Three months ago or so, I made the above two stitches of the Daily Days headquarters for a write-up on Baccano!’s background art. I dredged them up today for use on the wiki...and in doing so, found myself taking a closer look at the signs in the background. No, I hadn’t been mistaken – the red sign on the establishment to the DD’s left differs between the shots. (And I couldn’t find the yellow of the Vietnamese sign in the first shot either).
I admit it; I’d been checking to see if there were any inconsistencies/goofs that needed documenting. However, in idly observing that the sign’s English text read [G]old Flower Restaurant, it occurred to me that I hadn’t tried researching the Daily Days' location in earnest (though I’m sure others already have). I don’t know why, considering that it’s obviously inspired by a real location; even if you didn’t know that the staff did location scouting in New York (which I did, saw the results of the scouting, and still didn’t give the DD the attention I should’ve), the amount of and quality of specific details in both illustrations definitely suggests real-life references.
So, I googled “Gold Flowers Restaurant - Chinatown,” and...gottem.
First of all - the Gold Flower Restaurant (red sign) and the Vietnamese Restaurant (yellow sign) are both real establishments. Or rather, they used to be: the Gold Flower Restaurant at 9 Doyers appears to have been replaced by a speakeasy-styled cocktail bar called Apothéke (with a ‘false’ storefront in the speakeasy mode); and the Doyers Vietnamese (11 Doyers) closed around 2010 is now a Mexican restaurant called Pulqueira.
I doubt I’ll surprise anyone by saying that I don’t think either the Gold Flower Restaurant and Doyers Vietnamese were around in the 1930s. There was a Café Mandarin/Mandarin Tea Shop on 11 Doyers Street back around 1909/1910 (if you search for old Doyers Street images, you’ll find the one with the Mandarin Tea Shop no problem), and I think the Vietnamese Restaurant was known as the ‘Vietnam [Restaurant’ instead in the 1980s-1990s. (This blog has a pic of the former site d.1890).
That said... to the left of the now-gone Doyers Vietnamese still stands Nom Wah Tea Parlor, which was first established in 1920!
(Honestly I don’t think anyone’s going to nitpick the anachronistic storefronts; these shots are maybe five-ten seconds long at most, and why complain when we can appreciate the location scouting in its own right and the artworks’ beauty and attention to detail for what they are?)
As for the Daily Days Building...google images from the late 2000s that show those two restaurants show a Coco Fashion Boutique at 5-7 Doyers Street (aka same building as the DD building). However, I think Coco Fashion has since been replaced by a Chinese Tuxedo Restaurant, named after a historic restaurant that once stood just down the lane on Bowery Street. (Recommended reading: this 2016 article).
And speaking of 5-7 Doyers Street...
It turns out that Doyers Street has a pretty violent history (hence its nickname “Bloody Angle”), with Tong Gang shootouts taking place there from 1900s-1930s or thereabout. A three-fatalities 1905 Tong shootout occurred at the Chinese [Opera] Theater, which was the first Chinese language theater in NYC and – you guessed it – occupied 5-7 Doyers Street from 1893-1910/11. (An even bloodier shooting occurred in 1909).
From what I’ve read, the Chinese Theater was afterwards converted into a “mission house for the Rescue Society of New York” (p40) and remained as such for several decades. I think you can make out the Rescue Society sign/front in this 1961 footage (anyone know what that’s from?), in fact. You can definitely see the Nom Wah Tea Parlor behind the two men...
Ooh, and this is a photo of the Rescue Society front c. 1930. The building next to it has a sign much like the Gold lower sign, but it’s not the same, I think.
Here’s Doyers Street on Google Maps, with the latest Street View dating to November 2017. That’s right - you should find yourself right on the Daily Days’ doorstep.
So... the Daily Days’ location in the anime definitely seems to be 5-7 Doyers Street, and while I know this does not confirm the DD’s location is also Doyers Street in the novels – I see no reason for us to not take the anime’s location for what it is. This blog post from the official Baccano! website says as much (”where the Daily Days building would have been”) - and below is is one of the photos the staff took while location scouting that they later used as a reference. (The photograph is also featured in that first PV I’ve showed you before at 8:48).
(If you search for “Doyers Street Chinatown” on Google Images, you’ll see plenty of other photographs just like this one. Remember - the ones that have the Gold Flower Restaurant and/or Doyers Vietnamese in them are out of date, which the majority of the first results are.)
Returning to my main train of thought (hah) - if we accept that the Daily Days is located precisely where the anime places it, then the history of that street is different to what we know it to be. I don’t think we’re ever given an idea of when the Daily Days was established in canon, which makes things difficult. If it was established before 1910/1911, then either the Chinese Theater never existed, or it did but folded earlier than we thought. Those 1905 and 1909 shootings may never have happened.
