everything you ever wanted to know
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Luck is average height - maybe about 5'8" or 5'9"? - and he has a lean build, on the slim side.
2. How old is he?
Physically, he's nineteen, and he's been nineteen for about two years now. Chronologically, he's twenty-one.
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
His posture's pretty good. He carries himself with poise, like a professional.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
He's in good health, and his immortality keeps him that way permanently. He also takes pains to keep fit, although odds are he's not actually capable of getting any further in or out of shape than he was at the time he became immortal.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Luck moves with a smooth economy of motion which is mostly deliberate. He stays aware of his surroundings, and himself in relation to them.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
He is pretty good-looking - definitely got the looks in the family. He is careful with his appearance because he is careful with the impressions he wants to convey, but otherwise he doesn't really think a whole lot about his looks.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
His family heritage is at least distantly Italian, so his complexion is vaguely olive, albeit on the lighter end.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
His hair is medium brown and cut neatly short; he wears it combed back, although there's that one little bit over his forehead that never stays put.
9. What color are his eyes?
Old gold. (Or light brown, if you refer, but really they mostly look gold.)
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
He is most often described as "fox-eyed."
(Side note: having "fox's eyes" is a Japanese idiom for "shifty eyes" or very narrow eyes, which in anime usually means a character with a face like this. Since he's also often described as wearing a faint smile, this may have been what was intended in the original text. I'm sticking with the anime design, though.)
11. What are his chief tension centers?
Back of the neck and upper back, between the shoulders.
12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does he have six of the same suit?
Brown three-piece suits forever. Preferably accompanied by a fedora.
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
He has his suits tailored and he wears them very well. He's comfortable in them to the point that he'd be out of place in more casual clothing.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
Brown suits forever. When he's relaxing on his own time he loses the coat and waistcoat and tie and hangs around in his shirtsleeves, but that's about it.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Boxers.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
He has a low, smooth voice. HE SOUNDS LIKE TAKEHITO KOYASU, OKAY
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
He speaks with the same kind of deliberation that he moves with - his words are almost always considered before he says them, and he talks at an even rate and rarely ever raises his voice.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
He has a recognizable New York City accent. No real quirks or verbal tics, but he almost always speaks politely, even to people he neither likes nor respects.
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
English. He also speaks some Italian, although I have not yet worked out to my satisfaction how much.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
No.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
He is accomplished in the art of thinking about what he is saying almost as he says it. As a result, although he does almost always consider his words before he speaks, he's perfectly capable of doing it without needing preparation time. If that makes sense.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
He's very well-spoken and articulate, although he will adjust his speech patterns a bit when dealing with the kind of tough guy who's more impressed by tough talk. Even then, he's still polite and well-spoken, he just uses more casual language.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
Luck is very intelligent; in 1930 Mafia circles, word has it that he's brilliant. He is both well-educated and street-wise, and indeed would see little distinction between the two.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
He's naturally cool-headed and therefore he's able to think things through rationally without needing a lot of time for deliberation.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Very logical and analytical, and very pragmatic, although underneath it he is secretly an idealist in some respects. He's exerted a lot of effort towards being a practical, rational person.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
As mentioned, he's quite well-educated, and this is as much due to effort on his own part as it was thanks to his family. His father made sure that he had a reasonable level of education, but once he was about fifteen his studies were mostly self-driven. He'd have liked to have gone to university, but family responsibilities prevented it, so he made up for it as much as he could on his own time.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
He's got a very good head for business and finance. He also really enjoys literature and poetry.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
He's really kind of borderline. I'll go with extrovert because although he's certainly capable of keeping himself company and is a reserved, self-contained person, he's really very lonely now that he's on his own and away from his family. He likes being around people.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Luck is a calm, self-contained guy. He's usually pretty even-tempered, and especially since he became immortal his emotions run very even. He's a contemplative, thoughtful sort.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
He's polite but cautious when dealing with people he doesn't know; he observes them carefully, trying to read them, and at the same time he's careful about what he reveals about himself. He takes time to trust, but he's capable of being fairly personable while he does that. He takes new situations in stride.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
He prefers to have a good handle on what's going on and what his options are before he takes action. In practice this means he's usually reacting, waiting to see what other parties will do so that he can plan appropriately.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
His preference is to keep cool and talk his way through situations. If that fails, though, or if he's truly taken off-guard, his instinct is to fight... although he won't hesitate to withdraw if he feels it would be more beneficial to him.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
Luck's sense of humor is kind of dry. He certainly has one, but it's low-key. He likes humor that's based in cleverness; toilet humor or excessive silliness doesn't amuse him.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
Not really. He's got some issues, but none on the level of a diagnosable disorder.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
Probably the most defining moment would have to be the moment he gave up on the idea of leaving his family, going to university, and getting a respectable white-collar job, and instead committed himself to helping his brothers run their Mafia family.
