LOVE LIKE LIFE'S VACCINE

[1930s] Don't be scared, it's just a Depression

2011-03-18T01:27:41Z

Dear all Baccano! RPers, past, present and future,

It has come to my attention that some of you are scared to play. This is very sad and confusing to me for multiple reasons. After a quick chat with some friends on Plurk we concluded that it may possibly be the time period. Well, that's one thing I can help you with. And help you I shall because there are three things I love: Baccano!, the 1930s, and research!

*This post is intended as
1. a quick reference guide.
2. a place to share research and answer questions.
As such comments are highly encouraged at anytime. It is in no way complete and comprehensive but it's a start.

THE GREAT DEPRESSION: WHAT IS THIS?
•Causes
•50 Interesting Facts
•City Life

PRICES AND INDEXES
Admittedly this part is only useful if there's an Economy in your game which is not likely but if prices ever come up here you go.
•Inflation Calculator
•Price Guide

SLANG AND WORD USE
This is one of the most fun parts about playing a character from this era. You know you want to use them but be sure you're using them correctly first.
•Dirty 30s Slang
•More Slang and Explanations
•1920s Slang but it's good to see the start
•"The First Boy Band"

POPULAR CULTURE
Oh god, I could write about this forever. For now let's just go with a few links shall we?
X MUSIC
•Manufacturing Memory
•Jazz Anthology
•Radio Dismuke
•Radio Swing

X FASHION
•Hair. Bobbed debate
•Fashion Era

MAKE A HOUSE A HOME
You may or may not have any say in this matter depending on the game but at Wake we do so I have bookmarks on 1930s home layout and furnishings so I might as well share.
•Basic Floorplan
•The 1930s Home
•Quick Highlight of Furniture Style
•Doll Houses!

HOLIDAYS
X Valentine's Day
Same. Cute little holiday for love. The cards were very cartoony and disgustingly cute. At least the ones that show up in image searches anyway. Oh and one little thing happened in 1929, Chicago which may or may not be worth looking into...
•St. Valentine's Day Massacre

X Halloween
You probably wouldn't believe this was the easiest holiday to research. Not a huge difference between then and now but it was part of a transitional period. The 1920s and 30s had a huge problem with vandalism and property damage. Trick-or-Treating was a way to try to cut down on these acts. Today the "Trick" part is pretty much ignored but back then it was more like "Give me candy or I'll take out your mailbox." Regardless in the 1930s Trick or treating was much more of a thing. Which means younger characters like Firo and Jacuzzi would probably have participated in that or the school carnivals growing up but older characters like Ladd would probably have been too old for that stuff and more likely to have celebrated in the traditional manner. Yay vandalism~
•A Brief History of Halloween in America
•Halloween History
•More Halloween History
•Random Pictures 1930-1939
•Vintage Halloween Gallery

X Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving fell on the LAST Thursday of November until FDR pushed it up a week in 1939 to allow for an extra week of Christmas shopping. Other than that it was the same as it is today: food, family, football and the parades!
•Funny Traditions
•Parade Video 1931

X Christmas
Nothing much to say. An orange was a common thing to get in your stocking but. There was a different style to it as is very clear in the pictures ~~my pop decorated like that into the 90s. Then all his bulbs burned out and that was that.~~
• Christmas Pictures

ETCETERA!
•1930s New York
•Jazz Age Chicago
•Circus Photos 1920-40s
•Marital Rating Scale
•little_details has a 1930s tag. You can find all sorts of things you never knew you wanted to know there.
•baccanodr /plug
•My Tumblr just for this

- ooc - INVENTORY

2010-11-12T02:33:46Z

This is just a list of all the things Lua has accumulated in game.

1 LADD PLUSHY it's cute. looks just like him except cute. Lua would probably call it a doll or a teddy.
1 PUZZLE wonder what it looks like put together. she hasn't had a chance to try yet.
1 WHITE MANX KITTEN named Chicago because even Lua gets a little homesick
1 SINGING LADD BLOW-UP DOLL /sobs. deflated and stuffed away somewhere

LADD'S FAVORITE SHOTGUN AND HAT; the only things left behind when he went back to sleep. Lua keeps them on the top shelf and never lets them get dusty.