If the Daily Days moved in after the Chinese Theater closed, then the only question remaining would be whether or not the Rescue Society briefly existed only to close down, or if it never existed at all. It’s probably far more likely to be the latter, i.e. that the Daily Days directly moved in after the Chinese Theater folded and the Rescue Society wasn’t a thing there, ever. (I hope all those men in that 1930 photo found another place for bread).
One other interesting aspect of this is that in Vol 4, the DD President orders the employees to evacuate underground via the sewers, which he says are connected to the basement of the police headquarter. The thing about Doyers Street/that area is that it actually had a secret underground network of tunnels, which Tong gangsters (and others?) used to make getaways from the cops and other folks. Hm...
I definitely recommend reading up on Doyers Street; from the Tong gang shootouts to the rapidly changing local community, it’s fascinating stuff.
I was wondering what your thoughts are on Luck? I enjoy your analysis greatly so just a general idea on what you think about him would be amazing! But to ask a specific question how do you feel about Luck/Eve (obviously when she's grown up.) Do you think there is any merit to this ship?
That he steals all of Keith’s spotlight. And Berga’s, for that matter.
Hah. Nah, don’t worry–I don’t actually resent him for being the face of the Gandors. Of course he’s their go-to spokesperson: a handsome young gentleman who’s courteous and suave? Of course he’s their voice. Without him, it would be a choice between a brash, intimidating hulk and a reticent man with a gangster’s face & dangerous air…Yet Luck isn’t as suave or ‘put-together’ as he seems, and I think that counts for a lot in terms of him being interesting as a character.
(Ahem. Thank you for the ask, anon! It’s both unexpected and flattering. I may celebrate Keith a whole lot, but I naturally like Luck too! I tend to talk about Keith more because I love him and the fandom appreciates Luck the most out of the Gandors as it is… but I appreciate Luck, too! I’ve written more fics with him than I have Keith, huh…)
I’d also like to apologize again for how…not prompt this response was. The explanation is a combo of “real life” / “I went novel-checking while writing it, which takes time” / “vIDeO gAMEs” / and “a low-key crisis of doubt about discussing fictional characters as sparked by my friend, who dislikes/thinks poorly of the trend wherein ‘people talk about characters as if they are people” haha…ha…
…which made me quite nervous about my response to this question, augh. I hope there’s something, anything worthwhile in it. It’s somewhat of a long, rambling stream-of-thought response, so it’s not polished I’m afraid.
TL;DR: Manners maketh the man, but flaws make for an interesting man and Luck is especially beholden to this. He’s an overthinker; his politeness is not necessarily genuinely felt; and his outward sangfroid is often repressing passionate emotions or otherwise concealing personal turmoils which are notably introspective in nature. And, notably, murderous intent. He’s carrying out a role/duty he’s not suited for but one he inherited and chose to inherit.
An old soul who’d have probably been better off as a writer or poet… Even then - even with his evident insight/perceptiveness (the ‘wise sophisticate’ to Firo’s street urchin) - he’s not flawless, playing greenhorn to Keith’s intuition/experience c.f. 1935-B. And he’s aware of that, to some extent. There’s a lot to him (as a person, not mafioso) that’s worth respecting. He’s quite aware of his immortality, for that matter, and worries for its consequences. (Especially apathy, which…!!)
There’s a lot to him (as a person, not mafioso) that makes him simply likable. He’s filling his father’s shoes and - in spite of their ill-fit - wearing them rather well, all things considered. In spite of what he thinks, he’s a rather excellent fellow. (…For the mafia, one should perhaps say.)
Full content under the cut.
Edit: I reblogged this with a few additional thoughts in the reblog. Reblog here if you need the link.
Luck in the anime (first impressions)
I was first introduced to Luck in the anime (as most of us were), where he certainly was a “handsome young gentleman, suave and courteous” and not much else. Cool? Absolutely. So svelte, even after being gunned down. Good to his friends/family? Seemed like it. Capable of smiling? Check!
I liked these things about him…and I latched on to his brief Episode 1 scene with Poe’s poem + his relationship with death because it was the only scrap of depth he got in the entire anime. It’s probably the most (emotionally) vulnerable he is, since usually he’s calm and collected. Hell, he’s more obviously angry when he says, “Who thought they could ventilate me?” versus when he shoots Dallas - more on this later.
