I just fell in love with this story. it has that baccano atmosphere and I just love it. I can't describe how much I enjoyed reading this. thanks for a wonderful story _

I love how you wrote it in the style of the anime: the titles of the chapters and also the temporal jumping back and forth! Haha! The mystery of Claire's immortality! I guess Claire had to sometimes give up his Felix Walken name since he can't possibly introduce himself as Felix Walken with his immortal wife by his side!

Maybe Claire had taken the elixir earlier at some point before his poisoning but since nothing can harm him it was never activated. Although why it took so long recover takes away from that theory. And it happened when Luck was there. Jeez. The mystery.

Ja ne!
Lili

That was...such a bittersweet ending, but it was fitting. Well done, this fanfic was so satisfying...Thank you so much for such a wonderful fanfic!

1. Czes must be even more scared of Claire, now that he's an immortal and all. Poor kid.
2. It's kind of strange for Vina, the daughter of assassins, to be afraid of blood, but then again, can't blame her for that trauma.
3. Yay, I'm so glad Claire will always be with Chane, forever and ever! They are my favorite Baccano! couple, along with Firo x Ennis.

That was a hilariously cute chapter..."'I'll-let-you-live-another-day-because-I-am-generous' kind of smile." Omigod, that was my favorite line...lol. Felix being the super protective daughter. Doesn't help much that he's THE Rail Tracer. I'm totally in love with your fanfic right now.

Oh my god...so much...feels! But that was really surprising and interesting...Claire's immortal! I'd always wished for Claire to be both immortal and ageless...along with Chane. It's really fascinating...did Claire really become an immortal because he willed it? Now that's an interesting concept...What a cool idea to include! It's like Claire really is a god.

oh shit that was a sad ending. Well more bittersweet. Anyway I want to say thank you two for taking the time to create this masterpiece. Rarely have I seen better. I particularly think you nailed the chapter "In Which She is Born", it really touched me.

On another note, it was a certain flavor of irony to realize the rail tracer was an significantly better father than my own. lol.

Alright I need to get to sleep. I had to go to sleep BEFORE I decided to marathon this. Worth it though.

This was an amazing fic, I might go so far as to say "one of a kind" it was a real pleasure reading this fic! I hope to read some of your future works!

The absolute best part about being a fanfic reader is that feeling of glowing saturation that overwhelms you whenever you discover a fic that is, if not perfect, at least as close to it as possible. It happens extremely rarely (I've been reading fics for like 14 years now, and I'm pretty sure I have less than 10 such entries on my list), but when it does, it's ridiculously amazing. This is definitely one of those 10 cases; what's more, I think it deserves the "Perfect" label in its full glory.

There is literally nothing I could criticise/nitpick about it (well, aside from it not being neverending, or my inability to wipe my memory clean so that I could read it and experience it for the first time once again :). There's a part of me, the old-school one, that would have liked a follow-up to the poison-related situation (did Vina ever tell her father the truth -I would've asked about the guilt she might have felt after understanding everything, but the way you wrote her character answered that question- ? How *did* Claire gain immortality? ), but the more rational side is aware that the choices you made, with regards to this story, *every single one*, including this, were supremely faithful to the Baccano spirit; to the idea of living, breathing narratives that can often refuse to have every part of them placed in neat little boxes (it's kinda interesting to think that certain Baccano characters are, in some ways, a manifestation of the series' structure and, most importantly, of the ideas behind it -Claire himself comes to mind-).

[Come to think of it, the fact that the immortality question is left unanswered could also be interpreted as the perpetuation of Claire the Myth, the Supernatural Being (as opposed to Claire the Human; it's a delicate play of dichotomies I've seen both in the anime and here). Viewed in this light, the graphic callback to his Rail Tracer persona while he was suffering from the effects of the poison makes even more sense. One is tempted to think that the universe and all its laws did bend to Claire's will; that, yes, his mind decided to make him immortal/unaging. Just like that. it's a wonderfully clever way of giving Claire the Superhuman time to shine.

To break it down: aside from the structure, with the non-linearity and jumps through time and post-modern-sounding titles and beginning-ending symmetry-, aside from the tone and the shifts thereof (from light, goofy, even adorable, with moments of surprising emotional intensity, to grim and brazenly horrifying in its violence of whatever nature), the characterisation is so mindblowingly impeccable that I'm now almost afraid that getting into the Light Novels will make me discover that they don't live up to it. These are not easy voices to get right, IMO: eg. Ladd's and Claire's, in particular. And yet every line from their perspective, spoken or not, is on. freaking. point - there is no 'too much' or 'too little' there. They're basically tailor-made; it's no wonder I could hear the voices from the dub in my head while reading (you even got the lingo and the phrasing right, for the full immersive NY experience, the same the anime provided).

