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agallimaufryofoddments · 5 years ago

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Hey I hope you’re doing well! I just wanna say I love your baccanalyses so much! You go so in depth with practically every character, not just a select few, which is super neat. Also quick question: what Hogwarts house would my boi Luck fit into? I think your take would be fascinating.

It has been four months since you sent this and I can only apologize that it took this long. Thanks for the kind words and faith in all two of my brain cells.

I was a huge fan of Harry Potter as a kid, but I wouldn’t say Hogwarts House sorting was something I gave intensive thought to–or put too much stock in, perhaps? (Despite being irritated if I was sorted into a house that wasn’t Ravenclaw, hah). Definitely not someone who makes a habit out of sorting non-HP characters into houses, which is why I’ve low-key been nervous about answering questions like this…

…doesn’t mean I won’t give it the ol’ college try. Worrying about being ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ about categorizing a fictional character from one series in fictional houses from a different series, houses that JKR could assign any old traits too, is, uh, impractical, when you think about it. There’s just no objective way to be right about house traits and sorting. I don’t ‘know’ what house would best work for Luck; I can only offer one take.

Here we go.

Short Answer: Slytherin?

Long Answer: Slytherin…?

Volume Four’s prologue states the following: “If roles were assigned to the three brothers […] Luck’s was cunning.” Cunning/shrewdness, of course, is one of the most-cited traits ascribed to Slytherins–but obviously one line isn’t going to be sufficient textual support. It is, however, a good springboard for everything else.

TL;DR of what’s below the cut: Luck is cunning and shrewd, yes, but he’s also self-preservationist (thinks before he acts; scared of death pre-1930) and (er, moderately) ambitious (both as an individual and for his ‘in-group’, the Family). He’s resourceful, e.g. when he hires the same people in 1935 hired to fight the Gandors in 1932. He’s outwardly not very expressive (sangfroid) but internally passionate; in a similar vein, he’s not very extroverted (contrast to Firo, who’s naturally good with people).

Luck cares deeply about his in-group and to a lesser extent his image and reputation within the in-group (with the group’s external reputation more important). He’s not 100% self-confident as some Slytherins, but he presents himself as composed and competent, which does the trick.

Do let me know if you agree or disagree. Your take would be far more interesting!

Write-up is below the cut. It’s long enough and the night is late enough I’m losing the capacity for editing, so apologies if this gets incoherent and or repetitive. I’m good at both of those things.

(Interlude) Before I do properly get into this, I should confess that–in my heart of hearts–I’d like to think Luck would’ve made a good Ravenclaw had his circumstances (i.e. mafia family to run) been different. He’s very analytical and introspective, and more brains over brawn (Berga) when it comes to action…

(The Gandors do have a reputation for ruthless violence, but even if violence is what got them their territory, they keep it through their wits. Vol 4 explicitly states Gustavo is someone whose career in the Runoratas plateaus because he’s all brawn, no brains, and I think the contrast between him and Luck/Keith in that volume proves they have what he doesn’t).

However, no matter my personal desires, the fact is I simply don’t have enough to go on to support Ravenclaw!Luck. Him reading E.A. Poe poetry has led to all sorts of headcanons on my part, but we don’t get the opportunity to see how he spends his down time (if he has it) much in canon. He’s curious enough and intrigued enough by Tick that the intrigue wins out over practicality, but in general? Yeah he could possess deep intellectual curiosity and a desire to learn, but he’s so busy being a mafioso–the side we mostly see in canon–that there’s no ‘time’ so show us. (End Interlude).

Right. What other qualities are often Slytherin-ascribed? There’s ‘ambitious’, ‘resourcefulness’, ‘self-preservationist’, ‘determined’… Ah, let’s get on with it.

Luck isn’t intensely self-assured, which is something Slytherins tend to be; he doesn’t think he measures up to his older brothers, and possesses more self-criticism than arrogance. He isn’t necessarily concerned with personal glory or achievements either; his ambitions are the Gandor Family’s ambitions, or rather, he’s spent the first twenty years of his life proving his ‘worth’ as a Gandor executive/heir/mafioso and working to expand but especially secure the Family’s territory.

