make sure she's safe and isn't bothered by any nightmares before he can relax himself.

Tyril is the most likely to sleep either half-naked or completely naked, even when it’s cold. He is also the least likely to feel cold out of the whole group—he says it’s the chilly Undermount weather that toughens the elves up.

They’re still in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, aka lots of laughs, happiness, intimacy, and wanting to spend every second of the day together.  

They always fight for the duvet, since Tyril is a notorious duvet-stealer. Reyna, on the other hand, is a notorious butt-slapper. 

The evening after Kaya’s burial, Tyril asked Reyna to join him and his family for a prayer vigil, and that’s when they got to know each other better. Before Tyril went to his room, his dad pulled him aside and told him he had made a good choice. Tyril got flustered at the time, but when Reyna offered to spend the night with him and ended up comforting him until they fell asleep, he realised how right his father was. 

(I headcanon that the last chapter of book 1 and the first chapter of book 2 are a week apart, not a day) After coming back from the Shadow Realm and having attended the official audience with the king, Reyna got really sick. She did not think much of it at first, but Imtura pointed out that perhaps she was not just sick, and having done her maths, Reyna had a serious pregnancy scare. It turned out to be just an ugly case of the flu, caused by the pile-up of stressful events she’d experienced. To this day, Imtura and Tyril are the only ones to know about it.

Tag list: @starlight-starfury @cashweasel @brycesgirl @lazypartridge @watatsumi-island @sophie-summer @lilyoffandoms @agattthaa @secret-fungi @megas-choices @erixafleur @mila-bee @choicesficwriterscreations @choicesbookclub @choicesoctober (if you wish to be added/removed, let me know!)

[celeste-fitzgerald]

Hi! I’ve been an elo fan for a while but I’m not really familiar with any of the band members except for jeff lynne because i always thought the rest were coming and going. Can you give me a little intro to the band like who are considered the main band members? Thanks!

AHHHHHHH thank you for asking this omgggggg!! (Also, as a side note, I actually sent another blogger an ask just like this a year ago when I was getting more into the band, so this is a very surreal moment to see that now people are asking ME???!!!!!)

I will begin with Roy Wood.

ELO was the brain child of Roy primarily, and he and Jeff were the driving creative force of the band at the start. Just like Jeff, he knows how to play 47309478193 different instruments, and on his solo work he did practically everything himself. He's a cool guy with awesome crazy hair and awesome fashion sense. But he left the band very early on (after about a year I think) to form a different band called Wizzard.

Now, there are tons of different guys who were members of ELO over the years, but to keep this from becoming super long and complicated, I will now stick to the rest of the Magnificent Seven. This is the longest running line-up of ELO, and the seven of them were together for a lot of the band's most successful period. This line-up was:

Jeff Lynne: guitar, vocals, writer, producer, etc., you know his deal already haha Bev Bevan: drums Richard Tandy: keyboards Kelly Groucutt: bass Mik Kaminski: violin Melvyn Gale: cello Hugh McDowell: cello

Now the fun part! (Well, fun for me at least haha.)

Bev Bevan:

Bev is the gorgeous smashy drummer with big biceps and a terrifyingly deep voice. He founded the band with Jeff and Roy and was with ELO till 1986. He's very opposite to Jeff in many ways (and pulled lots of pranks on Jeff haha). While Jeff loves working in the studio, Bev loves playing live and going on tour - so much so that after Jeff called it quits for the band in 1986, Bev started up another band called ELO Part II with a few of the other members so he could keep things going (which unfortunately ruffled feathers with Jeff quite badly and essentially ended their friendship 😢😢).

Richard Tandy:

Richard is the very-talented keyboard player who joined very soon after the band began - and he is still an official member to this day!!! Unfortunately he only has small roles on the Jeff Lynne's ELO albums now and he doesn't play live much because of health issues, but he and Jeff are still very close. He is a very focused, serious man when it comes to music. I believe I read that he would lock himself away for hours to learn some challenging pieces of music, and he was the only member of the band to actually take sound checks seriously at their shows haha. Also he's really into films and sports.

Kelly Groucutt:

KELLY MY BELOVED!! He is my favorite hehe. The awesome sweetheart bass player who, fun fact, was actually named Michael. But during the early years of ELO, they had lots of Michaels, so they asked Kelly to pick a different name so it would be less confusing haha, and he went by Kelly ever since. He also sang lots of backup vocals, plus occasional lead vocals (check out Poker to hear his voice, he sang that whole song double-tracked). He was very outgoing and goofy, made tons of silly jokes, couldn't sit still, and was a huge chatterbox. I could say tons more on him but I will hold back haha. He was also in ELO Part II with Bev, but Kelly unfortunately passed away in 2009.

Mik Kaminski:

Mik is the adorable boy on the iconic blue violin. He's a very shy boy, but he still loves touring and performing for the fans. He also loooooves gambling and drinking haha. Also he is another of the Michaels lmao. After ELO ended in the 80s, Mik and Kelly made their own band called Orkestra, then later both joined ELO Part II. And after Bev left ELO Part II, the band changed their name to The Orchestra, and Mik is still playing with them to this day!

Melvyn Gale:

Melvyn is the angel on cello. It took him a while to join the group (he was asked to join multiple times but kept recommending other cellists instead haha), but they finally got him! He is apparently also very chatty, and quite the charmer with the ladies. And in addition to cello, he's also a phenomenal pianist (the epic piano solo in Wild West Hero is him). After his time in ELO ended he ran (or at least worked at) a record manufacturing company for a while, and he is currently teaching cello and piano lessons!

Hugh McDowell:

And Hugh is the demon on cello ahaha. He is fucking crazy and I love him for it. He joined ELO very early on, then left with Roy Wood to be in Wizzard, then came back to ELO. He stole the show in all the live performances, jumping around, spinning/throwing his cello, hair flying in his face. He rocks hard. He's just wild all-around. He apparently got kicked out of school for telling a teacher to fuck off because the teacher wouldn't let him play the music the way he wanted or something. He also once broke down his hotel room door when he lost the key haha. Though he was also known to always have his face buried in a book - he loved to read. He unfortunately passed away in 2018.

