Ern Malley forever

I’m gonna write this out like it’s a theory but it’s really just a headcanon based on the assumption that Lippmann is actually the BSD version of Walter Lippmann.

Walter Lippmann was an American writer and political commentator who wrote “Public Opinion”, an influential book that argued the necessity of the field of public relations and explained several key concepts behind it. This makes sense considering that BSD Lippmann is a public relations officer, the face of the Port Mafia and a necessary mediator between the dark and light sides of Yokohama.

Towards the beginning of the main story, Fitzgerald placed a bounty on Byakko and eventually came to Japan to retrieve Atsushi because an ability user had foreseen that Atsushi was a guidepost to the Book, which was sealed away somewhere in Yokohama.

The Guild’s membership mostly consists of the American elite, so it would make sense for high ranking government officials to also be aware of the premonition that Fitzgerald was privy to. And like, of course the American government would want to get their hands on a book that can rewrite reality, hello.

Fitzgerald and the Guild weren’t operating on behalf of their government though. Fitzgerald was on a personal mission to restore his family. So whatever plan the American government might have to retrieve the Book, it wasn’t what we witnessed in the Guild plotline.

So here’s the headcanon:

Lippmann worked for the BSD equivalent of the CIA and was sent on an undercover mission to Yokohama to keep tabs on any leads relating to the Book or the white tiger. (Part of the reasoning for this is me questioning why a famous American actor would be based out of Yokohama specifically instead of say, Hollywood). His position as an ambassador between the dark and light sides of the city would have meant he had access to every rumor above and below the board.

Another part of this headcanon is that Lippmann’s ability has something to do with influencing/manipulating the public, which is why he was assigned to become a celebrity. His fandom is especially strong in Yokohama, so that would make him a particularly effective sleeper agent if/when the time came for the CIA to make their move.

I also like to think that he ended up finding an unexpected family in the Flags, and that if he had survived to the present timeline and current battle for the Book, he would have experienced an internal conflict similar to Tachihara.

hIGUCHI MY QUEENNNNN I MISS YOU SO BAD. I MISS YOU SO BAD

Not so much Kyōka’s reaction to the truth about her parents – though that part is great – but the way Lucy advocates for her. It’s an unexpectedly sweet moment with a lot of layers.

Twain and Nikolai basically switch Abilities except instead of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer Nikolai's avatars are specters of the poems IRL Gogol abandoned. Twain's version of The Overcoat is called The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine and he has to say that every time he uses it

Poe and Louisa are the shapeshifters now. Louisa takes different human forms by the power of My Mysterious Mademoiselle and Poe can turn into a lion with Lionizing

Fyodor has The Crocodile, but it doesn't change that much, since it's sort of like Crime and Punishment with an avatar component. After someone kills him, they get swallowed whole by his crocodile (escaping the crocodile is almost impossible) and turn into him in there

Herman Melville's Ability is now Pierre. Not sure what it does but it has to be weird

Ango's Ability is D.D.T. and the Perpetually Laid-Out Futon. It creates a wasting illness

Akutagawa's Ability is The Ball, supernatural agility and strength if he turns his fighting into a dance. If he saw the subtle shoujo sparkles it gets animated with, he'd be furious

Francis has Tarquin of Cheapside. It could be like Illuminations or Black Cat in the Rue Morgue. Side effect is that he sometimes talks in Shakespearean English

I can't say what Rimbaud's Ability is called because it's. Obscene

Lippmann can talk to dogs

Hello!

In order to talk about Alcott, I think it is important to talk about her foiling with other two characters aka Steinbeck and Fitzgerald.

It is interesting to highlight that after the defeat of the Guild only Louisa and Steinbeck show concern for Fitzgerald even if in two different ways:

Louisa states that she wants to find him, while Steinbeck surprises his former comrades by saying he wants to take care of the empire founded by Fitzgerald.

Here is what I got (including the song by Metro):

1. Metro - Hej, Aloszka

"In the text I'm reffering to one of the Karamazov brothers, Alosza, from Fyodor Dostoyevsky's book. It's a song about naivety, hope, the role of widely understood relation with God, transcendency, religion. In the midst of all the degeneracy shown by Dostoyevsky, Alosza is still certain that goodness (/kindness) will triumph. I'm also using the titular Aloszka to confront my own beliefs regarding the world, which are being subjected to constant revision" - says the text's author and vocalist, Aleksander Zajdel. [taken from one of the youtube comments under the song]. Check @tiredandanxiouschaos' post for the translation!]

2. The Used - The Brothers Karamazov

The song could be interpreted as sung by Mitya or by Ivan. It's about how they hate their father but also hate the fact that they can recognize some of their father's traits in themselves and how they are afraid to end up becoming someone like him.

