Elmer C. Albatross & Polychromatic

[rikoren.livejournal.com]

[nick / name]: Kestrel
[personal LJ name]: rikoren
[other characters currently played]: Luc :: Suikoden :: wind_magic
[e-mail]: kestrelmagic@gmail.com
[AIM / messenger]: rikoren

[series]: Baccano!
[character]: Elmer C. Albatross
[character history / background]: Baccano! Wiki
Elmer was born into a cult that worshipped pain (according to the 2002 books), and was horribly tortured for the first ten years of his life. This cult got a little out of hand, though, and caused the church to send in inquisitors and a military force, the result of which was Elmer's rescue (and probably the death of a lot of cultists). He came out of all this with an impossibly cheerful attitude, an impossibly high tolerance for pain, and a near complete lack of morals. Having been taken in by the church, he was kicked out of it again when he decided to take up alchemy at the age of 15. He was sent to live with his friend Count Boronial in the city of Lotto Valentino on the outskirts of Naples, probably because of his connection to the man, and not because there was a school teaching alchemy there.

He'd only just entered the city when he came across Niki, an unhappy girl who claimed she was going to be killed by the Mask Maker. He took her to Count Boronial's manor, where she was received much more warmly than Elmer was, and then went on to 'befriend' Huey Laforet at the school. Elmer's loving smiles were apparently incredibly off-putting to Huey, and so their relationship consisted almost entirely of the one getting constantly rejected by the other. This in no way deterred Elmer, who proceeded to befriend Monica (a girl who had a crush on Huey) and was then convinced he should attempt to bring the two together. This matchmaking effort became strangely intertwined with a serial murder case involving the Mask Maker, a mysterious masked figure who left a mask on each of their victims - as it turned out Monica herself was that Mask Maker. This incident escalated to the point that everyone Elmer had come to know was in danger of arrest or murder or execution, and so he borrowed Monica's mask and the Count's gun to save...Niki, as the other two had managed to find safety in Huey's secret base. Having previously learned the whereabouts of not only everyone's homes but also the secret base, Elmer was easily able to bring Niki to 'their' new safe zone, and watched as Huey learned that none of his secrets were really secret: Elmer had learned his hiding place from Monica, who was a much better stalker than the boy had thought, and already knew almost everything about him, including the fact he had started the local counterfeiting business.

Elmer ultimately managed to gain Huey's permission to use his 'powers' (the counterfeiting business and possibly also Huey's intelligence itself) for his own purposes, and proclaimed that he would "build the world" with it. Following this declaration, everyone went back to their normal lives, and would continue this way for many years to come.
[character abilities]: Aside from being able to smile at absolutely anything, Elmer can also tell a real smile/laugh from a fake one and can recognize people just through tiny clues like the feel of their grip and vague hints about their personality. Besides that, he's an expert at sneaking up on people, and can show up on rooftops or in basements without anyone's notice. He's also used to pain, so getting stabbed doesn't bother him much at all.
[character personality]: Elmer is a cheerful kid, always willing to lend a hand where it's needed (or even where it's not needed, as long as he thinks he can help). He's one of those kinds of people who gets labelled the class clown, making jokes and falling off his chair for the sake of a few laughs. He's stubborn, too; if he meets someone particularly gloomy, he won't leave them alone until he gets them to crack a smile. This, coupled with his apparent inability to recognize personal space or "don't talk to strangers" or any of those other simple rules kids should have learned by his age, can make him rather annoying to some people - though he knows to back off if his leaving will make people feel better. Anything for a smile, after all!

He's a lot smarter than he looks, too, or at least has an amazing memory; all that sticking his nose where it doesn't belong isn't just for the fun of it. He remembers all the little details, like the addresses of every student in his school and the feel of Monica's grip on his shirt/neck. This is something people wouldn't notice if it weren't for the fact he willingly says everything outright when asked. Elmer C. Albatross is a man with no secrets! But he'll keep yours if you'd like him to. Despite this, he comes to the strangest conclusions sometimes (like wondering if there was a twister when he sees the marketplace in a mess) and makes fantastically obvious lies ("It was written on an acacia leaf I got from a passing vampire."). Strangely enough, he's honestly surprised when people can tell he's lying. He also likes making up nonsensical nicknames for everybody he meets, like Monimoni and Nerenerenere.

