keep_smiling | Mayfield Application

History: Baccano! Wiki, the general wiki . There’s actually a very good TV Tropes entry, too. Click here, and select “Immortals” from the list. Elmer is the sixth one down.

Personality: Outwardly, Elmer is a nondescript, average-looking man, with one noticeable feature: he’s always smiling. Always. In passing, this may come off well with others, bright and infectious. Those who know him call him Mister Happy End, or the Smile Junkie. But to anyone who spends time and gets to understand what’s going on inside will realize that there’s a lot more to that smile. His outlook on how everyone should be smiling and happy reaches lengths that are twisted and wrong.

“I'd sell the souls of all humanity to the devil if I thought it'd get us a happy ending.”

These words summarize Elmer to a T. Despite a life of hardships, bullying and torture, Elmer has remained positive and upbeat, knowing that anything bad can be overcome if you just smile and feel better about it. This has lead others to believe that he’s simple, or oblivious. To a degree, he does live in his own little world where everyone can be happy and get their happy ending. But this doesn’t mean he doesn’t understand the consequences of his action, or that he’s stupid. Quite the contrary – he’s described as calculating and conniving, thinking fast to plan. For example, he puts his life on the line just to prove a point to Czes. The only way to kill an immortal is to have another immortal “eat” them – placing their right hand on their head and imagining consuming them, which then happens, destroying the immortal. Upon first meeting again after 300 years, Czes places a hand on Elmer’s head, and Elmer doesn’t flinch. Later, when Czes asks him why he didn’t, Elmer simply grabs Czes’s arm and places his hand on his head, all in order for Czes to see he can trust Elmer, to make him see that there are worthwhile people in the world. Just to see if he would smile. Czes can’t handle this, though, and asks what if what would make him happy was if Elmer jumped off the roof they were on. Without a second thought, Elmer does just that. The levels he will go to make someone happy reach strange and twisted levels. Even when faced with the demon they summoned to gain immortality, he is told by the demon he would be granted any wish he wants – and Elmer wishes to see the demon smile genuinely. The demon remarks that this is the most difficult thing he’s ever done.

His constant smiling also makes his true emotions hard to read, or so people think. Maybe he is just blissfully happy all the time, or maybe he’s covering it up. Either way, he does show other emotions from time to time, usually surprising those around him. When Fermet, another immortal, comes across Elmer on a train, he tells him outright that he is afraid of Elmer because he never knows what he’s thinking. He’s also convinced that Elmer is an idiot, and won’t consume him because he’s afraid of Elmer’s personality influencing him. Elmer also physically throws Fermet off the moving train because he was making someone else nearby unhappy.

Elmer is also adept at reading other people. Being an expert in smiling, he can instantly tell when other people are faking it. It’s said he can spot a fake smile a hundred yards away. If you give him a fake smile in an attempt to placate him, he won’t leave you alone until he gets a genuine one from you. He might even give you an arbitrary time he’ll get one from you – something like “I’ll get you to smile in 3 days, 4 hours and 12 minutes!” - though this might not be arbitrary at all. He’s concocting a plan, and he thinks it will take that long to exact in order to get you to smile.

Being immortal gives you a lot of time to travel and see the world. Elmer is very knowledgeable about many cultures of the world. He’s especially fond of Asian traditions, and has learned a lot about Japan from his friend Denkuro, another immortal. He’s spent time there and knows a lot about their holidays, literature, etc. Despite his age, he’s also is up to date on modern culture, making many references to movies, books and even video games. For a guy who seems to live in his own little world, he sure knows a lot about the world going on around him.

No doubt Elmer’s time in Mayfield will be spent trying to get people to cheer up and smile in order to overcome the hardships they face, whether they like it or not. In a small town like this, they won’t be able to get rid of him either. Though it might take them some time to realize he’s not actually a drone at first…

Abilities: Elmer is an immortal. He never ages, and cannot die or get sick. When injured, his body will mend itself back together; blood flowing back in, missing body parts jumping back to reconnect.

Sample Entry:
[After a distressed-sounding call from the Mayor telling people to ignore the latest crisis, Elmer calls one and all to give his opinion. He sounds cheerful as ever.]
Say, that guy wasn’t helpful at all, was he? He’s supposed to be in charge, right? But he sounds scared to death! That’s no good. You can’t expect the people of his town to just keep calm and carry on when he sounds like he could fall apart at any minute!

I’d like to go talk to him. I’ve been in a similar situation before, and I bet I know how to cheer him up. I guess he’d be working out of City Hall, huh? Anyone else out there up for a visit, too? I’m sure he doesn’t get a lot of visitors, so coming by for a friendly Q-and-A session would be great! Maybe we can find out what’s bugging him, and help him feel better.