#victoria bridge

[spockvarietyhour]

Montreal, view from Mont Royal, 1865

[travelmanposts]

Landmarks of Great Ocean Road, Australia: The Great Ocean Road is one of Australia’s most popular road trips. The winding coastal drive goes for 243 km from Torquay to Allansford along the southwest coast of Victoria. Famous Great Ocean Road is every bit the coastal adventure from Cape Otway Lightstation, Loch Ard Gorge, London Bridge, Tom & Eva to The Bakers Oven etc... The Great Ocean Road is an Australian National Heritage-listed 240-kilometre stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia, between the Victorian towns of Torquay and Allansford. Wikipedia

[dubmill]

Pimlico, London; 13.8.2020

[lobotomologist]

watching the finale of under the bridge and god. cam's confrontation of her dad over the adoption papers is heartbreaking. not just the realization that her whole life, her birth family was a short distance away - but her final statement. "but maybe i was meant to be something different."

god that cuts me so deep.

for those interested in reading more, AIM (adopt indian metis) was a real organization and took part in what's called the sixties scoop in canada, which was a mass effort to remove indigenous children from their families and be placed with white adoptive parents, effectively severing the ties of the children to their culture. cam's statement really gets at the heart of the way this robbed those children of any agency in their identity, any choice of it.

i suppose this is my soapbox moment as a canadian to say that canadian history is fucked and rife with racism. since the start, it has been an unceasing effort to eradicate the indigenous peoples from this land. there are those who have experienced this first hand in residential schools and forced adoptions. i am not one of them, but even the barest part of it that i, as a white canadian, can comprehend makes me genuinely sick to my stomach.

we talk constantly about raising awareness about the cultural (and literal) genocide of indigenous people in canada, but we get so detatched from it, viewing it as so far from current day. i hope that if anything, cam's storyline goes to show that it's not far from us - residential schools persisted into the 1980s and indigenous children are still removed from their communities at a disproportionate rate by social services.

there's no eloquent end to this post except to say that cam's story is one of so, so many here in canada.

[cedric-k-rossignol]

Black Butler & Celtic Legend Part 1 - The Omen of The Dragons

Alright y'all, back on my medieval French Celtic literature shit. Excuse my ADHD ass hopping from theory to theory. I'm excited and sad about this one as it's my prediction for Undertaker's final fight - and it's not looking so good 😞

In Part 2 of my French Crown Jewels Series I theorized that Undertaker is in possession of some of the gemstones he recovered from the Order of the Golden Fleece insignia for Louis XV. This contains, among other gems, the original diamond from which the Phantomhive family ring was made (referred to as The Hope Diamond in season 1 of the anime). I theorized that within the insignia, Undertaker is represented by le Côte-de-Bretagne, the spinel carved into a red dragon.

And I think Undertaker is also represented by the red dragon in the Arthurian tale of King Vontigern and his construction woes - The First Legend of Merlin.

In this legend a monarch is attempting to build a tower above a pool of water, and when the foundation fails each night, he's advised that in order to successfully build the tower he must sacrifice a half-human child. However upon digging into the foundation he finds two dragons fighting, one representing the native Britons, the other representing the invading Saxons...

LET'S TALK ABOUT DRAGONS BABY.

Usual disclaimer - I have not been able to find evidence of this legend being discussed before in relation to Black Butler. Please tell me if it has.

A Very Brief & Simplified History of Brittany

First off, I want to clarify a few things about Brittany, France, just in case anyone's confused. If you're not confused about the relationship between Britons and Bretons, feel free to skip this part!

Brittany (French: Bretagne) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul.

In the 6th century, Celtic people (Britons) fleeing the Anglo-Saxon invasion immigrated from Great Britain to Brittany, which was then a part of Armorica (meaning land by the sea).

By the 11th century, Brittonic-speaking populations had split into distinct groups: the Welsh in Wales, the Cornish in Cornwall, the Bretons in Brittany, the Cumbrians of the Hen Ogledd ("Old North") in southern Scotland and northern England, and the remnants of the Pictish people in northern Scotland.

So by the 11 century, the Britonic people have separated into distinct cultural and geographical groups, and have developed their own distinct languages - but the Welsh, Cornish, and Breton people all descend from the same ethnic group, the people who had inhabited the British Isles since the iron age (800 BC) and spoke Brittonic. The Irish, Scottish, and the Manx (those who inhabit the Isle of Mann) descend from those who spoke Goidelic (Gaelic).

Brittany became an independent kingdom and then a duchy before being united with the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province governed as a separate nation under the crown. Brittany is the traditional homeland of the Breton people and is one of the six Celtic nations, retaining a distinct cultural identity that reflects its history.

When Undertaker was alive in the 14th century, Brittany was ruled by the Dukes of Brittany. In 1532 they officially became a part of France, but they've always retained a unique identity and there is a strong separatist movement today to seek further independence from France. Brittany is sort of the 'Québec' to France's 'Canada'.