Vincent Price "Horror" movies

2010-06-12T00:31:23Z

Copy/pasted from IMDB

# Dead Heat (1988) .... Arthur P. Loudermilk
# ~~The Offspring~~ (1987) .... Julian White
... aka "From a Whisper to a Scream" - USA (alternative title)
# Bloodbath at the House of Death (1984) .... Sinister Man -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2Z5W49Lv78
# ~~House of the Long Shadows~~ (1983) .... Lionel Grisbane ->
# The Monster Club (1980) .... Eramus -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKPRIOKH4Zo
# ~~Madhouse~~ (1974) .... Paul Toombes
# Theater of Blood (1973) .... Edward Kendal Sheridan Lionheart -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg73nPNSKh0
# Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972) .... Dr. Anton Phibes
# The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) .... Dr. Anton Phibes -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJIeOmNN60M
... aka "Dr. Phibes" - USA (promotional title)
# ~~Cry of the Banshee~~ (1970) .... Lord Edward Whitman
# ~~Scream and Scream Again~~ (1970) .... Dr. Browning
# The Oblong Box (1969) .... Sir Julian Markham -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkcuaxQ8oE0
# Witchfinder General (1968) .... Matthew Hopkins
... aka "Matthew Hopkins: Conqueror Worm" - USA (alternative title)
... aka "Matthew Hopkins: Witchfinder General" - USA
... aka "The Conqueror Worm" - USA
# ~~The Tomb of Ligeia~~ (1964) .... Verden Fell
# ~~The Masque of the Red Death~~ (1964) .... Prince Prospero
# The Last Man on Earth (1964) .... Dr. Robert Morgan
# ~~The Comedy of Terrors~~ (1963) .... Trumbull
# Twice-Told Tales (1963) .... Alex Medbourne/Rappaccini/Gerald Pyncheon
# The Haunted Palace (1963) .... Charles Dexter Ward / Joseph Curwen -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJQklWEGKmQ
... aka "Edgar Allan Poe's The Haunted Palace" - USA (promotional title)
# ~~Diary of a Madman~~ (1963) .... Magistrate Simon Cordier
# Tower of London (1962) .... Richard of Gloucester
# ~~Tales of Terror~~ (1962) .... Locke / Fortunato / Valdemar
... aka "Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Terror" - USA (alternative title)
# Pit and the Pendulum (1961) .... Nicholas Medina
... aka "Edgar Allan Poe's Pit and the Pendulum" - USA (complete title)
... aka "The Pit and the Pendulum" - USA (alternative title)
# ~~House of Usher~~ (1960) .... Roderick Usher
... aka "The Fall of the House of Usher" - UK, USA (alternative title)
# The Bat (1959) .... Dr. Malcolm Wells -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otv4VNs8N9M
# Return of the Fly (1959) .... Francois Delambre
# The Tingler (1959) .... Dr. Warren Chapin
# House on Haunted Hill (1959) .... Frederick Loren -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg4D1u6R65Y
# The Fly (1958) .... François Delambre
# ~~The Story of Mankind~~ (1957) .... Mr. Scratch / The Devil
# The Mad Magician (1954) .... Don Gallico/Gallico the Great
# ~~House of Wax~~ (1953) .... Prof. Henry Jarrod

EVERYTHING IN THIS POST IS STOLEN

2010-05-09T21:05:14Z

NEEDS UPDATING

: Dislike/Hates/Actively avoids
: Acquaintances/Neutral
: Talks to/Likes seeing
: Friends
: There's trust here
: Family
: LOVE

		Ladd Russo
		"their quote" ~~WORST~~ BEST BOYFRIEND EVER. I don't know why but she loves him completely and probably couldn't live without him... someday he'll kill her and she'll die happy. Truly this is true love!
Husbando Relationship: "my quote"

		Graham Spector
		"their quote" Graham is probably the only person here, other than Ladd, that Lua trusts. Yeah, listening to him talk all day does kinda hurt her head but he's not a bad guy - or maybe he is but he's always been nice to her.
Psychotic Mechanic Relationship: "Graham's been... a gentleman"

		Firo Prochainezo
		"their quote" ...he's a good kid.
Doesn't Die Easy Relationship: "my quote"

		Claire Stanfield
		"their quote" DON'T NEED TO EXPLAIN. HE'S THE FREAKIN RAILTRACER.
The Fucking Railtracer Relationship: "..."

		Madotsuki
		"their quote" It's... complicated? They seem to be developing a friendship around their similarities. But sometimes Lua wants to take care of the girl.
TITLE Relationship: "my quote"

		Monoko
		"their quote" This is Graham's kid. They've only spoken once but Lua thinks she's pretty cute and it's nice that Graham has someone who wants to be like him.
5 armed girl Relationship: "my quote"

[I CAN'T THINK OF ANYONE ELSE WORTH MENTIONING. /FAILS]

- ooc - application

2010-01-16T04:53:43Z

so yeah. If you're gonna read this be warned it's what I like to call "mental vomit" I'll get around to fixing it up one of these days...