And that concludes my not-so-brief introduction to the band!! Thank you for the ask!!!!!!! <3

[sheirukitriesfandom]

New ESO Toons Round 1:

Melvis Sareloth

"Want something out of Oblivion? I can get it—for a small fee, of course."

Melvis is a dunmer arcanist in the business of... procuring things. Ingredients, books, materials—if it's not found on the mortal plane, it's a job for Melvis. He sees himself as a courier between Nirn and Oblivion.

(Outfit subject to change)

Here's what I have so far:

Melvis is an Ex-archmage of the College of Winterhold. Since the entire Winterhold area is missing from the game but the college is still mentioned, I thought I might as well…

Continuing the trend of Winterhold archmages being horrible, Melvis did anything but lead. He was constantly on tour and eventually, without notice, fucked off to Apocrypha for a century, leaving College faculty to believe he was dead. He wasn't happy when he returned and they had replace him but well…

He's been all over Oblivion and has more daedric than mortal associates. Claims he's more suited for Oblivion than Nirn.

He's a brilliant mage but also scatterbrained and impatient, often acting before thinking.

Claims at least three daedra are quarreling over his soul. Who changes depending on Melvis' mood and level of intoxication.

He's adventurous and restless, can't stick with one place or activity for a long time.

He's not shy, but has zero "social battery" and despises crowds, or noisy places, for that matter.

Despite his fickle nature, a promise is a promise! And if he causes a problem, HE will take care of it. It's a matter of pride.

Manlet by dunmer standards.

Also, while I have yet to create Zixzebex the Skaafin lawyer (Thought a Skaafin wouldn't be ideal for the arcanist class), Melvis and Zix are well acquainted...

[boundlss]

@futurecomposed ( luck gandor ) / starter call ( melvi dormentaire ).

For all that Melvi is capable of impeccable composition on a good day, his faux-polite demeanor is only barely kept under wraps around most people. Luck, ever the exception, hasn't had the pleasure of bringing Melvi's public facade into the privacy of their apartment in quite a long time, but there are still things Melvi doesn't tell him right away even now.

For reasons other than politeness, Melvi can't help but worry over the thoughts that threaten to consume him. They aren't particularly bad, this time, though he does also generally struggle to tell Luck the difficult thoughts. They're nerve-wracking for a different reason.

Chiefly, the reason is that Melvi specifically remembers Luck admitting that he didn't particularly care for marriage.

Melvi hadn't cared for it either until recently, although looking back on it he supposes it had probably only been because marriage wasn't something he could even apply to himself and Luck until recently. He'd never been envious of Luck's brothers and the formal, official nature of their relationships---a tall feat, considering the ease with which Melvi experiences envy.

But now the idea of it isn't quite impossible anymore, and Melvi can't stop thinking about it.

It's the cause of some strange, pensive silence that follows Melvi---an unusual occurance even on his best days, so Luck is probably at least a little grateful for the small reprieve from Melvi's usual needling. Unfortunately, Melvi intends to break the silence to let some of his thoughts escape him.

"Luck," he calls, glancing over to the kitchen where Luck is just wrapping up his attempt at an easy recipe Berga had sent to him. "Is there a particular reason you don't put much stock in marriage?"

[empiriical]

@futurecomposed / starter call .

"you know," maiza says from his corner of the couch, twisting to look over his shoulder at luck still in the kitchen, "i wonder what melvi && ronny do when you && are i spend all day together." he chuckles quietly, swirling the wine in his glass. "can't see them hanging out with each other, that's for sure." he knows for a fact that ronny, in his petty way, is still miffed over being dragged into melvi's schemes almost ninety years ago.

"anyway." as luck joins him, maiza tucks one knee up to his chest && closes his eyes for a moment. he yawns. "have you ever thought about getting away for a while? that road trip i took with czes a couple decades back, it helped me get a lot straight in my head." in more ways than one. "i know the world is... crazy right now, but when isn't it?" he smiles wrly. "we've lived through a lot. a break from this routine might do you some good."

[closedcoffins]

muse-specific content warnings

NOTE: not all of these apply to what i plan to write with these characters, but they very well might come up in general discussion. if you feel writing with or seeing content for any given muse might make you uncomfortable, this is where i am listing down their content warnings so you can blacklist specific muse tags! note that aside from violence and unreality, i will be tagging all of these separately as well.

as a general rule, most discussion of my muses will involve mafia or gang violence. if you do not like that. you probably should not be here. sorry.

every muse tag is formatted like ' muse: character name '. for simplicity's sake, characters' names will be listed in the manner in which i tag them, so characters for whom i have made up last names will only be listed with their first name in this post as i only tag those characters using their first names.

claire stanfield: graphic depictions of violence, solipsism and mild unreality.

maria barcelito: graphic depictions of violence.

graham specter: graphic depictions of violence (specifically of the broken bones and joints variety).

jacuzzi splot: detailed descriptions of panic attacks. mild violence.

nice holystone: graphic depictions of violence (of the bombing variety), self-injury and scarring, eye trauma.

huey laforet: parental abuse of the manipulative variety, arson, parental death, graphic depictions of violence, human experimentation, student-teacher relationships, eye trauma.

melvi dormentaire: parental abuse and grooming, graphic depictions of violence, identity theft, terrorism.

luchino b. campanella: descriptions of vomiting, mild violence.

luck gandor: graphic descriptions of violence, apathy due to depression.

sham: identity theft, manipulation, hivemind themes.

ronny schiatto: mild unreality.

christopher shaldred: graphic descriptions of violence, major self-hatred, mild themes of the extinction of humanity, occasional discussion of bugs.

isaac dian: N/A.

ladd russo: graphic depictions of violence, the US prison system.

maiza avaro: graphic depictions of violence, general recklessness in cars.

upham: terrorism.

chané laforet: terrorism, parental grooming and mild abuse, self mutilation by way of willingly having her vocal cords removed.

gabriel & juliano: graphic depictions of violence.

pamela: kidnapping, gun violence.

lana: kidnapping, gun violence.

sonja bake: kidnapping, gun violence, human weapons.

rachel: N/A.

molsa martillo: graphic depictions of violence.