“Debonair” might not be a bad word to describe Anime!Luck, and here’s the thing: debonair attitudes sure are great, but I don’t know if that’s the most apt adjective for LN!Luck personality-wise. Luck in the light novels has a certain style and charm to him (often but not always) - but he’s not as confident as ‘debonair’ would imply…
Anime!Luck has practically no flaws, at least ones that are meaningful to the story. He’s the debonair pretty-boy type fans swoon over. LN!Luck is flawed, and he’s more dynamic and interesting because of those flaws. (Well, it helps that we get to spend time in his head). I often say the anime renders Firo less interesting than he in the novels, but…I think the anime shafts Luck and Eve’s characters more severely. And speaking of LN!Luck…
Not Suited to be a Mafioso: the Overthinker (+ the Pressure of Expectations)
Both the narrative and various characters opine that Luck is not really suited to be Mafia, and if this were a matter of “tell vs show” then anime-only viewers would probably have a hard time believing this, right? Suave, seemingly always in control… But we’re shown his thought and actions that support the claim - and frankly, Firo, Claire, and the others are right. He’s not. Bless him, though, he tries, and frankly he’s not half-bad at making do.
I have Luck firmly pinned as someone who overthinks. Just, all the time. Overthinking isn’t necessarily a bad trait; it’s not necessarily even bad for a mafioso, since rash decisions can easily have bad consequences. But it’s certainly not ideal for a mafioso leader, as overthinking can lead to indecisiveness/prolong decisions–when being a leader is all about making decisions. It doesn’t help one’s image, either. Thoughtfulness is a good thing, but lacking confidence and decisive action is not.
(Never forget how the Gandors waffled over how to punish Edith. They didn’t even come up with the haircut punishment, that was Claire-via-Tick. Luckily for them that was a private situation; displaying such indecisiveness/uncertainty in front of one’s subordinates invites doubt in one’s leadership.)
I believe that overthinking tendency is probably innate…but at the same time, I suspect it was likely exacerbated during his childhood and especially his adolescence. Luck was already an executive as a ‘teenager’ by September 1925. As both the youngest executive and brother to the Gandor don, he must have–he certainly had–felt immense pressure to live up to expectations.
I expect that quite a bit of this pressure came from within. Considering how Randy and Pezzo indulgently tease him in 1925 (and how people called him ‘Young Master’ and ‘The Little Gandor Fiend’ for ages)… it feels like other mafiosi didn’t take him that seriously as an executive and likely expected him to make mistakes.
Naturally Luck wanted to prove them wrong, to prove his worth. Moreover, he wanted to prove himself to his older brothers and make them proud/not disappoint them. (Just because people would understand him making mistakes doesn’t mean the Gandors can afford many of them. Keith might forgive him, but the underworld would still take advantage of his weakness).
(Well, there’s a family pride in the business and a perceived mission/duty to protect the territory; feelings that Luck has and shares with his brothers).
I also think maybe there’s a hint of anxiety to that? Not, say, clinical anxiety, but…such pressure coupled with knowing that failure has severe consequences is surely not anxiety-free. Especially for someone who cares as much for his men as Luck does: mistakes often result in death in the underworld, and being directly responsible for his men’s deaths would weigh heavily on him.
A Digression on Luck and Firo
Speaking of Luck’s relationship with his brothers - what’s funny is that Firo envies Luck as a ‘model Mafia boss’ and feels a little insecure compared to him–but Luck is the same with his brothers. In 1935-B, he envies Keith and Berga for their natural ‘gangster’/‘fighter’ appearances–that just by looking at them one can tell they’re likely mafia/criminals.
I appreciate that about him as a character, by the way. I especially appreciate that Firo admires him despite knowing he is not suited to be mafia. That Firo admires him is–important. Calling Luck a ‘foil’ to Firo’s character doesn’t sound right, nor does ‘rival’, mm…but it does sort of feel like Narita positions him as a counter to Firo, ish?
Luck’s probably the character the closest to “Firo’s level” out of the Little Italy crew, circa 1930. They’re around the same age, give or take a couple years, and the respective ‘youths’ of their organizations. Narita could have played up the standard animanga tropes more: made them equally immature best friends; or maybe gone all the way with the ‘childhood rival’ aspect, having them compete for being the best that ever was. He could have made Luck a ‘natural’ mafioso, to give Firo that ‘underdog shonen protagonist’ edge–that whole, “my friend/rival is naturally gifted while I, the Underdog, have to struggle and work).
But while there is a small sense of ‘rivalry’ to their relationship–wherein Firo admires Luck and feels he is a step or tour behind him–their good-natured positive feelings for each other are the backbone of their friendship, not the rivalry aspect, and I’m very glad for that. Firo may be envious, but rather than thinking of it as a competition he has to win, he focuses on improving himself instead.
(God, now I’m really glad Narita didn’t make Luck the ‘natural prodigy gangster’. Though, was there really a chance of that? A good many– if not the majority– of Baccano!’s cast are self-made people, with Claire the obvious exemplar; even he, as untouchable and awe-some as he is, worked hard to achieve his skills and strength. It’s such a core part of who he is that I can’t help but think it’s a trait Narita inherently admires in characters (and finds more interesting than ‘natural talent’).