Personal Information
Name: melanie
Age: 19
Personal LJ: meruberri
Email / AIM / YIM: angelofalchemy[at]gmail[dot]com / meruberri / killmeloving

Character Information
Character Name: Lua Klein
Fandom: Baccano!
Source: here you go

Character History: *See "Ladd Russo" but seriously? Not too much is known about Lua; where she comes from, how she got engaged to Ladd, why she is the way she is.

We do know she most likely met Ladd in 1930 or 1931 since she was there in Uncle Russo's office among the white suits when Ladd proposed his idea for earning back the money the family lost in Issac and Miria's surprisingly successful robbery. She was even given her own introduction as his "girlfriend, lover and fiancee". Other than saying "It's very nice to meet you." she just stood there blankly as Ladd continued to talk right up until they were made to leave.

Acting on their own, the white suits boarded the Flying Pussyfoot.

On board the train Lua succeeds in cheering Ladd up after he lost the draw to go first, by suggesting he just go and see what's going on. This is after telling him he could kill her there in the compartment which he refused to do until he'd killed everyone else first. While Ladd went to the dinning car to do as Lua suggested she and one of the men went to check out the conductor's compartment, at Ladd's request. Along the way they got caught by the black suited terrorists and tied up in a small compartment.

Once Ladd was done killing the black suits in the dinning car he bursted in to rescue them. Unfortunately they weren't guarded so they all moved on to the conductors' compartment to find a scene of intense blood and gore. This alone was almost too much for the more normal of them, but when Ladd went splashing around in the pools of blood his companions and especially Lua started to feel ill.

It isn't until later that she plays an important role in the story. After Ladd went up on top of the train to take care of Chane he ended up meeting the rail tracer. Lua was left alone, now that all the other white suits were dead, she began to worry about what could happen to Ladd. In a panic she appeared on top of the train just in time to make Claire's prediction of Ladd jumping off the train of his own volition a reality.

He tied a rope around her neck and let her fly off the side. Ladd was given no choice but to jump off after her. The rope came loose and they crashed into a railroad tower. Miraculously, Lua made it through with hardly a scratch.

They were found the next day by the authorities and taken in for questioning. This was the last time they saw each other because Ladd was found guilty of whatever happened that night and sent off to Alcatraz. We are not told what happened to Lua, but I've heard that shortly after the incident she's abducted by Ladd's uncle, to what ends I know not.

Character Personality: (Minimum four paragraphs)

The polar opposite of her lover, yet somehow just as messed up. In all truth she comes off as more of a possession than an actual person. Lua almost always wears a vacant yet serene expression. She's delicate, soft spoken, and pretty submissive. She has always done everything Ladd has told her to do without a second thought. This also shows she's passive and would much rather avoid any unnecessary confrontation.

She doesn't say much but she does appear to be completely aware of what's going on even though she was never told. And she some how intuitively knows what others are thinking, or maybe it's just Ladd. When he told her to go check out the conductors' compartment her expression changed to show that she knew there was something important about that request.

Although it is clear that she's deeply in love with her fiance at times she appears to be almost frightened of him. She never looks directly at his face until he addresses her or physically turns her head. And when he petted her in gratitude for her simple suggestion she leaned away and raised her hand to level of her eyes.

There are a few theories floating around about why Lua is this way one is she's either a masochist or possibly suicidal since she takes pleasure in Ladd's promise to someday kill her. But that doesn't exactly fit with her self preservation instincts show earlier. While I do not deny that is to some extent a masochist (I've heard that she likes it when Ladd breaks her puzzles) the theory I'm leaning more towards is that she likes the adrenaline rush she gets from being near Ladd when he gets excited to start killing so she plays him, knowing that he probably wouldn't actually do it but if/when he does finally kill her she loves him enough that she wouldn't mind.

Despite all that she's been through Lua remains amazingly supportive of and dedicated to her fiance.

Powers: There really isn't anything remarkable about Lua. She doesn't appear to know to fight and comes off as very weak. I'd say the closet thing to a power she has is that her unique charms somehow have a calming effect on Ladd. And she's the only person he cares about enough to keep ~~safe~~ others from killing. Staying on Ladd's good side for so long should count as a power, as far as I'm concerned.

Samples
First person:

Third Person: 300 word minimum. This is the place to show your character's inner thoughts. Give us a nice third person narrative of your character doing something, plus how they feel about it. This doesn't have to be blatant "this is what my character is thinking, designated by italics!" but should rather show your character's self via their actions and interactions with their environment.

[1/17 @ 5:54] Well, it took me all day but I've finally finished the history/personality part. I'll do the samples after dinner.