victor talbot: graphic depictions of violence, the US government and lawmaking systems, gratuitous cursing, national corruption.

keith gandor: graphic depictions of violence.

berga gandor: graphic depictions of violence.

kate gandor: N/A.

kalia gandor: N/A.

laz smith: not necessarily gun violence but a lot of mentions of guns specifically.

mark wilmens: graphic depictions of violence, suicidal thoughts.

roy maddock: past drug addiction and frequent drug mentions, self-harm, suicide attempts, graphic depictions of violence.

edith: frequent drug mentions in relation to roy.

nicola casetti: graphic depictions of violence.

tick jefferson: GRAPHIC depictions of violence and torture.

tim: grooming in the nonsexual way, human experimentation, graphic depictions of violence.

elmer c. albatross: cult activity and related abuse, religious trauma, suicide mentions, graphic depictions of violence.

dallas genoard: graphic depictions of violence, intense descriptions of drowning, severe ptsd symptoms, mild internalized homophobia.

rail: graphic violence of the bombing variety, human experimentation.

lua klein: graphic depictions of violence, suicidal idealation.

charon walken: the US child actor industry.

claudia walken: solipsism and mild unreality, the US child actor industry.

aging: graphic depictions of violence.

sylvie lumiere: human trafficking, abuse, mild violence.

gretto avaro: parental abuse, arson, mild violence, major character death.

monica campanella: past sexual assault, graphic depictions of violence, major character death.

esperanza c. boroñal: past sexual assault in reference to monica's past.

begg garrott: heavy drug use creation & addiction.

nile: graphic depictions of violence.

hong chi-mei: graphic depictions of violence.

renee parmedes branvillier: graphic depictions of violence, human experimentation, student-teacher relationships, eye trauma.

nader schasschule: terrorism, manipulation.

gustav st. germain: N/A.

carol: N/A.

carzelio runorata: graphic depictions of violence, bears.

leeza laforet: parental abuse, human experimentation, identity theft, hivemind themes, graphic depictions of violence, eye trauma.

adele: graphic depictions of violence, human experimentation.

ricardo russo: identity theft, graphic depictions of violence, apathy due to depression.

ennis: human experimentation, mild violence.

mark twain: parental abuse, graphic depictions of violence, mild unreality, cult mentions, past suicide attempts, survivor's guilt.

roger zelazny: graphic depictions of violence.

cahir mawr dyffryn aep ceallach: war, graphic depictions of violence, attempted kidnapping, inprisonment, major character death.

cyran azerrad kapral: graphic depictions of violence.

camille renaudin: living dolls, mild unreality.

yuri briar: borderline siscon, corrupt government operations.

puss in boots: general themes of death and mortality, graphic descriptions of violence.

hatsune miku: mild unreality, AI technology.

ice pick joe: graphic depictions of violence.

yemevon: graphic depictions of violence and sickness.

[melviwelvi]

Please read the below guidelines before asking to RP!

♡ Absolutely NO MINORS! I will not interact with anyone under 18.

♡ Feel free to reach out if you'd like to RP! As long as I feel that our muses would be a good match for an RP, I'll more than likely agree to RP with you.

♡ DO NOT godmod, send hateful messages, start drama, mix ic and ooc, or anything along those lines.

♡ Read my rules. I read the rules of anyone I interact with, and I expect you to do the same.

♡ Please write with good grammar and spelling. If there are a lot of mistakes in your writing and it doesn't seem like you've put a lot of thought into your reply, then I won't continue RP.

♡ I don't do follow for follow. I'll only be following the people I'm interested in RPing with, so if you'd like to RP, please message me! If we vibe then I'll follow you and we can start RP.

♡ I unfollow after a long time of inactivity. I understand everyone is busy, but if there's been a long time of inactivity (2+ months) then I will unfollow to keep my dash organized and clean.

♡ NSFW content. Mun is 30+ so there could occasionally be NSFW content such as gore or smut on this blog.

♡ No shipping! Melvi is already dating a very nice lizard man and isn't looking for anyone else.

[agallimaufryofoddments]

*Considers draft of response to ask about Elmer showing up on 1935*

On the one hand…2002 vs. 1935 parallels!

On the other…Flashing neon signs screaming “APPLY ELMER.”

Reminder #245 to self: “Yes and no” is not an acceptable answer.

[stpidpup]

oh also sorry for my last reblogged i used the wrong account! sorry!

[ellvie]

.

[melviships]

No One Even Knows This is My Pretty Year (EkuMel)

Melvis and Dimple stop by Spirits and Such and discuss plans in the new cafe. Dimple x Melvis pairing, implied Reigen x Dimple and Reigen x Melvis. Title taken from Pretty Year by The Technicolors. Written to the playlist (Narrator Voice) Reigen Arataka.

Word Count: 2,211

Content Warning(s): Tobacco usage, swearing, food, Divine Tree arc spoilers

Salmon rice: the perfect dish for fall, Reigen had told him before leaving the apartment. Melvis sighed as they arranged it in the bento box, making use of a fish stencil to outline it with nori. It was accented with a collection of mushrooms and sliced carrots (the host's preference for color coordination). A cold chill ran up their spine as they lowered the lid.

"Dimple," they grunted while pouring tea into a thermos.

"Are you heading to the office ? I thought you worked at the club this day of the week."

"Not today. I'm not up for socializing like that." 

His tiny hands felt warm in comparison to their icy neck. "Yeesh. You feel awful." 

"Haven't been sleeping much."

He watched their gaze drift to the floor, taking notice of their singular slipper. "I getcha. You need a hand getting there ?"

"I…" They licked their cracked lips. "Yeah. I would appreciate that. Very much."

-.-.-.-

"I'm coming in."

"The door is open."

Reigen glanced over as he scrolled through his inbox. "Hey."

Melvis held up the bento box. "Brought lunch. Don't eat it too early."

A grimace painted over their features as Reigen immediately untied the cloth keeping it closed and sunk the chopsticks into the rice. The two roommates exchanged looks. "I skipped breakfast." His eyes darted back up. "Dimple."

The spirit froze mid-air, groaning as he slid back around the corner. "Can I help you ?"