After that: becoming immortal.
14. What does he fear?
Up until the end of 1930, Luck was very afraid of death. That's no longer the case, and not just because he can't die. He honestly doesn't have any major fears any more (a fact which disturbs him a little) - he worries about the well-being of his family and about the ramifications of his immortality, but it's not quite the same thing as fear.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
His primary hope is to keep the Gandor Family going for as long as possible, and for the organization to become increasingly stronger and more stable so that it can't be threatened by anything.
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
There are two levels of this. When interacting with normal, respectable people who have nothing to do with the Mafia (such as most of the people he's met in the City so far), he doesn't want them to find out that he's a Mafia boss and a career criminal.
In his everyday life in his own time, where most of his interaction is with his Family or their allies or people under their protection, he doesn't want anyone to know that he's a lot more softhearted than he lets on. He considers it a weakness which would cause people to respect him less and which would make himself and his family vulnerable as a result.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
Luck's mother died when he was young. His relationship with his father was respectful but they couldn't really be said to be close, since for a lot of Luck's life his father spent the vast majority of his time on the running of the Mafia family. If he were asked, Luck would describe his feelings about his father as "loyalty" rather than "love."
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
He has two older brothers by blood. Keith is the oldest, followed by Berga, and they basically raised him since their father was busy working a lot of the time. They're very close and very important to one another.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
Nope. None of Luck's extended family is still living.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
Luck considers Claire Stanfield to be his brother, since Claire was effectively absorbed into the family while they were both children after Claire was orphaned. His relationship with Claire is more complicated than his relationships with Keith and Berga; Claire is an independent sort who's not involved in the Gandor Family business, and while he's happy to lend a hand whenever the Gandors need him, Luck prefers not to rely on him any more than he can help - partly because he thinks his own men will get sloppy if they think that Claire can be called in any time there's a problem, and partly because Claire's unpredictability means that, even though he always manages to come through in the end, relying on him is inevitably incredibly frustrating.
Luck does still hold a lot of affection for Claire, though, and although Claire's idiosyncrasies frustrate him, it really doesn't bother him that, for instance, Claire's been known to bite people's fingers off for offending his skewed sense of personal justice. That's just Claire.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Luck's best friend is Firo Prochainezo. They were kids together growing up in the neighborhood, and they've known each other so long that Firo is almost - but not quite - another adoptive brother. They've also both been involved in organized crime since they were kids, so they have that in common as well.
6. Does he have other close friends?
Luck makes an effort to be on friendly terms with everyone who works for him. He gets away with this far more than most bosses would be able to because Keith is The Boss and wields all the authority that entails, freeling Luck up to socialize with the family's men and get to know them on a personal basis. He knows everyone who works for him by name, and in most cases he knows about their families, their living situations, their aspirations, and their pastimes.
There's always a certain level of distance that comes from Luck still being their boss even if he is not The Boss, but there's a reason that he's "Mr. Luck" instead of "Mr. Gandor" (that's Keith), and there's a reason that when there's trouble, he's the first one they think to call.
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
He has little difficulty interacting with and getting along with people, but he doesn't make friends all that easily, because he's a cautious, reserved person who doesn't let people close very quickly.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Family. Full stop. Family is everything to Luck; nothing comes before it. Nothing.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Single. He is in fact the only one of the Gandor brothers who's not married, never has been, and has no plans to be.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
No.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
His first crush was a lady singer who performed at his family's jazz club. She was probably his last crush, too, since by the time he was old enough to really be interested in girls, he was too busy with the family business to spare the time or attention.
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
He's not looking for a romantic partner; see above re: too busy with the family business. Basically he's married to the job. If he were to open up to the possibility, it'd have to be with someone he could talk to, who would appreciate and be able to engage his philosophical nature. It would also have to be someone who appreciates the value of family, who wouldn't run the risk of compromising or endangering his family, and someone who is capable of great strength of conviction.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
No. He hasn't really thought much abot having kids himself - that would require, you know, getting married. He's content to anticipate playing uncle to Keith and Berga's kids, when they have them.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
He's a Mafia boss, he has his fair share of enemies. The most personal of them is Dallas Genoard, not because Dallas is anywhere on Luck's level so much as because Luck hate hate hates Dallas with a very personal, cold, lasting hatred.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
He's roughly a 1, maybe a 1.5; it's never yet occurred to him to be sexually attracted to a man, but with the right man under the right circumstances, it's not impossible that it could happen. All of the previously-mentioned stuff about Luck being married to the job and not looking for a relationship still applies, however.