Actually, I wonder if what Firo really admires is not quite that Luck “is a perfect mobster” - but that Luck manages to pull it off, as he knows Luck isn’t suited for the life. Luck isn’t the only performative one of the two; yes, I know that one can bring up performativity with everything but… there’s how Firo idolizes the macho/manly Italian gangsters of cinema and wants to be like them. He has specific ideas as to what a ‘quintessential mobster’ is, and I expect wants to emulate them.
So, seeing his childhood friend growing into this ‘role of a lifetime’ - an actor, just like those of the pictures… there’s a contrast, there. One Firo sees himself, and one I think we naturally see in the prose (beyond when it’s pointed out). That’s the other thing: by having Luck as the character who’s “already made it,” having him there as the composed perfect mafioso, we get to watch Firo mature by his side, comparing him to the ‘standard’ Narita has set.
I’m beating a dead horse now, but I do want to at least say that my thoughts on Luck and Firo’s relationship have been in part fueled by the 1935-A scene wherein they’re talking at Firo’s casino. Luck’s very much the “perfect mafioso” there, mature and sharp and asking all the right questions…
…but Firo’s no slouch in that scene either, competent in his casino management and altogether independent (?). It’s one of the scenes where I find myself aware of how he’s grown since 1930, a little more mature/’adult’ – and I think now that may because Luck’s there serving as the ‘control’. He’s the standard. He’s been at Firo’s side the longest - and as we the audience have watched these characters throughout the years, he’s the constant.
(Oh, re: that aside about ‘working hard’ and ‘natural Mafioso’: the Gandors and Claire are family, but how often do we examine why Claire likes them beyond ‘family’ reasons? It occurs to me that one of the reasons he likes them so much is probably because he knows firsthand how hard they work, and hard work is something he truly respects.)
Performative Courtesy, Sangfroid versus Temper/Violence, ‘Kindness’
A lot of people would like to be like Luck, I imagine; good looks, suave sangfroid, gentleman’s manners and all. It’s certainly earned him a lot of fans. But no, Luck wishes he were more like the brothers he admires and wants to live up to. It’s no surprise Luck would habitually overthink things in such an environment. I…wouldn’t be surprised if his performative courtesy has its roots in his adolescence as well. 1925!Luck is endeavoring to be ever so mature, and the adult authority he assumes when confronting the clockmaker is reminiscent of his adult self–the poise, the resolute, firm delivery, all of it.
I’ve called him an ‘old soul’ at heart, but…when you think about it, he had to act older than he is for much of his youth. I’d like to think that his courtesy is in some part sincerely meant, but passages like these:
“For this country, Luck was a strange man: He always wore a faint smile, and he spoke politely to anyone who was older than he was, even if they were his subordinate. However, Jorgi knew: The only part of his face that was really smiling was his lips, and there was always a hard-boiled light in his eyes.” (The Rolling Bootlegs, 70).
–serve as a…straightforward reminder it’s often performative. Goodness knows his ‘sangfroid’ is – there’s straight up a line in 1935-B that goes, “Luck put back the mask of calm he showed everybody except for his two brothers” and…that speaks for itself, really. We all remember how he acts in 1930 with regards to Mike and the others’ deaths. He has this whole mini-speech where he recognizes + openly acknowledges how intense his anger and desire for revenge are (speaking of which his instinctive emotional reaction is downright murderous?) - and requests his brothers stop him if he snaps.
And later, once he confronts Dallas… First of all, Dallas turns around to face him in the novels–so when he shoots Dallas, it’s right between his eyes. Not so in the anime, where Dallas never turns around. Second, curiously enough, the final build-up to the shot is just dialogue in the novel. The single exclamation point is the main affectation of his anger that the dialogue offers - it’s afterward where we get Luck’s “oh sorry I wasn’t calm after all” apology.
But with a little imagination… Luck was face to face with Dallas, which means he was watching Dallas’ expression, as Dallas lied through his teeth (blaming Firo, at that). It’s not hard to imagine his fury boiling hotter and hotter the longer the lie went on. Still–the moment his fury boiled over, he shot.
He went through with murder, just as he thought he might (albeit a different method). I’m…actually not sure if that was his first murder (though I’d note that Keith and Berga immediately shot dead the other two so that Luck “wouldn’t shoulder the burden alone” hmmm), but the fact remains he committed it.
In painting Luck as the suave gentlemen, it’s easy to forget how passionate his emotions can be - and tempting to ignore that the intense emotions he feels include murderous ones. Violent ones.
(And if we compare him again to Firo, that’s…intriguing. I said in a response to a past askmeme that I often associate Firo with violence, and I said that his violence “manifests itself in short, highly brutal spurts” (something to that effect) …but Luck appears to stew in specific, murderous thoughts.