His eyebrows raised. "It's been awhile. You missed chances to eat."

His expression softened with amusement as the green blob scowled at him. "I don't live off of cannibalism, you know."

"Right," he cracked as he shoveled another bite of rice down his gullet. "Ugh, I need to figure out what to eat later. Maybe the shop will have something worth trying."

"I saw the sign. Where is it ?"

He waved towards the ceiling with his free hand, his mouth stuffed with carrots and shifting as he chewed carefully. 

Melvis liked them crunchy and Reigen was not one to refuse free food. 

His subordinate would have reminded them that the psychic disliked them altogether. 

Wrai leaned back, wraiths pupils dilating as he stared directly into the light. Gone were the fluorescents, but their photo sensitivity had only worsened with bought time. Ceramic clinking, muffled yet audible, found its way to their ears. They frowned. “There’s a new cafe, and it’s upstairs ?”

“Correct. It is pretty convenient, so I don’t have any complaints.” As the words left him, the sound of footfall overhead made his eyes dart to the ceiling. They narrowed at the loud squeal of a loose plank. “I am not certain that I can say the same for them.”

Melvis hummed. “I think I’ll give it a look-see.”

"Bring something back, won't you ?"

"I'll think about it."

Reigen's scoff was cut short as the door shut behind them.

-.-.-.-

A man looked up from the counter as the door bells chimed. “Welcome. Sit wherever you like." 

The host leaned forward as they scanned the shop. Two people sat in the corner, chattering away. One rolled their shoulder and exclaimed how effective the exorcism was. No more stiff joints ! Truly a miracle. Dimple rolled his eyes. 

"I hope my store is inviting enough." The owner coughed. "Menus are on the placemat. Our house blend is a medium roast with hints of dried fruit and nougat.”

Not a glance was spared towards the selections. “Can I smoke on the balcony ?”

He clicked his tongue. “Wouldn’t be the first one. Go ahead.”

They tilted their head curiously. "Thanks.”

As they strode past the table the pair of clients glanced over, their volume lowering as they continued to converse. One of the boards near the glass doors groaned audibly as he stepped towards them. Dimple snickered. Melvis smirked. They rocked back and forth on it a few times before sliding the door open, smiling as it closed with a satisfying thump of rubber seal meeting metal. The balcony was small, only able to house a single stool and a round low table. Some moisture clung to the cork coaster resting atop it- a ring of coffee drying and fading in the sunlight. 

They wondered if the flat whites they served were any good. Maybe on their way out they decided before approaching the railing. An ashtray was already waiting for them. It was a recognizable sight: a dollop of gray on the wooden ledge. They turned the ashtray over in their hands, running a thumb along the stained grooves that textured the earthenware further; a smattering of ash in the bowl told them it was recently used and emptied. The sole spot clean of grime was a solid fingerprint left behind by massage oil. Their lips twitched into a brief smile. 

Dimple cleared his nonexistent throat. “Want me to light… ?”

“Ah. While I would love that…” They glanced behind them and the ghost nodded. “Better not. Reigen has a reputation to uphold.”

He murmured, “I think it would be fine, in that case.”

They laughed and tapped out a cigarette from the box. “Let’s not, okay ?”

A snap from their gloves rolled the wheel and the mechanism ignited, smoldering the end as they inhaled. Sweet nicotine burned their lungs. Warmth spread through and they felt the bloom of Dimple’s residence. “That’s nice.”

“How about you let me get the full effect ?” A growl halted in their throat. “Dollface.”

“Fine.” 

He spun around them as they tucked the lighter away. Their gaze met his; his mouth opened and a stutter escaped as his body wavered, tiny hand clasping the end of their finger. They smoked silently until he flared up from the boost. 

“So,” they said, punctuating it with a smoke ring.

“So,” he replied, floating through it with a flourish. 

Their heads turned to the large green vegetation that broke up the blue of the sky. 

“They’re calling it the Divine Tree.”

“That they are. A number of groups have emerged, taking it into their belief system that it’s some sign of their savior.”

The esper ran their fingers through his form, flames licking at the leather before retreating. “You’re taking advantage of it.”

“W-well, yeah.”

“Any evil spirit would be a fool not to. Even if they aren’t after worship,” they said before taking a drag. Smoke billowed from their lips. “I can feel the negative energy ruminating. Some are saying it is signaling a calamity. They’re afraid this could finally be the end. With everything that’s happened, I can’t blame them.”

“We could bring that into being.” He flew around their head, poking their temple with a grin spreading across his glowing face. “The beginning, the end- they can be the same thing. A whole new world. And us, orchestrating it.” 

“Have you told Shigeo your plans ?”

He flinched. “No, n-not…. Not yet. I need more time to gather power and show him what I-” He swallowed. “What we’re capable of.”

They chuckled, resting their cheek on top of their hand, cigarette dangling from their fingers. “Hot stuff, you don’t need to tell me twice. You want to look your Sunday best.”

“That’s not really a thing here. Seasoning City may have a lot of religions, but I’m not a part of that Jesus crap.” 

“Just a saying. Didn’t mean anything by it.” 

Wrai pinched his cheek and he slapped their hand away, rubbing the site with a frown. “Anyway, I’ve been looking into the whole thing. You’ve seen the market- the place is crawling with goods and merchants capitalizing on the thing. Some of them are even consuming it. At least those brave enough to try.”

They quirked wraiths brow. “It’s broccoli.” 

“I know it’s damn broccoli !” He spat back, crossing his arms with an exhale. “People are stupid, but not everyone is so keen on eating anything that sprouts of the ground.”

“Uh huh…”

“It has interesting qualities. Whatever is taking shape there can spread its influence more when people come in contact with it. Ingesting it, even further. I’ve tested it myself and I was able to manifest some desires.” He sneered. “Unfortunately, your boyfriend meddled.”

“My boyfriend ?”

“What ? He’s not mine.”

“Ha.”

His face darkened. “Ha ha, you’re so funny.”

“Reigen isn’t capable of exorcism.” They shook their head, smoke zig-zagging a minuscule contrail. “It was Seri, wasn’t it ?”