That’s the thing; although Slytherins are often associated with individualist priorities (individual self-preservation, self-confidence, self-serving), they are also clique-oriented. The preservation and reputation of the ‘in-group’, that small circle of people the Slytherin cares about, are just as much priorities for many Slytherins.

‘Ambition’, ‘self-preservation’, and ‘ruthlessness’ do apply to the Gandors’ modus operandi as a whole; it was ambitious of Luck and his brothers to a) take over a tiny territory and b) double that territory’s size and c) secure it even though one of the Five Families could have easily subsumed them. The violence ruthless violence used in the process could probably tie in to Slytherin foul play, and the non-aggression pacts afterward are just as much cunning as they are, say, Ravenclaw smarts.

Tenaciously holding on to that territory but not getting ahead of themselves also isn’t “unambitious,” it’s self-preservationist and it’s smart. Slytherins might be willing to take risks, but not reckless risks (like, say, Gryffindors). Luck and his brothers cultivated an external cutthroat reputation to ‘get ahead’, but not to the stars; their ambition was to secure, strengthen, and stabilize the Family up to a certain point and they achieved it. Their ‘need for status’ was a legitimate need to further that one ambition. I’d say this also feeds into Slytherin pragmatism (vs Ravenclaw non-pragmatism).

They do everything they can to avoid conflicts and making enemies, but if a conflict is imminent, Luck and his brothers won’t retreat; they absolutely will not cede the territory/status they’ve worked so hard to achieve and keep, and when push comes to shove–they’ll shove.

As an individual, Luck definitely does (did) possess a drive and self-preservationist qualities–and it is the ‘losing’ of his drive and his self-preservation that bother him so much in Volume 4. It bothers him that he’s become ‘apathetic’. He doesn’t feel angry about the junkie’s attempt on his life, and that bothers him. He worries that he is the only brother who’s lost his drive. He calls himself self-centered.

(In practice, is Luck as self-centered as he thinks he is? As a stereotypical self-serving Slytherin? At first I thought, “No, look at how much he’s done in service of the Family,” and, “Look how much he cares about his subordinates and his brothers,” but I suppose one can see why Luck considers himself self-centered in Vol 4. He’s so self-analytical that he’s preoccupied by his angst, and he’s just one of several people in Vol 4 who choose or have to exit their own ‘worlds’, in some fashion. A major part of Vol 4′s climax involves him and Eve recognizing their own pain in each other–to overcome their respective self-centered perspectives.)

He manages to stress about being apathetic, even, which is a) relatable and b) another sign of him having an idealized ‘self’ that he doesn’t think he lives up to. Is ‘brooding’ a Slytherin-y trait? Does that count? I recall many Slytherins in Harry Potter also being less emotionally…expressive in HP, at least in ‘public’, and perhaps Luck’s outward sangfroid is a minor supporting trait here. He needs to maintain a public image of the ‘perfect mafioso’ who is ‘in control’, and so he does. He has a personal reputation to maintain. He is outwardly composed and cool towards most people, but in private might let down his guard.

He’s also conscious of the Gandors’ reputation–I said that before but–he’s conscious even moreso than Berga. When they’re dealing with Edith’s betrayal, Berga’s actually the one who suggests letting Edith off entirely–it’s Luck who immediately says they can’t, they’d lose face if they did such a thing. Then they both proceed to be indecisive over how to punish a woman, snrk–not very Slytherin, indecisiveness, but ah well.

Anyway. Being emotionally open in public is to be vulnerable and trusting, and so he closes his public image off. Slytherins don’t seem to be as extroverted as, say, Gryffindors in general…

Comparisons (Luck vs Firo, Slytherin vs Gryffindor…)

…which is one of the reasons I ruled Gryffindor out for Luck. After all, figuring out someone’s House must necessarily mean ruling out Houses, right? I ruled out Ravenclaw since there’s just not enough canon content to support Ravenclaw, but in this case I’ve ruled out Gryffindor because existing canon doesn’t support Gryffindor!Luck, in my opinion.

