character bio / survey
disclaimer: English resources for Baccano! canon are terrible. I have filled in gaps in my knowledge with headcanon and assumptions; feel free to correct me if I'm blatantly wrong on a fact.
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is she heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Slim-built, not lanky but definitely not rounded. If I had to guess at a height (curse Baccano!’s lack of character statistics!) I would say 5’4”. Her strength lies more in her agility and flexibility than pure physical power and most parts of her body are trained in some way or another to be particularly flexible. Taut stomach, strong legs, thin waist, naturally thin wrists which have built up somewhat more substantially with her arms. She seems to have largeish hips in relation to her waist judging from character sketches, which is just enhanced by that clingy black dress aboard the Flying Pussyfoot.
2. How old is she?
Guessing around 19-20 years old.
3. Describe her posture. Does she carry herself well or does she slouch?
She doesn’t slouch so much as curve, when sitting and relaxed or tired. Otherwise she can’t afford to slouch when up and walking. Heels will do that to you. . .
4. How is her health? Is she fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
No conditions or history of grave illness; her only noticeable impairment is her total physical inability to speak or make any sound using her voice. She keeps fit and doesn’t fall ill very often at all.
5. How does she move? Is she clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Somebody might see it as graceful but her movements are more-free from unnecessary movements, seemingly reserved in relaxed situations but very fluid and agile in any kind of action that requires effort and quick reactions.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does she perceive herself in the mirror?
It’s all in the eye of the beholder! She is seen as something of a beauty at a glance, with unusual hair and eye tones that attract attention. In the mirror she doesn’t see more than who she is-she used to see nothing but her father’s tones (they have identical hair and eye colour). She does linger in front of reflective surfaces, though, not out of vanity.
7. Describe her complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Very light, quite pale. No scars on her face as she has not yet been unlucky enough to lose a clash of blades.
8. Describe her hair: color, texture, style.
Thick but not heavy; there’s a waviness hidden in there that can only be lured out by purposefully styling it, twisting the ends, ruffling. It stays between falling in waves and lying sleek at the top; black with a violet tint. Her hair won’t naturally go ‘shiny’ but catches the light, any light, without that glossy-looking shine. Currently she has it at around chin-length and centre-parted where the ends have begun to wave naturally (the waves developed as she grew older, from the thick, heavy bangs she had as a kid).
9. What color are her eyes?
Amber yellow irises, almost yellow ochre. Darker brown outer rings.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
Her range of facial expressions do not correlate as well to her emotions as most peoples’ do. Neutral expression is a poker face.
11. What are her chief tension centers?
Lower back, ankles and wrists. When relaxing she tends to curve her back naturally so she doesn’t get very much respite.
12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does she have six of the same suit?
Dressy, definitely, and plenty of dresses; ruffles or small details like scrunches, flowers or ribbons aren’t beyond her, although anything excessively attention-seeking won’t look good on her. Monochrome hues are her main colours, especially black-it helps to counter her hair (and is also pretty practical when doing her assassination work, even though she’ll avoid coming into contact with blood at all). Most of her shoes have a heel of one or two inches and are generally supportive footwear, like boots. Her wardrobe isn’t very plentiful but what she does have happens to be of good quality and she treats it very well.
13. Do her clothes fit well? Does she seem comfortable in them?
All of her clothes are well-fitted, especially at the waist and hips, but that’s just consequence. She can’t seem comfortable; whatever doesn’t billow out, get under her feet or restrict her movement is fine, so even though she wears dresses practically all of the time, the ones she chooses (or has had chosen for her) end at the right length, leave her shoulders free and don’t billow much.
14. Does she dress the same on the job as she does in her free time? If not, what are the differences?
What is free time.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
… … briefs. Knickers.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
n/a
2. How does she normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does she talk easily, or does she hesitate?
n/a
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
n/a
4. What language/s does she speak, and with how much fluency?
English (American) and the basics of European French.
5. Does she switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
n/a
6. Is she a good impromptu speaker, or does she have to think about her words?
n/a
7. Is she eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Eloquent; as few unnecessary words or figures of speech as possible.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is she book-smart or street-smart?
Much, much more book-smart than street-smart, although of just-above-average intelligence; not a genius or anything like that. Sciences, language and theory are her specialities in a things-to-think-about-in-the-world sense more than a schooled interest in academia. As for street-smart, she has never known fully how to function amongst people she wasn’t made to kill.