(Not that Firo isn’t capable of nursing long-term hatred- fear + anger basically fuels his hunt for Dallas in 1933, and he’s just full of antagonistic feelings about Melvi throughout 1935…but I don’t know if those feelings are as…articulated/inherently murderous as Luck’s? What they do share is feeling such hostile intent towards those who have done their family/friends wrong – I don’t think Firo holds grudges against those who have done him personal wrong with the same intensity.)
Sorry, rambling. I just…it’s important that we talk about and highlight how Luck has murderous thoughts, not just because he’s often romanticized as the handsome, suave gentleman but because he is often referred to as kind. Kind by the underworld’s standards, that is, but…still.
It’s easy to think of him as “one of the good ones,” to cite how his syndicate protests its residents and doesn’t deal in drugs, to cite the Edith ‘punishment’ and all the chances he and his brothers gave Jorgi, to celebrate his showdown with Gustavo… and it’s easy to take solace in the fact that the murders were ‘justified’ to some degree, i.e. with Jorgi’s embezzlement + murder attempt on (Keith), i.e. with Dallas’ own murder spree.
But that murderous intent… I can’t shake it. Maybe another reason for it is that Luck is canonically not suited to be a mafioso…yet he has felt murderous urges and acted upon them. (Though, not having full control of one’s murderous rage is also probably not good for a gangster). One might well associate that with mafiosi. He is capable of committing murder–and in that regard he’s more ‘suited’ to his profession than, say, Luchino is to his.
Another reason I’m fixating on this is that Luck is someone who values (the intensity of) his emotions. Should’ve mentioned this earlier, since I think that in itself is important/noteworthy. To quote this thought of his on Eve:
Maybe I was jealous. Jealous of the fierce, violent emotions that filled that child. That’s something I’ll probably never have again. …Because I doubt I’ll ever be able to “prepare to die” again. Never, not for all eternity. - 1932 Drug & The Dominos, p. 215
Bolding mine. Becoming more apathetic = lacking the same passion/intensity behind his emotions that he had in spades, and he doesn’t like that at all. And… I have to wonder: in lamenting the tempering of his emotions (in missing that intensity), does he also miss those murderous, violent feelings a la 1930?
It sounds like he does. He still feels hatred for Dallas’ group and won’t forgive them, and he still feels pain over Mike and the other’s deaths. He still feels hatred, after all. But those “fierce, violent emotions” that he’s jealous of here–well, Eve had channeled those emotions into calm murderous intent. She shot at Gustavo with the intent to kill.
(Now that I think about it, doesn’t that sort of mirror Luck’s situation in 1930? Luck’s fury reached a boiling point and boiled over hot, while Eve’s tumultuous feelings snap-crystallized into another plane of hatred – but basically both of them experienced a ‘point of no return’ leading to an inexorable gunshot.)
Do you think she reminded him of 1930!him right before he shot Dallas. Granted, one can start yearning to feel/have anything one is deprived of - “I don’t care what it is, I just want to feel strongly again” - and I do think that’s part of it. It may also be a part of his concerns over being a good mafioso….speaking of, I just remembered this passage:
Lately, he got the feeling he’d become really apathetic. Even he could tell: Compared with before–more than a year ago–his sensibilities had grown ridiculously lax. There was absolutely no doubt that his former self would have sent that junkie to the afterlife. - D&TD
Bolding mine. Absolutely no doubt that he would commit murder. I guess it’s a good thing he’s so self-aware, but it does hit home that murder is not inherently a last-resort option for him. The Gandors do have a reputation for violence (and executions), so it could be related to that. The syndicate has needed to foster a violent reputation in order to survive amidst all the larger syndicates, so…murder’s a good way to show you mean business.
(Also this part warrants another Firo-Luck thing: doesn’t this remind you of Firo in 1934? How he would have [reacted xyz way] to Edward if this was a few years ago, but he’s mellowed out since… Huh. So, Firo and Luck both mellowed out but for different reasons. Luck out of immortality-induced-apathy, and Firo thanks to the people around him.)
Misc Thoughts, Also Did I Mention I Was Sorry for How Much of a Rambling Mess This Is? Because I Am. If your eyes have glazed over I do not blame you.
Over on the Naritaverse server, a fan going by ‘Mint’ remarked to me that they would like to see a Luck and Nile “have a conversation about mortality and what it means to them now as immortals” and I WANT because what a good idea.
I don’t think I’d ever fully appreciated that Luck is probably one of the immortals who would best ‘get’ Nile’s concerns, but he is, isn’t he. Nile held value in mortality and was afraid of becoming inured to it–and was horrified when he did. He was horrified to see his expression emotionless, when it ‘should’ have been affected with grief/sorrow/rage. Mortality has lost its impact; he feels nothing where he ought.