For instance, take Slytherin self-preservation–it opposes Gryffindor impulsiveness, and I absolutely think Luck is more self-preservationist than impulsive. He hesitates before acting, he thinks things through, whereas a Gryffindor is liable to throw themselves into a fray instinct-first.

Speaking of Gryiffindors: Firo.

I know I said I was nervous about House sorting for characters, and I honestly was so determined to not even consider the other characters when answering this question. But I often find comparisons do help when analyzing characters, and once I had the thought, “Ah, Luck and Firo would be in different houses, wouldn’t they?” I realized I was probably going to have to rule out Gryffindor and Hufflepuff for Luck–since those were the houses I knew innately would be most likely for Firo.

After a long while mulling Firo over, I eventually (tentatively) went with Gryffindor. I won’t digress into that reasoning for now (or how it partially relied on me comparing Firo to Jacuzzi); heck, maybe I’ll change my mind overnight and say Firo’s a Hufflepuff after all. The point of bringing him up here is to use him as a contrast. I’ve contrasted them before in a previous meta post, yes, but what can I say? They’re meant to be contrasted in canon; they literally contrast themselves to each other.

Firo is impulsive where Luck is not: he causes a huge scene in 1927 when he was only supposed to be location scouting; he begs Yaguruma to let him go look for Keith before running around Little Italy like a madman (vs Luck and Berga–Luck stops Berga from doing the same thing out of smarts and self-preservation); and six years later he again bolts into the rain and runs around Little Italy like a madman looking for Ennis and Ronny. Luck would not have done that.

Luck is willing to get into conflicts, but he doesn’t get into conflicts nearly as easily or often as Firo; Firo was always getting into fights as a Martillo associate, but Luck was proving his executive worth through his mind. Luck was also acutely scared of dying before becoming immortal, or at least when he was young. Can’t achieve anything if you’re dead. Luck’s not as cautious or ‘safety-first’ as Hufflepuffs or Ravenclaws, but he’s not as reckless as a Gryffindor can be. Not as flashy, for that matter; Luck cautions Maria in 1933 not to do anything “overly flashy,” but it’s flashiness that often impresses Firo–or at least, Firo’s wowed by obvious displays of genius/strength/badassery.

Firo has got Gryffindor bravery to the point of self-sacrifice–but Gryffindor self-sacrifice, not Hufflepuff (he’ll jump in front of a bullet for people he knows/is involved with, but just anyone?)–and you know, even though the anime named the Gandors’ jazz hall ‘Coraggioso’ (courageous [one]), I don’t quite associate courage with Luck so deeply. Again, it’s ambition and self-preservation (with a side of family legacy) that spurred the Gandors tto inherit their father’s territory, and while it was surely brave of them to do so, I don’t think brave is the defining quality of what they did.

Firo is extroverted whereas Luck is introverted, no question; as much as Firo can be a judgmental narrow-minded guy, he’s innately good with people (not always in practice, but) and enjoys being with people he cares about. He tends to inspire or attract others more than Luck does. I’ll return to this point in a moment.

Speaking of judgmental narrow-mindedness, Firo doesn’t easily get over first impressions of others (his Gryffindor stubborness contributes to this)–and so I’m not sure he’d have been willing to do what Luck does in 1935, i.e. hire the same people who attacked the Gandors in 1932. That move, by the way, is an example of Slytherin resourcefulness on Luck’s part. Slytherins are cliquey types, but they’ll use whatever resources they need to provided they’ve judged those resources are the best option.

(And Luck clearly thought the recruitment process through, c.f. 1935-C. “It was dangerous to hire [Maria/Smith/Alkins], but that was why Luck figured they would be easy to control.” Risky, but a calculated risk.

Now, remember how I said I decided early on Luck and Firo would be in different houses? I want to point out here that Luck and Firo each admire each other in canon; with Firo, he admires Luck for being the ‘perfect mafioso’ Firo wants to be.