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
Sex is not that big a deal to Luck, really. He lost his virginity at a rather young age as part of a calculated effort to get the family's men to see him as an adult (on the basis of sex as a rite of passage via which a boy becomes a man). As a result, the experience was kind of hollow and and unsatisfying and made him feel vaguely dirty afterwards. He isn't holding on to any lingering issues related to that, but he still sees sex largely as a means of dealing with physical urges that would otherwise be inconvenient.
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Luck's turn-ons are primarily emotional and intellectual... which is probably another reason that sex isn't very high on his list of priorities. He admires passion and conviction, especially now that he feels like he's no longer as capable of it himself.
If he were asked he would say that he likes to be in control. This is not exactly true, it's just that his previous experiences haven't really been with anyone he cared all that much about, or really trusted enough to give control to. If it were to ever come up, he's likely to discover that he actually enjoys sex more when his partner takes the initiative and when he's able to give up control... for example, blindfolded.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
I have more or less settled on him as an Aquarius. Then again, he might be a Scorpio. I'll figure it out eventually.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
Luck was raised Catholic, and while religion is not a major part of his life and hasn't been for some time, some aspects of it still stick with him and it influences his ideas of right and wrong. He believes in heaven and hell, and he hasn't figured out how he feels yet about the fact that he won't ever be going to either.
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?
He does... kind of. His principle code of conduct is the Mafia's code of conduct, and places a lot of value in duty and loyalty. He may be a criminal, but when he makes a deal he sticks to it, and he's very protective of the people who work for him or who are under his family's protection. He also firmly believes that men should never, ever hit women.
Secretly, he's actually pretty soft-hearted and capable of empathizing with other people; he doesn't like to see people suffer, although he tries not to indulge this side of himself much because he sees it as a weakness.
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Luck's pretty tolerant of other people's beliefs - look no further than his acceptance of Claire, whose notions are downright crazy. How interested he is depends mostly on the person, but he's usually willing to talk about philosophy with others since it's the sort of thing he thinks about a lot himself.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
Luck has a lot of contempt for people who have no loyalty to anyone other than themselves. He's automatically distrustful of anyone who isn't at least a little bit loyal to their family; he's aware that not everyone comes from the kind of family he did, but he still can't help but feel that family is too important to discard completely.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
He's pretty wealthy, especially for living in the Prohibition - the Gandor family is successful enough that Keith lives in a mansion on Millionaire's Row. In the City, he hasn't reached anything like that level of financial success, but he's making progress by way of being really good at poker.
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
He's a Mafia boss. He's been a Mafia boss since he was like fifteen, and before then he was the son of a Mafia boss. It's completely shaped who he is.
3. Where does he live? House, apartment, trailer? Is his home his castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does he share it with others?
In the City, he's living in a private apartment in the MAC. He keeps it organized and hasn't really gone out of his way to make it very comfortable since he plans to get his own place at some point.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
Books, mostly. Literature and poetry; since arriving in the City he's been gradually investigating the works that have been published since 1932. Also some choice alcohol, but not in very large quantities.
5. What does he do for a living? Is he good at it? Does he enjoy it, or would he rather be doing something else?
Again: Mafia boss. He's very good at it and he really doesn't enjoy it. He'd be happier in some respectable white-collar job. In the City, he doesn't have a job yet and is toying with the idea of going straight, but in the meantime he's augmenting his import stipend via poker games. He's good at that too.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
Reading, and card games, primarily; also occasionally billiards.
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
His eating habits are not too bad, for a bachelor of his age living alone. He can actually cook for himself - nothing too fancy - and he likes Italian food. He also drinks alcohol, but mostly socially; when he's by himself, he almost never has more than one glass, and he almost never drinks enough to get drunk even when in company. He's been known to miss meals, especially since coming to the city - at home, he missed meals because he was working; in the City, he mostly does it because he has no one to sit down to dinner with and sometimes things like navigating a supermarket is just too frustrating to be worth the effort. It's not like he can starve, anyhow.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Red.
2. Smell? Pipe smoke. He doesn't smoke, but his father did, and he still likes the smell.
3. Time of day? Evening.
4. Season? Fall.
5. Book? The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
6. Music? Jazz.
7. Place? Coraggioso, his family's jazz club.
8. Substance? Whiskey.
9. Plant? An oak tree.
10. Animal? Dogs are his favorite animal, but in terms of association: fox.
END
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