“Shigeo helped. He did most of the work, to be candid.” His lips twisted to the side. “That boy has been the root of my issues, tch.”

“Sounds about right. He’s powerful, but that kid is on another level,” they sighed. “He might not be interested in your plans-”

“Since when is it only my plan ?”

“I wouldn’t have done this on my own, thank you very much. I was okay with sitting on the sidelines and watching the spectacle. Like the majority of spirits do. We’re not all after interaction and attention.”

“Sure, you keep telling yourself that. You’re here with me. That means something.”

“Back to the subject at hand, the kiddo is not going to interfere with us as long as we don’t impact others negatively. That was your mistake, I reckon.”

“I wouldn’t say that. The guy was already like that long before I got involved. I just,” he explained, voice fizzling out a moment, “Accelerated things for him. Sped things along the track he had already laid. Some people are destined for a life of stagnation and eventual ruin.” He chuckled. “It makes it easier to steer them towards salvation.”

“As long as we can give them what you promise. Hypnosis can only go so far. It will take some convincing for our first recruitment.”

"Are you ready to join me ?"

A laugh rose from their chest. Silently, they drifted over and sat on the balcony ledge. "I'm no fool, Dimple."

The spirit landed in their palm and let him stroke the top of his head. “Oh, I’m aware. Glad to have you on board.”

As the clouds collided with the growth on the horizon, two cafe patrons murmured about the strange man smoking outside and talking to themself. Plumes of smoke mingled that day, signaling an incoming danger.

-.-.-.-

“You better like dòushā bāo.”

“Huh ?” The blond rolled his chair back as the plate of steamed buns was set in front of him. Melvis shot him a cheeky look and he grumbled. “I ate not even an hour ago.”

“Heat it up later.” He watched Dimple collide with their back. “We’re heading out.” They stopped at the door. “Be careful.”

His hand raised as it closed behind them and he swore under his breath. 

He stared down at the buns and lifted each one to inspect them. The pillowy dough yielded in his grip, the red spot dimpled from the weight. He sniffed it and licked the sides: yeasty and slightly sweet. As far as he could tell they were ordinary red bean buns. His eyes narrowed and he muttered, “Why did I think I could tell if they tampered with it ?” He bit into one and hummed around the mouthful. “Pretty tasty curse.”

Each one was slowly reduced to nothing as he typed out a response to the new requests. He slid his tongue over his teeth to dissolve any lingering paste and washed his mouth out with tea from the thermos sitting next to the laptop. 

After sending the e-mails out, he stretched with a loud sigh. His eyes moved over to the clean plate. “I should… probably take that back.” It was a plain dish. Pretty cheap. They wouldn’t miss it if he took it back home. He shook his head. There was no way that Melvis would not comment on it. In the conman’s mind, his stoic face cracked into sneer. ‘Oh ? You liked the food so much you took it back, huh ? I’ll make sure to give them a big tip and let them know next time.’

Reigen grabbed the plate and paused as he noticed the platform it was sitting on. He set it back down and picked up the gray ashtray, brighter than he remembered and emanating a rosy, milky scent. Something fluttered from it and he grunted as his hand failed to catch it in time. “Urgh. Come on.” His back popped as he strained to reach under the desk. He dragged the paper across the floor and the scratching sound told him that he would be having to ask his new employee to sweep and mop when he stopped by. The torn end curled around his finger as he read the handwriting on the back. 

‘Reigen, the club has been exceptionally busy as of late with all the skepticism floating about. I will be busy, in turn, and will likely not be around to visit the office or be home for dinner. Do not worry. I will make sure to stock the fridge and to leave instructions for your meals. You are plenty capable without my assistance. 

Please do not look for me. I am hard to find. 

-Melvis’ 

Their signature was coupled with a moon drawing, a crater burnt into it with a cigarette butt. 

“...dammit,” he cursed and balled up the note, standing up, “Like hell I’m not looking for you. What are you two up to ?”

[boundlss]

He almost teases Luck about how accepting something like that might be a decision he wants to think over more, considering it's something like a symbolic tie for life, but it strikes him that there's nothing about his and Luck's life that isn't deeply intwined together now. That hadn't been something he was necessarily unaware of, but he also wasn't especially conscious of that fact.

There really isn't anything I do that I don't want to share with Luck.

It might be that thought that makes him smile, or it might be Luck's response, steadfast as he always is with regard to Melvi's genuine wants. Of course, Melvi himself is the same way. He can't recall the last time he hadn't dropped everything to accomodate for the sort of major things Luck wanted, and he hasn't yet had any regrets about doing so.

So, there isn't really any way in which he and Luck aren't married, except for the most obvious way. Melvi doesn't strictly need a ceremony to prove they'll be together for the long run, but at the same time...

It's just a nice thought, is all. I'll probably have to put up with people who I don't like and who don't like me per Luck's invitation, but that doesn't matter. I just want to be together and be happy.

"I won't lie and say it only exists as a hypothetical, no, but I wasn't asking you outright just then either. I'd be much better at proposals than that." Melvi puts on an affronted face, resting his chin in one hand. "Honestly, Luck, it's completely unromantic to propose like that. I was mostly just curious about whether your reservation towards marriage as a whole extended to---... Well, if it extended to us."

There's not any strict uncertainty or sheepishness in Melvi's tone; he's not so consumed with want as to contradict something Luck might have been uncomfortable with. The main goal of the hypothetical had been gauging interest from the start.

"It really isn't a hard line in the sand I'm drawing; we're practically married already. I just thought it could be nice."

( THE FOX / LUCK GANDOR. )

ah . . . so there it is.

It was obvious how much this question meant to Melvi. Try as he might to remain unaffected by the conversation, it was apparent there was a lot more going on underneath the surface. Of course, that was a given. Neither Luck nor Melvi were the sorts of people to wear their hearts on their sleeve. It wasn’t their role to play in the grand scheme of things. However, in the privacy of home, between the two of them . . . nowhere else was safer to discard the mask.

safety . . .