2. Does she think on her feet, or does she need time to deliberate?
Always thinking on her feet until it comes to dealing with people who do not react as expected. That means a good deal of the people she meets, and is generally hesitant, unsure or deeply emotionally involved when trying to apply logic to relationships.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is she more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Logical, but her logic is very tailored to suit her ways ever since her father schooled her to exist in order to protect him. Intuition can count in abnormal fighting situations (e.g. against an enemy with a fighting style never before encountered) but logic almost always dictates her movements, what her opponent will do based on their motivation, etc. Along with the logic is practicality, since everything she thinks or does seems to be efficient-not necessarily fast, but efficient. Ideals exist for her but very deep-rooted and immutable. She also refrains from making personal judgements of any sort based on intuition-she can’t judge somebody on their looks or behaviour when she knows non-humans exist perfectly well.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
A home-schooling by her father who, in all respects, is very well-learned and a scientist… of sorts. She has had a level of schooling similar to up to middle school, focused on sciences. The literature she read was mostly non-fiction, scientific, historical and philosophical.
5. What are her areas of expertise? What, if anything, is she interested in learning more about?
The practical functions of the human body but little that would cover medical knowledge or healing- mainly it’s in relation to bladework, such as which arteries are fatal to cut, some pressure points, the average human tolerance of pain and the minimum it will take to end one’s life. Her other ‘expertise’ may be knowledge of alchemy and alchemic beings (immortals and homunculi) which is all kept absolutely secret, and none of it is practical knowledge. If given the choice to learn for fun she might veer towards philosophy.
6. Is she an introvert or an extrovert?
Introvert-she cannot speak and does not know any form of sign language, and aside from that, does not seek attention. She keeps her thoughts to herself mainly because other people do not ask to know them, nor do they need to know them. Communicating to others directly is always by paper and pen so there is little going for her in the way of extroversion.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is she even-tempered or does she have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Even-tempered; although her own emotions can be fierce they’re only ever stirred up by something great. She won’t lose her temper or bring herself to anxiety or sadness very easily (first-world-problems don’t bother her so much). Most of her conscious actions are driven by the underlying motivation and cause for existence of protecting her father at all costs, so to others she seems serious, even when she’s not thinking about it, or in a neutral state of mind.
8. How does she respond to new people or situations? Is she suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Situations throw her into much less discord than people, since there are no underlying guidelines for socialising with places. She can be slightly timid if verbally confronted, if anything because replying to somebody talking to her is difficult, and her general reaction to people engaging with her is bemusement. Conversations and peoples’ natures are things she cannot logically predict.
9. Is she more likely to act, or to react?
React. She falls for provocation and taunts just as easily as she acts on initiative, however.
10. Which is her default: fight or flight?
Flight. Save her strength and keep herself safe to live another day and protect Huey a little longer.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does she appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
If she gets a pun or a joke with a punchline centred on something obvious, she won’t react. Some complicated twist of irony may just wrench a smile out of her. Or something as simple as Claire being very silly. (Not that she’ll laugh…)
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does she deal with them?
None that I can name or think of.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined her as a person?
HER ENTIRE UPBRINGING She’s been schooled from the start in a very particular way that makes a blood bond an automatic bond of love and based on the only person to have raised her (who also happens to be her blood relative), as well as a rather fucked-up sense of devotion and dedication.
Around the age of 8, Huey decided to entrust her with all of his knowledge of alchemy and immortality which was all to be kept secret, a formidable burden. At this point she was already unfailingly loyal to him, and seemingly reactionless to his praise. When offered something in exchange, compensation for carrying this incredible weight of knowledge with her for the rest of her life, she did not request material things, special treatment or anything of the sort. She made the independent decision to lose her voice; Chane asked her father to remove her voice, to “take her words” from her so that she may never tell his secrets.
Apparently she exceeded his expectations.
14. What does she fear?
Outliving her loved ones. She has lived this long knowing that her father will be the same, immortal, living on even after she dies; the idea that those around her who are (mostly) mortal could meet an undue end without her protection is terrifying. At least the person she is protecting first and foremost cannot be permanently physically harmed, and the other person she’d like to protect is doing a very good job of looking after himself. And her.
15. What are her hopes or aspirations?
To protect her loved ones. It sounds pretty standard but really, she’s just putting along the best she can with a lot of preconceptions which are changing, very slowly. She’d like to take what life can throw at her.