All of this cheerful friendliness is real enough, but what people might not realize is that Elmer is not, in fact, a Good Guy. He's more like a personification of pure evil that somehow managed to get hooked on Care Bears. Or maybe a Care Bear with mental problems. The guy will happily manipulate, control, or completely destroy people to reach his goals, and it's just your luck that his lifetime want is to make everybody smile. Real smiles, mind you, not fake ones. Even if you're only happy when slaughtering innocents, that works fine for him. As long as you're enjoying it! He understands the impossibility of making the whole world smile, though, and so he concentrates his efforts on the people around him. He's also an avid shipper, and will not hesitate to attempt matchmaking if he thinks you two will be happy with each other. Attempts may include anything from secret-keeping to writing silly notes to pretending he's the local serial killer. Anything to help.
[point in timeline you're picking your character from]: 1705, after the Mask Maker Incident is over

[journal post]: [Hello world, there's a cheerful-looking stranger curiously smiling at the camera today.] This device is really interesting, isn't it? So small, and yet you can talk to everybody in the whole city with it! That's what I've heard at least. Are people really hearing this right now? It's a lot quicker than writing letters, isn't it? Or talking face-to-face. All of you must be really happy to have something so useful!...Then again, people might be happier if they hadn't ended up in this place, I'm guessing.

[He doesn't seem particularly bothered by that thought.] Speaking of which, where am I, anyway? I've never seen a place like this before. [It seems he's moving now, with the device raised high above his head - things might look a bit shaky for the viewers.] Do you think this is what paradise looks like? Or heaven? It doesn't look anything like what the church describes, but then again I don't think the priests have ever been there. Or maybe I've inhaled some stray drugs in the air, and this is all some strange illusion! [The thought makes him freeze for a moment, lowering the device in thought.] ....If that's the case, maybe I can try inventing one of these things when I wake up! So Monica and Huey can chat with each other even when they're at opposite ends of town! Maybe it'll make Huey smile faster. [And a grin.] I could make one for everyone in Lotto Valentino! Everyone in the whole world, even! What do all of you think? It's a great idea, right? Bringing friends and families closer together!
[third person / log sample]: Clack.

Elmer watched in confusion as the boy he'd been talking to suddenly shut and bolted the window. "Hey, wait, how am I going to get back in?" He waved his arms a bit in an attempt to catch Huey's attention, but the action proved futile and he was left hanging upside down from his tree branch, alone. "Was it something I said...?" There was no-one to hear his question, of course, and after a moment he righted himself and began to contemplate his next move.

That Huey had seemed kind of unhappy...like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, or something like that. No, no, it was more like there was nothing in the world to give him hope, or--whatever it was, he'd looked like a difficult kid to cheer up.

Maybe I'll make that my next goal.

It would have to happen sooner or later, after all; Huey's smiling. Everyone in Lotto Valentino would have to smile eventually. This town was part of his world now, after all, and he'd already decided the world should be full of happy people. Then he could look at all their smiles and think, Maybe the smile I've got right now is as real as theirs. Maybe this is real happiness. He'd have a smile like the ones everyone had when they'd hurt him all those years ago, or the ones on the priests' faces when talking about how he'd gained the grace of God. Not that he believed in God or anything. Funny how he couldn't make out the happiness in his own smiles, when he could see it so easily in others. But that was what he was doing this for, right? Nevertheless, it brought a chuckle to his lips as he made his way slowly down the tree, stifled only by the sudden remembrance that they were supposed to be silent in the library. "...Oh, but I guess I'm not inside right now, am I?" He was about to laugh at the thought when a familiar face passed by, leading...more familiar faces. What's Huey doing with those guys?

And with that, he quietly began to follow the boy who hated the world.