And really, I wanna frame and mount every single Claire/Claire x Chane-centric chapter on my wall, because what you guys succeeded in doing is basically sorcery in my eyes: you brought him to life, in all his confident, intense, charismatic, terrifying, perplexed and perplexing glory; always thinking, always learning by filtering things through his unique way of looking at the world. And then you added, explored even more of his character than what I'd seen from canon. You shone a light on the more shadowy corners of him (the dangerous contradictions in his ideology, aka the glue keeping him together and above everyone else in so many ways- when Chane was shot etc, his ruthless, relentless training as a kid and so on). And you added so many amazing layers to Claire the Human: Claire the Brother. Claire the Blushing, Stumbling Boyfriend. Claire the Husband. Claire the Father. Every single one, powerful and more than believable.

If someone were to ask me "why do you OTP Claire x Chane?", aside from the anime, I'd show them this. It takes all the amazing potential the anime glanced at, and actually explores it, in a way that's beautiful, charged with more emotion than should be allowed, and organic. Claire is proven right once again, as you did such a wonderful job of conveying their "unconditional, everlasting, intense, one-in-a-lifetime"-sort of love that I practically felt it in my bones; and not just during the Big moments (his fierce instinct to protect her; after she sees the carnage he's left for her; when he first sees her as a mother; when she thinks he's dying; when he's made to see the possibility of an ageless life without her), but in the small, quiet ones as well (the tickets to France; the name he technically bound himself to, for her; the way he'd cling to her like a second skin after returning home; their little quickie in the bathroom and carefree, "newlyweds"-y, excessive display of PDA). What's even more amazing is that even with all this passion and fundamental need for each other, you get a clear sense of the fact that they're equals; that they remain their own persons throughout: Chane (who grows into one in the first place, thanks to Claire) discovers her professional calling (extremely fitting, btw; in so many ways, given what that first dress from him meant to her and for them; the realisation it brought) and honours her French roots- getting married in France, passing down her legacy to her daughter and finally, returning to France with him after they lose Vina; heck, she even gets some knife practice in when he pisses her off (that entire chapter was pure gold; unbelievably adorable and hilarious, from start to finish); Claire keeps his train and his gangster job, his way of thinking and the Rail Tracer when it's woken from its slumber. It's actually such a healthy relationship that you feel compelled to step back and smile at the wonderful irony of two essentially messed up people having it.

And then there's Claire the Father. I have to admit that while I knew he lives to see his grandkids with Chane in the LNs, I still couldn't fully picture him as a dad. And then you guys came along and handled that so IC, so perfectly in every single way: his honest "not really" when Chane had first asked him about kids; his worry; his doubts and how those related to his own upbringing; his breaking down when he saw his daughter in his arms (coupled with Chane's thoughts) - that was so powerful it legit got me to tear up; and really, there *can't* be a better line conveying the love Claire would have for his child than "He knew, the very moment he saw his daughter, that he would willingly kill himself for her." Even his lil shit-sorta glee at Vina's future husband's fear of him. It all changed my perception forever, in the most satisfying manner.

Vina's character is another huge, continuous stroke of brilliance. That she'd get most of her father's defining features, including his obstinacy and fearlessness; that the one ironic (considering the meaning behind her name) exception to the latter would be the sight of blood; that the even bigger, mindblowing irony would be that despite the events that triggered that fear, she saw it as a form of validation of her own little fantasy bubble. Her father's daughter indeed, and what an awesome, fascinating portrayal at that.

I could go on because this story is just that rich and memorable, but this has already gotten ridiculously long, so I'll stop (and apologise for it). I do have a favour to ask, if it wouldn't be too much of a bother: could you send me a link to this story in epub or Word format (or something), please? You never know with ff . net- I've seen so many great fics get taken down over the stupidest reasons. And I'd be kinda heartbroken if that happened to this story, too. I'd really love to keep a copy of it to reread and all. But I'd completely understand if not, ofc!

Either way, I cannot thank you enough for writing (and completing!) this. It's nothing less than incredible; and, from now on, on my "Essential 'Baccano!'" list. My heart's so full of it that I'm positive my whole week's been made. Thank you! :)

wow thank u very much ,,, i love vino and chane , they are great together

Awesome storie! It was awesomely written and so deep! Kudos to you both!

But Ladd only has one hand.

-earfluffy

This was my first and last time reading a fanfiction for Baccano, simply because everything about this was perfect. After finishing the anime, all I wanted was more, and this made for the perfect ending to it all. I can't thank you enough. I really don't think I've come across writers whose characterizations are so close to cannon. Truely amazing.

My goodness that was the best spot-on characterization I've ever read in any story thus far in my many years on FF! So many kudos to you. Wow. Seriously... amazing.

I really enjoyed this story. It was long and it extended on Chane and Claire's life after the anime. Really, you did amazing!