It was an odd word to be thinking about, given the context, but . . . it really wasn’t something so detached that it could be considered divulging. Now that Luck was thinking about it . . . there really wasn’t anything that tested safety more than a wedding, was there? One could argue the financial and emotional risks that often plague a family, but those were always going to be given. Nothing is really, truly safe from potential danger. Besides, those sorts of problems only cause ruin for relationships built on a weak level of trust and security. There was no one else in the whole world Luck trusted more than Melvi, and the certainty of his relationship led him to believe in the certainty of a successful marriage. There are . . . very few things Luck was ever certain about.

perhaps . . . that’s the real reason i never put much stock in marriage before. i always thought it would be a huge risk for me. it was inviting a target where there was none before, and with no guarantee of results . . . i don’t make bets when i have no way of winning.

Luck gave a glimpse of a wry smile, but it wasn’t directed at Melvi’s question. No, he was starting to understand the faults of his blind cynicism. So much so that he had failed to consider the possibility that this may be something Melvi could potentially want. Somehow, it didn’t seem all that shocking. Perhaps it was because Melvi had more of an earnest desire to experience the joys and woes of being human, the sorts of things Luck had lost all sense of desire for. He may have only internalized how much a marriage would hinder him, that there was simply no reason for him to pursue such an experience. In truth, Luck had left many a great opportunity to go for the sake of his own safety.

but now . . . that isn’t even a question. if there was someone i would accept a marriage from, it would be . . .

His wry smile turned gentle and warm. It wasn’t the sort of smile that would light up a whole room, but for Luck, it was considerably bright. Soft, like a candle flickering by their bedside at night . . . it was exactly the sort of tender thing befitting this conversation. His distaste for weddings did seem slightly foolish now, doesn’t it? To think he would have Melvi doubt any sort of answer coming from him . . . Luck would have to make up for that difference.

“ . . . of course. even with my personal misgivings, i would never tell you no. if that is something you want . . . it’s not as if you’re asking a great deal of me. you’ve asked for far more and far worse already, “ he chuckled, his face brightening even more, “ how unlike you to ask for something with so little certainty . . . does this exist only as hypothetical in your mind? “

[boundlss]

you should know very well i love your writing and seeing all your muses. you've crafted some wonderful responses, like with Cyran to Dharlan several weeks ago, that have inspired me and want to make me write more & better. it's a given i adore almost all your canon muses i've interacted with : Claire ( i especially love your Claire, he's practically from the Baccano! canon to me ), Maria, Laz, Melvi, Rui, Twain, Roland, SHIROE . . . you have such a fun way of writing your muses that make each of their responses enjoyable and unique. i know you tend to get a little insecure about these sorts of things, but you really do have such a wonderful grasp on their voices.

and that goes for your OCs too! tbh, i adore how unique each of them are and how creative you can be with their individual lores. i struggle with that, so i admire your ability to not only be so passionate about them, but to really dig into who they are and what they're all about. every little bit of information about Cyran is so fascinating and i can tell you've given him a lot of thought.

i know how much you love and think about your muses. even with ones you don't write that often or think about, you really consider your responses and what they would say. you're such a wonderful writer and i'm happy to still be writing with you!

ahhh thank you meechi!! not long after i rbed this initially i had a really bad experience with some friends so this was really nice to log back on to!!

i really appreciate your thoughts on my writing, genuinely---i'm glad you think i have a good handling of my characters' voices because you're right, i DO tend to think they sound a little same-y sometimes. i know you like my writing already but it really does make me happy to see you say it because i hold your opinion in very high regard when it comes to this kind of thing---you're pretty much the best writer i know, so it means a lot.

i'm happy to still be writing with you too! i'm glad we stuck it out together. five years is literally crazy, it's so weird to think we've been friends for that long. i'm prepared to follow you around like a stray cat for five more. o7

how's my writing? / accepting always.

[savannahstanfield27]

Retrospective on Huey Laforet and Firo Prochainezo

Hey all, 

So this is going to be a digression on why I believe that Huey and Firo are the dual main characters of Baccano, and also describing their similarities and differences. This is just my opinion of course, I bet everyone has different interpretations of who the main character is. 

Nevertheless, this is going to be very long, so I’m going to include a cut so that I don’t take up a ton of space on anyone’s dash. Warning for spoilers for the entire series (anime/light novels/light novel/drama cd/etc) throughout this post.

Primary Point 

Firo and Huey are two very important characters in the world of Baccano. Firo, a member of the Martillo Family, and Huey, immortal terrorist and scientist. If it weren’t for the additions of the 1700′s and 2000′s arcs I wouldn’t have come to this conclusion, but they only solidified my point. To me, the story of Baccano exists to tell the story of Huey and Firo, how they grow as people, how they struggle, and how their interactions with other characters changes them. 

I won’t go into detail on each and every interaction they have, if you’ve watched the show or read the novels, you most likely already grasp what I’m saying. I’m going to focus on Huey’s relationships with Monica and Elmer, and Firo’s relationships to the Martillo Family, Ennis, and the Gandors/Claire. They interact with most of the characters in the novels at some point, but I believe these are the most significant to their character development, 

Firo and Huey are sometimes two sides of the same coin, sometimes they’re complete opposites. I intend to explore these points in this post. 

Adolescent Years

Alright, so first I’d like to start off talking in length about Firo and Huey’s adolescence. Huey presumably loses his father at a young age, there is not a lot of development on that front. His mother is executed by drowning in front of him. This obviously takes a toll on Huey, as by his mother he was described as “innocent” prior to this incident. Firo, on the other hand, describes never knowing his father as he died before he was born. Firo’s mother dies of tuberculosis before he reaches 10 years of age

In Huey’s case, he develops a hatred for the world around him and he desires the destruction of it. He copes with his loss by being consumed by anger and negative emotions. Huey is taken in by Dalton and he becomes an alchemist. You could call this a “found family,” but Huey doesn’t have much of a connection to them. The other students in the alchemy class gossip about him, and Huey puts on fake airs to seem well adjusted. 

Huey does eventually gain a core group of friends: Monica and later Elmer. You could add Niki to this list as she is also part of the group but she was always an outlier to me. Huey never opened up to her. He tries to keep Monica away from him and reacts to Elmer’s kindness with open hatred. However, he eventually grows to trust them and they are the two people he is about to rely on and feel compassion for. They form the Mask Makers, an organization specializing in illegal activity. I prefer to call this Huey’s “found family,” rather than Dalton and the other alchemists. 