It’s not as if Nile has lost…all his emotions; he still has a short temper/capacity for fury, and he (ironically for Luck) genuinely enjoys the thrill of a fight. But… he and Luck feel like they’ve both lost something (some part of their humanity?) emotions-wise with immortality, they’re both self-aware in a similar way…and I’m so with Mint here, I’d love to see them interact.
(Though, come to think of it, Luck says he’s jealous of Eve’s intense/violent emotions…but “his emotions are on the verge of exploding” when talking to her?)
There’s one other immortal I thought of while writing this–like, an immortal I never expected to think of in relation to Luck, but here we are: Huey Laforet. No, I still can’t quite believe my brain either. Why Huey?
When I thought about it…both Luck and Huey are people who are capable of intense emotion, people who affect outward calm/cool exteriors, and who don’t seem to be capable of fully containing them. (…I also re-stumbled upon the line wherein “mask” is used to describe Luck’s composed persona and went oooh. So there’s that).
Maybe Huey might have gotten better at it with time, but…Monica died at a point in his life where he was opening up as a person for the first time, getting better at not handling his emotions with a ten-foot pole but not practiced at controlling/reigning in intense ones. (So he pretty much shuts down as a person in order to ensure he feels (99%) nothing, because his grief/rage over Monica’s death would’ve probably consumed him if he hadn’t (and, once he… ‘recovered’ (HA) he presumably didn’t want emotions interfering with his goal).
And then there is Luck, who spent his childhood/adolescence striving for maturity/acting responsible and cultivated sangfroid as a result; he had years of practice, and yet he still cannot fully contain his ire. Funny; if you only knew him and Huey by their anime iterations, you’d never know just how intensely either of them have felt.
It never once occurred to me to think of Luck and Huey in relation to each other, and now that I see this similarity I don’t know what to do with it. Heck, maybe I’m just seeing things, period. I had to tell somebody.
Oh, Luck. You who have killed, you with murderous feelings and intense feelings and you who are not kind (your words, not mine; perhaps we can compromise on ‘selectively kind’?). I do like you. I won’t romanticize you, but I like what Narita’s done with you, is all I’m saying.
One misc thing I forgot to say is that I really appreciate the moments of brevity with him; he’s not a perfect mafioso but characters like him are good at being straight mans, so scenes where - for instance, he’s thoroughly exasperated and frazzled with Maria, are Great Fun. They’re more instances of him being human, and not as in control as he presents himself as, and I do so enjoy them.
LuckEve Response
Your question: “But to ask a specific question how do you feel about Luck/Eve (obviously when she’s grown up.) Do you think there is any merit to this ship?”
I’m not a shipper myself, for the record. Half “I don’t really care for/about romance” and half “I’m someone who is generally very canon-compliant,” so… these are simply my thoughts from a canon perspective and from my understanding of fandom thoughts.
My understanding is that most LuckEve shippers got into the ship with the anime, which…explains everything. Luck, as I’ve said, is the suave and handsome young gentleman bachelor in the anime. Well-spoken, sharp in all the right places, the obvious fan-favorite of the Gandor three. Eve isn’t given a specific age in the anime (nor is Luck, for that matter), and the age gap between her and Luck isn’t obvious; more to the point, she’s pretty and fits the “single young heiress” all on her lonesome trope that lends itself well to romances.
(That is a trope, right? There’s the trope of “rich and eligible bachelor,” and plenty of romance novels are to do with matchmaking among the well-to-do, i.e. society expecting a young lady to be married off posthaste. I do think Eve’s situation evokes such notions. “She’s a young heiress with no one to look after her in the 1930s, so she’s a natural marriage candidate.”)
…I don’t believe that people ship them solely because of established storytelling archetypes (both good-looking, gentleman bachelor vs rich ingenué) or because they’d “look good” together…I think maybe anime-onlies started with that and lean more on it since they have less to go on in the anime, but I can guess at a couple other reasons why they and some light novel fans ship them.
The first reason is the Gustavo-Eve-Luck showdown, where Eve says she understands how Luck feels and why he won’t–can’t–forgive Dallas. Up until then, she hadn’t understood (and Luck knew it) - and moments of personal connection like that are (from what I’ve seen) major fuel for shippers, who latch onto such scenes as ‘evidence of a link’.
(The showdown also involves Luck protecting Eve and refusing to let her become a murderer by taking her bullet, and I assume this also went a long way for shippers? A lot of popular ships and ship fics seem to involve “protectiveness” and “self-sacrifice” as ideal relationship goals, and I imagine Luck’s actions here just generally make him even more appealing as a fictional crush).
(Hmm, maybe people also see something in the fact that Luck is emotionally honest with her to some extent? He even gets a little carried away, much to his consternation. Considering that he’s normally ‘composed’… maybe his openness didn’t escape shippers’ attention. Also, that he was ‘nice’ enough to give her the map.)