3. The Slackers - Peculiar

Mitya's story sung from the POV of Mitya.

4. Susanne Sundfør - Alyosha

To be fair, it's possible that this song was not explicitly written about Alyosha from TBK, but about the singer/songwriter's husband (who has a different name). Still, I decided to include the song because I feel like the singer chose the name Alyosha as a placeholder for her husband's name because the lyrics also fit the character so so well. It could be loosely interpreted as sung by Gruschenka when Alyosha comes to visit her for the first time and she is shocked by his kindness and the fact that he treats her like a human being worthy of respect and compassion.

Hello Taliehoffbeck! How have you been? :D

(P.S. Albaworm could definitely solo Dostoyevsky. Trust me.)

Depends on whether people know. He’d still be Albatross to Chuuya, but if Chuuya tells anyone who wasn't there for the vermification that he has Albatross in worm form at his apartment, or even lies and says he named the worm after an allegedly dead friend, they might be concerned for Chuuya’s wellbeing. Then again, Chuuya wouldn’t tell anyone he keeps a worm in his apartment unless forced to somehow, especially not Albaworm. Albaworm is to be protected at almost all costs

Hello, Serendipitousity! How have you been? I have been… well, I got briefly locked in a cemetery yesterday (1st cemetery visit since Montparnasse—I wanted to pay my respects to the actress Pascale Ogier) and it was the most interesting thing that’s happened to me this week. Last week, a near-stranger told me he’d translate Romanian poetry for me, so that might be happening (he says he’s not fluent in Romanian but is learning); my mom texted to say that ever since the night when I slept on that eerie mountain with the unidentifiable noise (which I did not tell her I was doing), she’s been having recurring dreams where I’m lying down surrounded by specters; and I at least briefly was able to get the song which had been stuck in my head a third of the time for months almost entirely out of my head (it’s trying to break in again and I am fending it off with another song which was stuck in my head months ago. We shall see whether This Charming Man can take the Trap Queen in a fight)

(I would very much like to see Albaworm solo Dostoyevsky. To my mind, there are things which would be terrible plotwise but entertaining enough to more than make up for it, and Deux ex Albaworm fits firmly in that category)

Stay safe Taliehoffbeck! 🥲😭 I hope you weren’t locked in there for too long, and that it was more of a mild-inconvenience-slightly-fun-adventure rather than an “Oh no how am I going to get out of here” situation. I hope the Romanian poetry turns out well!

I hope the specters are friendly? Can they be good signs? Should I be worried??? /hj Please stay safe 🙏

I hope This Charming Man wins out (I’ve never listened to either of the mentioned songs before).

I myself have been doing well, nothing really riveting has happened as of late. I am going to see my friends today, though! So that is very exciting :D

It was more of a mild-inconvenience-slightly-fun-adventure. I got to the door one minute late, so it was locked and had a sign saying the only way out after closing was another door a few minutes’ walk away. That door was also locked and had a sign saying to call the municipal police to get out. Luckily, while I was typing in their number, someone who presumably worked there (who was carrying three large bags, at least one of which was full of mostly empty bottles which looked like they'd held red soda or cranberry punch or something) saw me and kindly let me out

This is what my mother said about the dreams a few days later:

...I keep having these dreams that dissipate rapidly--you surrounded by people these sheltering--not beings but forces with a point of light at the top, you surrounded by dancing kind of moving white sheaths, one touching your head and neck and stomach and I'm saying [they don’t] like to be touched and the light ignores me and says but not with words Enid does.  Enid was sleeping but is now awake!! Honestly I do not like the name Enid  Which is what woke me up I think you slept out either at [redacted] or the lake

My mother was referring to another lake; the correct answer was halfway between her two hunches. So… consider me thoroughly stumped what to make of that. I also noticed that she used a double space after the period, which she sometimes does and and sometimes doesn't. I used to think it was a typo when she did it but because of what you once said I know it's likely an old habit she's mostly abandoned

I think "This Charming Man" is winning, though seeing the name Enid, a song by that name threatens to enter the ring

I hope you and your friends had an excellent time!!!

Now I’m trying to Bunal AU-cast Les Nuits de la pleine lune (which is a miserable story and would make a strange yet probably bad AU)… uh… After much deliberation, building off of Louise-Oda and despite the fact that I can’t really remember most of the movie characters’ personalities well enough to cast them, I give you a tentative list:

Louise: Oda Octave: Ango (even though Octave-gawa is right there) Rémi: Hagiwara Camille: Chūya Marianne: Muroo Bastien: Shiga??? (I didn't get to the part of the movie with Bastien, but based purely on character design, Shiga looks like he could be a Bastien)