Now let’s discuss Firo. He lives only to survive after his mother’s death, pick-pocketing on the streets of Manhattan. I’ll be discussing his relationship with the Gandors and Claire at length later, so I will not include it here. We haven’t been given a lot of information on how Firo copes with his Mother’s death, that I can find. Please enlighten me if you know and I’ll edit the post with your contribution. 

Firo eventually is taken in by the Martillo family. You could say Maiza is like an older brother figure to him, and the Don Martillo a father figure. They are also an illegal organization, and they make Firo feel welcome and needed. Rather than pushing away from those who care about him, like Huey, he embraces those who care about him. Firo is someone who yearns to belong. Firo spends a lot of his childhood comparing himself to his friends, but I will be taking that into account in a different section. 

While Huey and Firo grow up in similar situations, it is the result of what happens after that changes them. They both find a core group of people to support them. In Firo’s case, he retains many feelings of inferiority but he continues to become his own person, relying well on his family and friends. Huey is only willing to open up to a few people, and after Monica is taken from him, he loses any interest in opening himself up again. Firo grows forward as a person, yet Huey regresses backwards. 

Feelings on Death

I’ve already described how Huey coped with his mother’s death, but now I’d like to talk about Monica. Monica was Huey’s lover, whom he finally was able to open up to after so long. Her death caused him to shut down as a person. He is not the same man after he returns to Lotto Valentino. That emotional void in him is the only way he can cope with her death, as well as striving to complete his fruitless goal of meeting with her again. He feels guilt towards both of these deaths, as he describes to Victor in 1931. 

Sometimes, when Huey thinks of his happier memories with his lost family, his face seems to brighten and open up a little. He quickly shuts that down in favor of treating the situation like an experiment. He even ponders to Victor in 1931 about if there is a scientific way to discover which is his worst memory. He copes by not coping in the slightest. (Because of this, I both yearn and fear for his reaction to meeting Luchino hopefully in 2003)

Huey seems unfazed by his own possible death. The only time I can find him actually voicing an opinion about it is when Firo attacks him in 1934. He doesn’t seem to possess fear or regret, only interest in his lack of foresight that this might occur. 

Firo has not had to cope with much death in his life. Many of his friends are immortal, as well as his Martillo family. However, the outlier here is Claire Stanfield. Claire has always been the person Firo saw as above him, and in 1936 he stops to ponder on what would happen if Claire died. Claire will die eventually. Firo knows he is going to have to cope with that. The thought makes his chest tighten, and he decides not to think about it, because he cannot imagine a world that Claire is not in. 

Firo deals with his anxieties about death by feeling denial here. He decides he just won’t think about it. On his own death, in 1934, Ladd Russo acknowledges with glee that Firo still fears his own death, he does not view himself as an invincible and strong being. 

Both Huey and Firo possess equally bad coping mechanisms when it comes to losing their loved ones. They both choose to deny and forget. Huey becomes obsessed with the denial, spending his entire life trying to gain the knowledge to meet Monica again. This causes his subsequent emotional detachment, and lack of interest in his own possible death. Firo, on the other hand, possesses immortality but still fears his own death. When thinking on the possible deaths of others, he prefers to put it out of his mind. 

Feelings on Love

In regards to love, Huey runs from it and struggles to embrace it. I’m speaking in a romantic sense, I should preface. Huey finds it difficult to comprehend that he might have some sort of feelings for Monica. He can’t fathom that someone managed to make an impression on him. He tries desperately to run from this feeling and deny it, but eventually he ends his struggles and embraces his love for Monica. 

With familial love, Huey does not feel any of it. He does not value his daughters in an emotional way. They are merely tools for him to achieve his goals. He will tell them anything, especially in Leeza’s case, in order to appease them or to make them more loyal to him. Chane and Leeza possess complete and utter loyalty and devotion towards Huey, but he does not return it. (on that note i’d love to do a future post on Hilton and her relationships with Chane and Huey)

Firo runs towards love. He sees Ennis and immediately becomes infatuated enough to follow her. He falls hard and fast. There is no denial on his part. Firo finds it easy to open up to people, as a social being, but he does struggle to speak his feelings to Ennis. It did take fifty years for them to get married after all. Though he has embraced his love for Ennis, Firo finds it hard to tell her, and instead shows it by all the things he does for her. 

With familial love, Firo has a fierce loyalty to the Martillo family. They are “home” to him. Especially in regards to Maiza, who can be seen as an older brother figure, he is completely loyal. This can be compared to his relationship to the Gandors, three brothers who shared the same apartment building with him in his childhood. He cares for them enough to help them, a rival family, in 1927. His loyalty to the Martillos only swells when Molsa praises him for helping his “family.”

I also think it’s a great parallel of Melvi Dormentaire kidnapping Ennis and the 1700′s Dormentaires holding Monica. They are both on a boat after all. Both Huey and Firo experience helplessness when they realize what has happened to the women they love. However, they immediately jump right on track to figuring out how to save her. This is a great example of Firo expressing guilt. He often feels down when he cannot help those he cares about, like he failed them. Huey is the same way about the situation with Monica. He was so close...and then he lost her..

Relationships with Close Friends

I’m going to focus on Huey’s relationships with Elmer and Fermet. In regards to Elmer, Huey views him as his one true friend. Though in his youth, he hated Elmer and tried to stay away from him, they eventually became friends and Huey was able to open up to him. Even without seeing him for 300 years, Huey still thinks about Elmer and keeps his promises to him. This is why Huey does not hurt “innocents,” because it would make Elmer sad. 

Huey often references Elmer and his worldviews during conversation, which causes him to actually express emotion. Elmer managed to touch Huey as a person and this deeply affects him as a person. Both Huey and Elmer can relate on both an emotional and intellectual level, they understand each other well even in their youth. 