(Oh - hm, but I’m overlooking something else they share. It’s not just feelings of hatred for the Runoratas, mutual grieving over the deaths of their loved ones, that Eve cannot truly appreciate Luck’s feelings until she does – it’s that Narita paints them equally self-centered in 1932. As in, they both come to see themselves as self-centered, another point of commonality.)
The second…really just boils down to ‘potential’. Honestly? Luck and Eve only interact once in canon, and that’s in–you guessed it–the showdown. To be fair, it’s an emotionally charged scene: they meet each other for the first time; he privately acknowledges her resolve and determination and the risk she’s taking to seek him out; she sort-of-but-not-fully understands his feelings but hers take priority; Luck understands that, prioritizing his feelings as well…
…And then the showdown between Luck and Gustavo happens; the “I accept your pain” moment. After a few other scenes, we’re shown the aftermath: where Eve attempts to thank him but he doesn’t let her.
And…that’s it? That’s the extent of their interaction. Eve thinks briefly of Luck in 1935, but it’s pretty much, “no, I can’t ask for his help with Ra’s Lance, as he probably wouldn’t want to cooperate and I’m not callous/shameless enough to ask him.” Maybe they’ll reunite at Ra’s Lance in 1935-E, but…as of now, their canon interaction is only one scene.
So…I think potential has to be the other side of the LuckEve ship. Luck and Eve have traits that in theory they could appreciate in each other (?) - Luck’s not just the chivalrous gentleman, he’s to some extent intellectual/cultured and unlike the stereotypes Eve might assume of gangsters; Eve is kind, brave, and tenacious; she’s sheltered but certainly not dumb. (We even see him acknowledge the risk she’s taking and her resolve + determination. Not that we have any idea what he’d want in a romantic partner; he’s a committed bachelor, it seems).
So…there’s a sense that they could be a good match beyond looks/societal archetypes. There’s the realization that they have certain things in common, and that the hope that they could bond over these things to the point where they overshadow wrongs done. And how Luck saved her, can’t forget that.
…I think. I should say I haven’t spent a lot of time looking at LuckEve content so I’m not as well-versed in existing content for the ship… I’m not totally ignorant, though; I’ve skimmed a few fics both on AO3 and the old Baccano! Livejournal, and I think a few of my followers have shipped it or are still shipping it. This LuckEve fic focuses a lot on the things they have in common (grief, self-centered actions), so I can’t be entirely off-base.
Speaking of fics, the Luck and Eve interactions in this excellent gen fic (which you likely already know, as ryfkah’s Baccano! fics are some of the most popular ones on AO3)…not to mention their respective characterizations, are very good – and it’s telling that a lot of the commentors assumed it was a LuckEve fic despite it being gen/the relationship not being tagged? It’s this fic that helped me better realize why some people believe they’d be a good match personality-wise, which is why I link it.
(The livejournal is partly why I’ve the impression a good chunk of the shipping stemmed from the anime, since it seems to be one of the first/oldest non-canon ships in the fandom. I also saw a couple people there - as I have FFN, AO3, and Tumblr, gush about how ‘hot’ Luck is, which maayyy have contributed to my other impressions of the ship).
My personal thoughts on the ship
My first thought was, “I’m indifferent,” but…that’s not quite true. There’s a small portion of me that goes, “Well, Luck views Eve as a child - his word- in 1932, and…ehhhh….” (If he meets her at Ra’s Lance, how much do you wanna bet he or the narration comments on how she’s grown into a demure young woman?)
And then there’s another portion of me that has Doubts about the ship with respect to canon–as to how likely such a relationship would really be.
In an alternate universe, perhaps they might have hit it off easily. An alternate universe where Luck was never a mafioso and never did what he did to Dallas, that is. I’m sorry, but I have trouble believing Eve would marry one of the men who murdered Dallas and condemned him to drown for the rest of his life.
Yes, she now fully understands why Luck won’t forgive Dallas, and yes she recognizes that Dallas did wrong, but….Luck still condemned Dallas to a horrible fate, and I just - would she really overlook that? Even if she could, Dallas is afraid of the Gandors as of 1935 and I cannot see her marrying someone whom her brother fears. She loves Dallas despite everything, he’s just about all she has left in terms of immediate blood family, and making him and the Gandors brothers-in-law would be unfair to both families.
(Yes, Eve did say to Maria in 1933 that “any friend of Luck’s” would have a good reason for doing something, and Eve did think of asking Luck to cooperate in 1935. But the former is her being over-trusting as much as it may be respect, and the latter…is nowhere near approaching romantic soil.)
And then there’s the fact that Luck is a mafioso, and… Look, when Eve found out the truth about the Genoard business she cried for…what, an hour, right? Not only would she have to make peace with the Dallas business she’d have to make peace with Luck being a gangster, and I suppose of the two that would be the easier to swallow.