16. What is something she doesn't want anyone to find out about her?
The knowledge she carries. It disturbs her enough when somebody can find the link between Huey Laforet and herself; that somebody might target her for Huey’s knowledge, and subsequently Huey himself, threatens her whole being.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with her parents.
this is not a thing that needs to happen The only parent who raised her was her father, Huey Laforet; her mother was Huey’s also-immortal teacher, Renée, but she doesn’t seem to have played much role in her life. He had her as an experiment in order to test whether immortals can naturally give birth to immortal children, a fact of which she is unaware, and as she proved to be mortal (i.e. her wounds do not immediately heal, she cannot come back to life if killed) Huey found other uses for her. The way he raised her means she sees him as the only family member it is possible for her to have, and because he entrusts her with so many important things like his knowledge and his care, he must love her (she believes), as a parent. Not that he’s ever told her he loves her. Their relationship is somewhere between Stockholm syndrome and master and servant-she will do whatever he asks of her, but of her own accord, and may even take extra steps outside of his instructions in order to protect him. She loves him very much, all things considered.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
No siblings by blood, but the homunculi Huey created around the time of her childhood almost count. Leeza is close enough that she forms the telepathic link between Huey and Chane, but in a family sense, they are not close at all. They have hardly met at all in person, although Chane knows of her existence, and Leeza wishes for a family construct between her, Huey and Chane.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom she is close? Are there ones she can't stand?
n/a
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom she considers part of her family? What are her relationships with them?
n/a
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Nice Holystone might be the only one. They met after the Flying Pussyfoot incident, and took Chane in as they escaped the train since she had nowhere else to go. Nice has been patient and nothing but sweet to Chane as she lived in the same house as Jacuzzi’s gang (and seems to be closer to her, the two of them being girls; she’s also very concerned with Chane’s wellbeing). Chane’s a very late bloomer.
6. Does she have other close friends?
Jacuzzi’s gang might all count as friends, stopping short of anybody not living in the Genoard mansion with them, and of course Jacuzzi himself.
7. Does she make friends easily, or does she have trouble getting along with people?
‘Trouble’ doesn’t cover it. She won’t consider anybody her friend who doesn’t prove that they actually value her as a person. How do you even measure something like that…
8. Which does she consider more important: family or friends?
Family, hands-down, although that has been something she questions later on. She originally viewed Huey as all-important because of her logic of her only family member -> he raised her -> he loves her -> the only person who loves her -> he must be protected by her.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has she been married more than once?
Sort-of engaged, her first romantic relationship. She didn’t say no to Claire’s marriage proposal but didn’t accept right away either. So, they’re friends for now.
10. Is she currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
In her head, some of the moments she has with Claire are romantic, but that doesn’t apply universally at all. Her head’s messed up. Don’t go there. He’s the only one she’s been with and ever will be with.
11. Who was her first crush? Who is her latest?
n/a
12. What does she look for in a romantic partner?
What’s deeper than commitment? Devotion? Being alive?
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does she relate to them? If no, does she want any?
In the 2001 novels she does have at least two grandchildren, but her own children are unheard of in canon. There must be 2 or 3, though… They are the proof of her world growing bigger and filling with the ones she loves. She protects them fiercely, albeit stoically.
14. Does she have any rivals or enemies?
Anybody who threatens her or her protégés is an enemy, um. Maria, who wanted to slice everything in the mansion, and Graham, who just wanted to fight her after mistaking her for somebody else. And that sniper guy, Spike, who is unfortunately blind after Claire took his eyes but he’s pretty much harmless now.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does she fall on the Kinsey scale?
Safely going with 1, or. 0.5? I hate ruling out possibilities but in no canon does she have these feelings for anybody other than one man, so…
16. How does she feel about sex? How important is it to her?
First off, she never thought about forming a romantic bond with anybody else. Secondly, she didn’t think about that until such a bond didn’t actually happen. She isn’t one to seek out pleasure for herself often, guh. She’s not idealistic about it, like thinking that it’s only for ‘the one you love’-she doesn’t know a huge amount of Huey’s past but she knows enough to reckon her birth mother wasn’t the love of his life, and she wasn’t the product of love. And yet for her, personally, love is very important.
17. What are her turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Um. Hm. She’s very flexible. Claire used to be an acrobat. Their positions sometimes end up more… acrobatic than most peoples’ would. There’s no particular kink of hers that becomes the centre of attention during sex, so to speak, but she does enjoy seeing Claire’s surprised face and the best way for that to happen is for her to instigate it, sometimes spontaneously or in a … not-safe place. Despite them both working in the assassination field there’s no painplay (or, at least, on purpose; she’ll show both her approval and her refusal by scratching or hair-pulling, although she doesn’t enjoy it when it’s done to her).