I’m not sure how well this point will come across to everyone, but I’ve always viewed Fermet as Huey’s “Claire,” in regards to Firo. Fermet is also an intellectual genius. He is the person who managed to take everything away from Huey, for seemingly no reason. However, they manage to collaborate on their research later on. This is merely my personal interpretation, but I believe that Huey does have a slight inferiority complex in regards to Fermet, and that he does not like having to rely on the same person who took everything from him for help with research. I’d love to hear anyone else’s opinion on this!

Firo possesses a deep inferiority complex when it comes to the Gandors and Claire. He has always viewed them as one step ahead of him. Especially in the case of Claire, Firo views him as successful in regards to his confidence in love and in his own abilities. Firo compares himself to Claire throughout his life, almost treating him like an idol or mentor at times. He feels insecure, such as in 1927, when Claire’s own abilities surpass his. He does not like to feel useless or unneeded. 

In regards to the Gandors, specifically in the case of Luck, Firo views him as the perfect “gangster” and as someone who has always been ahead of him. Compared to the Gandors, he sees himself as the inferior child. Luck is not that much older than Firo, but he possesses much more emotional maturity and restraint, something Firo finds it hard to come to terms with at times. 

Firo idolizes the “true mafioso” figure and he wants to be like that, which is how he views the Gandors as. Many of his friendships stem from insecurity and inferiority. He wants to make it on his own, without having to rely on his family (The Gandors). 

Personality

In his youth, Huey was much less reckless. He proceeded with caution and did not like to get involved in most situations. This is demonstrated when he decides to ignore Niki being attacked in Lotto Valentino. He is forced by the situation to fight the attackers, but it is implied that he doesn’t possess much strength or technique on the subject of fighting physically. 

(I will add that Huey is noted as looking feminine by various characters such as Elmer, but it does not seem to faze him that much)

Huey has an enthralling personality as he ages. He is manipulative by nature and will stoop to any level to get what he wants. He tends to speak in a detached manner, but outwardly he is very pleasant and polite (similar to his facade from his youth). His manipulative techniques have caused many people to fall victim to his spell, increasing his amount of subordinates and allies. 

Huey’s primary goal is to meet Monica again, and to obtain the knowledge to do such. He lives by researching and doing experiments, learning more about humans and why they do what they do. He views humans as “raw materials,” and their only use to him is to further his experiments. Huey is a very detached person from the world. 

Firo is extremely reckless throughout his life. There are many examples one could place here: pick pocketing a Mafia Executive as a child, following Ennis, rescuing Barnes, etc. Firo is always ready to jump into the situation at hand. He is friendly and sociable, but can be very irritable and negative when the mood strikes him. His sharp temper and bluntness do mellow with age, but they are at their worst in the early 1930′s. 

Firo has many issues with femininity and his “babyface,” which most likely stem from a childhood incident in which he was kidnapped and mistaken for a young girl. He is insecure about this and will strike back at anyone who messes with him for it, except for Claire. 

Firo is not outwardly manipulative and cruel, but gaining the trust and help of others does come easy to him. In 2002, Ennis says this on Firo: “ Firo was really very good at getting people to do what he wanted without telling them the important things. Actually, to be precise, he was good at making them want to help him.” 

Firo and Huey both possess the type of personalities that make it easy to manipulate others, whether knowingly or unknowingly. They make others want to believe them and help them out. Firo is much more blunt and emotional than Huey in the 1900′s, but I do find 1700′s Huey quite similar to Firo, especially in his emotional angry outbursts to Elmer. 

Relationship to Knowledge/ Meeting in 1934/35

Huey’s relationship to knowledge is simple, he wants to know more in order to keep his promise with Monica. Huey views himself as a scientist and as a researcher. He pursues knowledge and wishes to obtain it. When he meets Firo in 1934, he questions him about having all the knowledge that Szilard has accumulated. He wonders if that changes the subject as a person. Huey is greatly intrigued by the ways that other people act. 

Firo never finished school, and he does not consider himself intellectually smart. After devouring Szilard he is consumed with memories of many alchemists, and a vast amount of knowledge is now at his disposal. He grows worried that the memories will consume him and that he will become just as bad as Szilard. He fears the knowledge that he possesses, preferring not to look into it. He doesn’t seem to understand why it interests Huey so much. 

Their meeting, first in 1934, astounded me when I first read it. The way Firo reacted to Huey was much like how Huey reacted to Elmer (this is a digression...) They are two characters who grew through similar circumstances, one becoming more of a person, one becoming less of a person. Firo runs from knowledge, Huey yearns for it. Firo embraces the love and support of others, Huey uses it for his own needs. But they both retain that key element of living and dying for someone else. 

Huey is living to find Monica. Firo is living for his Family. Both possess flaws and strengths. As for their meeting in 1935, we don’t know the full details yet but I cannot wait to find out what they were cooking up behind closed doors. 

Conclusion

I fully believe that Huey and Firo were destined to be the main characters of Baccano. Their stories grow and change as they interact with others and are affected by them. Think back on Maiza’s quote “maybe every encounter is some sort of miracle in it’s own way.” Huey and Firo change throughout every single arc, for better or for worse. 

The 1700′s arc is about Huey’s adolescence, and about how he loses his humanity because of tragedy. But we are also able to see how he was once a much different man, and his personal relationships with the few he decides to let in. 

The 1930′s arc presents Firo, someone who is neither destined to be hero nor villain. His inferiority complex clashes with his deep need to help those he cares about. With every interaction- Ennis, Czes, Maiza, Christopher, Isaac and Miria, Melvi- he grows as a person. He learns and develops. Huey has regressed in the 1930′s, and we are seeing how he coped with the events of the 1700′s. And everything comes to a head when they meet in 1934, and when the tragedy of Monica’s capture seems to repeat itself in 1935. 

The 2000′s arc shows a much more refined Firo. He’s retained many of his good qualities from his adolescence, but he has grown to be much more kind and understanding. Of course, he worries (”can i really be a family man?”) he messes up, he acts reckless even. But he has matured into someone who his friends and family can be proud of. He should be proud of himself. I’ll leave my thoughts on 2000′s Huey for when 2003: epilogue is released. 

If you made it this far, thank you for reading my ramblings. I’ve been a fan for a long time, but with no outlet to share these thoughts other than my dear friends, so it feels nice to let them out once in a while.