The most relevant information to know is that before the middle ages, the people who inhabited the regions now known as Wales and Brittany shared a heritage and a common tongue. The legend of King Arthur takes place in both England and Brittany (I believe the Isle of Avalon in the world of Black Butler will be off the coast of Brittany) and Arthur and his companions are important historical/mythological figures in both Welsh and Breton culture.

Historia Regum Britanniae

I am going to focus on analyzing the Omen of the Dragons as it appears in The History of the Kings of Britain or Historia regum Britanniae, a work of historical fiction that was written in the 12th century. It chronicles the lives of the Kings of Britons from the founding of the British nation up until the Anglo-Saxons assumed control of much of Britain around the 7th century. Historia regum Britanniae is one of, if not the central piece of The Matter of Britain, a body of medieval literature associated with Great Britain, Brittany, and their legendary kings and heroes, particularly King Arthur. The lais of Marie de France, one of which I detailed in my Rossignol theory post, are also part of The Matter of Britain.

The First Legend of Merlin as portrayed in Historia Regum Brittanie

The First Legend of Merlin revolves around the characters of the half-human boy Merlin/Ambrosius and the Monarch, King Vortigern.

It should be noted that this legend is sourced from an already existing story and that the figure of Merlin is imposed onto the real life 5th century historical figure Ambrosius Aurelianus. Ambrosius was a war leader of the Romano-British who won an important battle against the Anglo-Saxons.

King Vortigern himself was a native Briton, but he is portrayed to be a betrayer of his own people - or at the very least, an easily manipulated fool. He invited the Saxons to England - brilliant fucking idea, mate - and married a Saxon.

Vortigern was a 5th-century British ruler best known for inviting the Saxons to Britain to stop the incursions of the Picts and Scots and allowing them to take control of the land. He is regularly depicted as a villain or, at best, weak-willed and unable to control the Saxons once he arranged for, or encouraged, their arrival in Britain.

In the legend, King Vortigern has lost all his other fortified holds, so he asks his advisors/ 'magicians' for advice and they tell him to build another. Seems kind of obvious to me... Except all work that they do vanishes overnight.

At last he had recourse to magicians for their advice, and commanded them to tell him what course to take. They advised him to build a very strong tower for his own safety, since he had lost all his other fortified places. Accordingly he made a progress about the country, to find out a convenient situation, and came at last to Mount Erir, where he assembled workmen from several countries, and ordered them to build the tower. The builders, therefore, began to lay the foundation; but whatever they did one day the earth swallowed up the next, so as to leave no appearance of their work.

So Vortigern asks the magicians and they advise him to take the next logical course of action - child sacrifice, my liege, duh!

Vortigern being informed of this again consulted with his magicians concerning the cause of it, who told him that he must find out a youth that never had a father, and kill him, and then sprinkle the stones and cement with his blood; for by those means, they said, he would have a firm foundation. Hereupon messengers were despatched away over all the provinces, to inquire out such a man.

Now, at this my ears perked up like a fucking dog's. A youth that never had a father - that's a phrase that sounds like it could have been subjected to many a translation. After all, what does a child that never had a father mean? A child who was hatched from an egg? A kid whose dad went out to buy cigarettes and never came back? An orphan? A bastard? A child whose father was dead before they were even conceived?

Sure enough, when I scrounged around for another translation:

“The child must be borne of both woman and demon.”

And yet another interpretation merely states that the child cannot have a "mortal father".

His wizards claim that only by mixing in the blood of a child who has no mortal father will he make the foundations sound.

Ancient engineering is a trip, eh? I so love living in a time where we don't rely on mixing the blood of children into our concrete to prevent a sinking foundation.

Now, as to what Vortigern was attempting to build... Sometimes it's a "fortress", sometimes it's a "citadel", but most often the translation reads as a "tower". Another aspect of the legend remains consistent - the construction is always occurring either above or next to a body of water.

So a monarch is trying to build a structure (a tower over water), and is mysteriously unable to begin his project. His advisors tell him in order to proceed, he must sacrifice a child - one sired by a non-mortal upon a mortal woman.

Monarch/Warlord = King Vortigern = Queen Victoria

Structure over water = tower above pool = Tower Bridge over the Thames

Monarch's advisors = Vortigern's magicians = John Brown

Half-mortal child = Ambrose/Merlin = Vincent Phantomhive

Tower bridge under construction in 4x11

It's long been speculated that the events of December 14th, 1885 (namely, the murder of Vincent Phantomhive) are connected to the Tower Bridge, a project Prince Albert took a particular interest in. It began construction on April 22, 1886 (around four months after Vincent's murder) and is referenced several times in the manga...and in season 1 of the anime, the unfinished bridge is where the final confrontation between Sebastian and Ash/Angela takes place.