(Firo is desperate to prove himself in canon, and I say Gryffindors are more likely to have a need to prove themselves than Slytherins due to that whole confident thing. While Luck also wants to prove himself as a mafioso to his brothers and everyone else, while Luck can be insecure, I don’t think his insecurities run as deep as Firo’s do. Luck’s ambitions to prove himself in 1925 are in part due to him believing in his abilities; rather than him not having what it takes, it’s a matter of people underestimating him. When he’s self-critical, when he compares himself to others, he’s usually comparing himself to people in his in-group. His brothers, or Firo.)

That is, Firo admires the ‘Slytherin’-qualities of Luck: his cunning, compsure, resourcefulness, and the achievements/success that ‘appear’ to befall Luck ‘naturally’. I now argue that Luck admires Firo’s ‘Gryffindor’ qualities. Recall I called Firo a people-person earlier–done? In 1935-B, Luck admires how well Firo handles the casino crowd after the cheater incident: Firo’s tone totally changes; he’s cheerful and conciliatory, he smooths the situation over effortlessly and expertly. He’s not always charismatic in his personal life, but he’s really good at being charismatic when he has to. Luck…?

Luck’s not so outwardly expressive; he controls situations because he is in careful control of himself. He gets flustered when dealing with hard-to-handle people (c.f. Maria). He’s not the Gandors’ spokesman because he’s naturally charismatic, he’s their spokesman because Keith is taciturn and Berga’s not, uh, loquacious (Berga = brawn). He’s suave, but not comfortably suave; not entirely he’s just…had a lot of practice at being reserved and exhibiting emotions in a restrained manner (mild smiles, narrowed eyes).

Essentially, he wears a mafioso mask/masks as needed for various situations; he’ll adapt, and he’ll improvise the best he can (adapting to Ladd volunteering as muscle in 1935…). He’s not honest and brash like Firo–Firo is Gryffindor brash and bold through and through. Firo charges; Luck plots. Ravenclaws plan too, of course, but, hm…consider this line from Luck in 1935-C: “We’ll figure out who our enemy is based on the situation. No matter who it is, I want you to carry out your job dependably…” I feel like an archetypal Ravenclaw would want to put even more effort into finding out the enemy beforehand than leaving it up to improvisation…

(Though whether post-immortality Luck considers himself–or is–as able to change is another matter. Not one I’ll get into. I really do wonder what he’s like in 2003…)

Since I’m not sure where else to address Slytherin manipulation, I’ll state now that I don’t think Luck is ‘as manipulative’ as a stereotypical Slytherin might be assumed to be. I’m not about to say Firo is a manipulative guy, but I do want to mention something @houjicha once observed about him (I believe in her ‘Never Let You Go’ fic): she observed Firo is someone who is very good at getting others to do what he wants, even if he doesn’t realize it himself. He’s not consciously or maliciously ‘manipulating’ others, but his people-skills are so good people will do what he wants without overt effort on his part. This strikes me as very Gryffindor and to a lesser extent Hufflepuff.

Thinking about Luck and manipulation…the Gandors keep the people in their territory happy by being the ‘nice mafia’, but they deal with enemies/maintain an outward fear-based reputation to potential enemies and upstarts. Tick–fear factor. Brutal executions for traitors, brutal violence from subordinates? Fear factor. They ordinarily threaten people to get what they want. Luck sometimes does this (like when he intimidates the brawlers in 1927), though once in a while he’ll try ordinary manipulation (”as a trick to” avoid getting into trouble with Luciano, he assigns Maria the 1933 job; it’s a ‘cunning’ way to keep her occupied and also investigate a rival group w/o directly involving Luciano).

Mostly it’s pressure and threats, though. Firo’s not so manipulative when it comes to intimidation or threats, I think? Luck wants to coldly pressure the clockmaker bit by bit in 1925 until he caves and sells the shop; he’ll threaten or just use Tick on people, but Firo’s over here saying this like “Leeza if you so much as touch my family I’ll mcfreaking hide in an outhouse for the rest of my life just to find Huey and make him suffer”–

–which, oof, reminds me a little of Szilard–

–anyhoo Firo’s too clumsy to be consciously manipulative and Luck’s too self-conscious to be unconsciously manipulative. Maybe. I could be wrong. Why am I doing this?!?