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does she fit type?
No; I put her at June 1912. That makes her a Cancer, year of the Dog-both are signs associated with loyalty, defensiveness, and cautiousness. Which is pretty accurate if you ignore the parts about being outgoing and bouncy.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in her life?
She has a vague sense of spirituality, in knowing that her father originally became immortal due to an intelligent non-human force invoked by alchemy, so omnipotent (or omniscient) entities exist-gods may exist. There is no other philosophy other than her own life philosophy that attracts her or that she finds applicable to her own circumstances, although learning about them is interesting nonetheless.
3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?
Her father and his knowledge must be protected at all costs - that’s what it boils down to. It began with his entrusting her with all his knowledge of alchemy, but the one who took it a step further, to protect him and render herself mute, was Chane. Her ethics have developed into a code of self-preservation above anybody other than Huey and anybody else who honestly wants to protect Huey (although she sees herself at the top of that food chain) and protection-namely, of Huey. Recently it has grown to a desire to protect those who have grown close to her. It does come down to preventing unnecessary deaths, and since anybody trying to kill her or Huey or get in the way of her goals is living an unnecessary existence she can justify assassination. She does have a soft spot for children though, and even took out another assassin aboard the Flying Pussyfoot in order to save a girl held hostage.
4. How does she regard beliefs that differ from hers? Is she tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Indifferent. It is expected that there are as many sets of beliefs as there are people, since hers are tailored to her own existence, after all. Just as she wouldn’t necessarily apply her ideals to another person she doesn’t feel the need to be influenced by philosophies only applicable to other people, especially when considering deities.
5. What prejudices does she hold? Are they irrational or does she have a good reason for them?
She has very few prejudices. Since birth she has been around not-quite-conventional people and some non-humans; she doesn’t like to generalise types of people. If anything she’s wary of most of the human race because in her experience, most people turn out to have bad intentions.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is she rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Rent-wise, in a perpetual state of debt. She’s made herself useful by doing chores and odd jobs around the house for a while now, since she has few employable skills, and was never paid for her assassination services in the past. That doesn’t mean she’s bad with money though.
2. What is her social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected her?
An outcast. Forever an outcast. She lived with her father somewhat concealed from the public eye for most of her life (assuming because the authorities would have tracked him down pretty easily otherwise) and when he was seized by the police to be imprisoned, she escaped and banded with the Lemures, an organised group of Huey’s dedicated followers. She went along with their missions but sadly they planned to kill her out of jealousy, and seems to have been a bit of a renegade since then. She is a US citizen.
3. Where does she live? House, apartment, trailer? Is her home her castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does she share it with others?
When in Manhattan, she lives in the house the Genoard are leasing to Jacuzzi and his gang. It’s a mansion with large, open grounds and plenty of rooms, occasionally marred by Jacuzzi’s clumsiness, and shared with about twenty other members of the gang. She doesn’t have any other place to go and they were kind enough to take her in.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does she spend her money on?
… basic necessities. Occasionally she buys new clothes, maybe once in a new moon, and she’ll have her knife-blades replaced or the handles done up if they need repairing.
5. What does she do for a living? Is she good at it? Does she enjoy it, or would she rather be doing something else?
She hasn’t had a job with pay before. Mostly she occupies herself doing chores around the house like sweeping and watering plants. Her assassination work is more of a mission than a job.
6. What are her interests or hobbies? How does she spend her free time?
Casual gardening. Reading. Going on dates with Claire. She tags along with whatever he’s doing, helps out with assassin work.
7. What are her eating habits? Does she skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Eating at home/home-cooking is what she’s most used to, mainly because she can’t pay for meals. Unless Claire’s paying, in which case she’s a two-course-and-a-glass-of-wine type. She likes food and drink with a strong flavour, without seasoning, avoids foods that require a lot of chewing, and doesn’t snack. She doesn’t seek out alcohol because she loses control of her movements somewhat when drunk, yet she likes the taste of most drinks…
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is her favorite:
1. Color? Black.
2. Smell? Grass, damp earth, roses.
3. Time of day? Midnight. this is so cliché
4. Season? Autumn.
5. Book? Iphigenia at Aulis, Euripides.
6. Music? String quartets, violin concertos.
7. Place? Dresden.
8. Substance? Steel, lithium.
9. Plant? White lily.
10. Animal? Panther, cat.
END
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