#zank rowan

[sawagiacademy]

Some of the other teaser pages from the new manga (from twitter)

[agallimaufryofoddments]

Friendly reminder to Narita that I love three (3) men and would happily pay for a story about their time studying under the legendary alchemist-sage Majeedah Batutah at her floating workshop.

[Photo: A screenshot of Nile, Zank Rowan, and Denkurō Tōgō, in that order, as cropped from the cover of Baccano! Volume 17 1711 Whitesmile.]

[agallimaufryofoddments]

The Devil’s Smile Plays Upon His Lips

Aka “The Elmer Fic” that I’ve been working on and off on for just about eleven months, now. 

There are a lot more original characters in this than I expected there to be, and I hope they feel natural to the story. I won’t be copying and pasting it under the cut, because - well, it’s rather long.

Summary: A wild west chase, a café encounter, an airplane ride, religious veneration, and multiple death experiences - and that's only the half of it. A day in the immortal life of Elmer C. Albatross, taking place over the course of centuries. No matter what life throws his way, he remains himself.

Word Count: 32,648 words, if AO3′s count is to be believed.

Warnings for graphic violence, as well as heavy reference to the past torture and abuse that Elmer suffered. I’ve rated this one M as a precaution.

Read on AO3

[agallimaufryofoddments]

Majeedah Batutah (Baccano!)

So I’m currently editing Denkuro’s and Zank’s pages on the Baccano! wiki, which naturally means I’ve got the PDFs of the books open on my desktop as I’m cross-referencing info and you know what? I completely forgot that Denkuro, Zank, and Nile were alchemists from Majeedah Batutah’s floating workshop. Hell, I’d forgotten about Majeedah Batutah period. 

For those who understandably also can’t recall her name, in 1711: Whitesmile, Dalton brings her up when he’s talking to twenty plus alchemists in the basement/catacombs of the Third Library. The alchemists are worried about this proposed escape across the Atlantic -- how are they supposed to make this happen? Well, says Dalton, “we also have three alchemists sent here from Majeedah Batutah’s floating workshop, each man a fully qualified sailor.”

Majeedah Batutah was an almost mythical figure amongst the alchemists. Her workshop, which was comprised of the fleet of ships under her command, was said to be wandering the seas as its crew undertook independent research.

Her name likely meant that she was of Arabian descent, but because she had been so seldom seen in person, many people doubted her existence.

 What’s more, there’s a rumor that Majeedah was working with a merchant friend to prevent the drugs and counterfeit money trade from spreading outside the city.  As for our three immortals in question, apparently Denkuro and Zank had been rescued by her fleet in the past, and Nile had been left in her care by an old alchemist-explorer acquaintance of hers. So Denkuro, Zank and Nile were not only expected to pretty much man the Advenna Avis and teach the others how to actually sail (something that’s pretty important to know if you, y’know, want to sail across the freaking Atlantic Ocean), they also had the job of collecting supplies from other members of the floating fortress at port stops. The floating fortress was prepared to send the Advenna Avis escort ships if necessary. 

SO... 

 ...I want to know more about this legendary ‘Majeedah Batutah’. What exactly is this ‘independent research’ her alchemists are working on? Are she and Dalton really acquaintances/friends? Did Denkuro/Zank/Nile work with her in person (Denkuro refers to her as Honored Master, and Zank calls her heroic)? 

WHO IS SHE NARITA PLEASE I MUST KNOW

YOU CAN’T JUST NAMEDROP A LIVING LEGEND AND NEVER BRING HER UP AGAIN

Who was her alchemist-explorer friend that left Nile in her care? How old was Nile when he came to the floating workshop? A child? A teen? Does that mean he’s known her the longest? When were Denkuro and Zank rescued by her fleet, and in what circumstances? Were they shipwrecked? Men overboard? Fleeing the country? 

Agh please I can’t deal with this lack of information the curiosity is going to kill me