She’s met Kate, after all, a woman who knowingly married a gangster and is content with that life. And she understood Kate’s feelings. There’s also how Dallas is a lowlife, how Eve has met assassins, criminals, and other shady characters of society and found them all right, and that she is willingly going to Ra’s Lance - a hive of scum and villainry - to find Dallas. In other words, Eve is certainly not living a life separate from the underworld. (She never really was, but now that she’s aware of it she’s hardly gone out of her way to avoid it).
But again, cooperating/involving oneself with the mafia is in no way on the same level as marrying into the mafia, goodness gracious. Also, wait, does Luck believe in God? He’s certainly never been overtly religious. Eve’s a believer, for sure, so…I wonder. Her family may not have been very religious, but having a spouse who shares her faith might be important to her.
(oh also, let’s not forget that Benjamin and Samantha would probably have heart attacks at the very thought of her marrying into the mafia. So what if they work for the Genoard drug kingpins – Eve was never involved in the business, and marrying into the Gandors would be risking her life. Benjamin, Samantha, Keith, Berga…literally no one in Luck and Eve’s immediate circle would think a relationship a good idea.)
And all that was just focusing on Eve’s side of things. Putting aside Luck’s hatred for Dallas…he’s a confirmed bachelor, and we’ve never really seen him yearning for a relationship. I wouldn’t be too surprised if he believes it would be unfair to marry someone and make them mafia – that is, if he’d be willing to marry someone and potentially put them at risk. He’s got his brothers’ relationships as examples; Kate’s life has been in danger at least twice, no doubt dark times for Keith, and that would very reasonably put Luck off from doing the same thing.
Keith/Kate, Berga/Kalia…oh dear, that’s right, I should probably address the elephant in the room: Immortality. There’s never been any indication that Kate and Kalia were at Firo’s promotion party, so it’s assumed they’re mortals. Mortals who will grow old while their husbands remain young, and someday die. Never mind everything else: would Luck be willing to enter a relationship with a mortal, and Eve an immortal?
…I can’t say; I’m not Narita. I can say that I can’t recall ever seeing a LuckEve fic interested in exploring the twilight years of their relationship; either the fics are them getting together, or them in the early years of their relationship…but I imagine the twilight years aren’t as fun for shippers to think about. It might not be a first priority of the ship, is all I’m saying.
I should make it clear that I don’t think all LuckEve shippers disregard the glaring complications to such a relationship (Dallas, mafia) - the fic I linked above is certianly not the only one that acknowledges and/or deals with such things, and it’s only right to acknowledge it. Actually, I have a feeling the tension between them may in itself be a reason why they’re shipped, haha.
TL;DR: I understand why some people ship LuckEve, but it seems to me the ship is constructed more on shippers’ personal fantasies/own ideas of how and why such a relationship would work than it is rooted in canon, as the pair have only interacted in one scene out of 22 volumes.
I don’t think a romantic relationship would ultimately work. Even if we set aside: the Immortality Problem; how he views her as a child in 1932; and the Dallas Problem… the fundamental differences between them outweigh their few commonalities, and are so fundamental that I assume they wouldn’t be good for a romantic couple.
She’s religious, kind, a sheltered well-to-do, and wants to be a good and upstanding citizen. Luck is a murderer, a mafioso from the slums dedicated to the syndicate he grew up in and inherited. She accepted the truth of her family’s business but morally rejects it, whereas Luck has embraced his organization from adolescence. A courteous man is not necessarily a kind on, and not necessarily a good one–and Luck does not consider himself that.
Eve may trust him, may consider cooperating with him, but to marry him would mean turning a blind eye to his profession, accepting it, or even approving it, none of which seems really possible to me. It would mean rejecting the opinions of her loved ones, those who are very important to her. Star-crossed lovers are a tried-and-true trope (Romeo and Juliet, Rose-the-lady and Jack-the-penniless), but Eve and Luck’s worlds are very different, and she doesn’t exactly spend enough time in his to suggest she’d like to stay in it.
I do think there’s potential for a friendship, at least. The mutual understanding and seeds of respect, that they’re both strong in their own ways… Fans aren’t thinking of “Luck and Eve” for no reason, and honestly I’ve enjoyed the Luck and Eve interactions I’ve seen in gen fics. A friendship wouldn’t necessarily be easier to come by, though; quite a few romantic fics I think stem from them establishing a business relationship, which might be the ticket here since Eve seems to be reluctant to contact Luck otherwise.
Ra’s Lance is the other, more immediate chance of a reunion, so…that’ll be interesting. Eve didn’t actually expect the Gandors to attend (IIRC) given their Runorata hatred, so she might be surprised to see him.
I cannot believe this ended up as long as it did, anon, I’m so embarrassed. To whomever reached the end…you’re superstars.