What about Hufflepuff loyalty?

I should also explain why I’ve ruled out Hufflepuff for Luck, since there are ‘Hufflepuff’ core traits one might link to him. Loyalty is the obvious one; Luck cares deeply for his subordinates and about the Family (the group) more than the individual. However, as I’ve stated, Slytherins can easily have cliques they prioritize/protect over everyone else; you don’t have to be a Gryffindor or Hufflepuff to have a strong ‘tribe’ to call your own. At any rate, Hufflepuffs are way more inclusive and trusting than Slytherins; I doubt just anyone joins the Gandors; they wouldn’t have survived this long if they didn’t vet their people and keep tabs on them.

(It probably wasn’t very Slytherin of Luck and his brothers to give Jorgi as many chances as they did, but I feel like if a Hufflepuff–if they were going to call out a friend at all, something they’d hate doing–would’ve openly offered that friend a second chance rather than underhandedly not tell that friend about those chances up front).

Pragmatism is something else Hufflepuffs and Slytherins share (pragmatism and risk-caution), but my understanding is Hufflepuffs are more reactive where Slytherins are proactive. With that in mind; Luck’s stressing over his apathy as an immortal is in a way him stressing over being reactive versus proactive–but overall, he and his brothers have to be proactive in order to survive. His actions in 1935 are proactive; he’s gathering info, he’s resourcefully putting together an A-Team in advance for Ra’s Lance; he’s not twiddling his thumbs until the party starts. I bet he was involved in some of the non-aggression pacts the Gandors signed before 1930, for that matter. He’s willing to take risks he has to take and feels he’s capable of taking on.

I don’t think Hufflepuffs tend to be considered as passionate as Ravenclaws or Slytherins, for that matter, and Luck, for all his brooding over apathy, is pretty passionate behind his sangfroid. Underneath his sangfroid are emotions he constantly keeps restrained–until they boil over, of course.

Thoughts on Choice?

What would Luck choose, if it were him? Unfortunately I don’t have a good response for this part, even if (or because) we pretend HP canon is irrelevant and Luck is just choosing based off traits. Luck would probably want to be in the same House as his brothers, but regardless of family? Well, I’d have to figure out what Luck values the most and what he’d want to identify with most (which is often an element people cite in House sorting), and…it’s hard to say…

Again, I wish I could say Ravenclaw, but I can’t w/o evidence. As an individual he values possessing a drive (ambition); this is personally important to him. He doesn’t consider himself a kind person, so I don’t think he’d consider himself kind in the Hufflepuff mode; he doesn’t afford everyone kindness or compassion nor, I suppose, actively think people always deserve it. He does value having emotions, value caring about others; he’s relieved when he affirms he still feels strong hatred toward the Runoratas. Now, the worse sort of Slytherins cling to hatred for the Other, but this is beside the topic of choice. I can’t figure out yet how that might influence a choice on his part.

He isn’t overly idealistic or moralistic in the stereotypical Gryffindor mode (do I think Firo is either? Sigh…I guess I should expect a Firo ask); he does want to prove himself, but not…in Gryffindor style. I just, for all Luck is ‘self-centered’ in Volume 4, I would’ve liked to see more of him outside of the mafioso context.

I mean, we spend a lot of time with Firo outside of his camorrista role; 1930 speaks for itself; his actions in 1933 aren’t actions as an exec–they’re personal; in 1934 he’s removed from the Martillo context entirely. Seeing him working as a casino manager in 1935 is pretty much a novelty, considering everything that came before. In 2002, Firo’s primary role is family man/caregiver, not contaiuolo. Not only do we spend less time with Luck in canon overall, the majority of time we spend with him is conversely when he’s in mafioso mode.

Ah, well. This was way too long. Way, way too long. I spent a good few cumulative hours on this. Hopefully you enjoyed…?

#Baccano!#Baccano #Luck Gandor #Asked and Answered #Danidery #Rev's Musings #Baccanalysis

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