Sebastian & the angel Ash on the unfinished Tower Bridge in 1x24. Souls forming a seal above the bridge while the city of London burns in 1x24.

The bridge in the anime is built with/contains human sacrifices, and Sebastian states in all likelihood it was Ash/Angela (the advisor) who instructed Victoria (Vortigern) to build the bridge.

Ash states that "no demon must be allowed to enter through this gate" and that soon "all of eastern London will be safe from impurity". Eastern, specifically 👀 remember this for later...

Horrible CGI human sacrifices in the bridge's foundation in 1x24

Back to the legend - the kings advisors go searching and find such a child who has no father, a boy whose mother claims to have laid with none other than a being who had long haunted her before lying with her in the shape of a beautiful young man. The king consults his advisor, who tells him that Merlin's father was likely an incubus.

For, as Apuleius informs us in his book concerning the Demon of Socrates, between the moon and the earth inhabit those spirits, which we will call incubuses. These are of the nature partly of men, and partly of angels, and whenever they please assume human shapes, and lie with women. Perhaps one of them appeared to this woman, and begot that young man of her."

Further versions of the legend add that Merlin/Ambrose is actually created as the antichrist. However Merlin is never portrayed as a malevolent force; having been baptized by his mother, he is freed from the Devil's influence, and yet still has the kick-ass powers. You get the best of both worlds, I guess.

The Omen of The Dragons

Merlin speaks with the king and when he finds out his intent is to sacrifice him, he reasonably suggests to him and his followers that before you go around sacrificing children maybe you should take a look at what's underneath the tower! And for this, they name him a prophet. Turns out common sense is magical! So they dig up the ground, and they find a pond underneath the tower which has been the cause of the foundation sinking.

Then said he again to the king, "Command the pond to be drained, and at the bottom you will see two hollow stones, and in them two dragons asleep." The king made no scruple of believing him, since he had found true what he said of the pond, and therefore ordered it to be drained: which done, he found as Merlin had said; and now was possessed with the greatest admiration of him. Not were the rest that were present less amazed at his wisdom, thinking it to be no less than divine inspiration.

Lo and behold, when they look they find two dragons, just as Merlin had predicted. The translation here is a bit misleading - the true spirit of Vortigern's reaction seems to be more along the lines of fearful reverence - he and his men were intimidated by Merlin/Ambrose's abilities.

The dragons, one red and one white, wake and fight each other with fire over the lake as the king looks on.

As Vortigern, king of the Britons, was sitting upon the bank of the drained pond, the two dragons, one of which was white, the other red, came forth, and ap­proaching one another, began a terrible fight, and cast forth fire with their breath. But the white dragon had the advantage, and made the other fly to the end of the lake. And he, for grief at his flight, renewed the assault upon his pursuer, and forced him to retire.

So the white dragon, who represents the Saxons, triumphs over the red dragon, who represents the Britons. They fight over a body of water, and cast fire with their breath. In the end, the white dragon defeats the red dragon.

I fear this does not bode well for Undertaker.

Undertaker's Fate

Within the insignia for the Order of the Golden Fleece of Louix XV, the Spinel carved into a red dragon is literally called "the coast of Brittany". Here, the red dragon represents the Brittonic people from whom the Bretons descended. Undertaker is the Celtic dragon.

As for the white dragon, who represents the Saxons - I believe this will be John Brown, servant of Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria is herself descended from the Anglo-Saxon regime of England, her mother was a Saxon, as was her husband/cousin Prince Albert. Worth noting that king Vortigern, though a native Briton, married a Saxon.

Undertaker has outright stated that he does not care for Queen Victoria - but there are hints in the events of his past that his feelings towards her are a bit more strong than dislike. I think it's more accurate to say he hates her guts, especially after Claudia's death.

Queen Victoria was born in May of 1819. The massacre at Reaper HQ (a far cry from Undertaker's previous behaviour working as a reaper) likely occurred in 1819 as well. This was also the year in which the name "Cedric" first appeared in the newly published novel 'Ivanhoe'. May 1819 was also when Keats wrote "An Ode to a Nightingale", which is the cornerstone of my "Rossignol" last name theory. 1837 is the year in which Queen Victoria ascended to the throne - this lines up with the date when Undertaker officially deserted the reapers, taking his death scythe with him. 1847 is also the year of death for Undertaker's first chronological locket, Molly G.

These dates aligning link Undertaker's rebellion against his superiors to Victoria's rise to power. However, a 1v1 of Grandma Vicky vs Grandpa Reaper probably wouldn't be all that compelling of a fight.

Enter Queen Victoria's servant (in real life, and in the anime) John Brown.

John Brown in 4x10 - Sick Shades, Bro! Not conspicuous at all!

John Brown was a real person who served Queen Victoria in the aftermath of Prince Albert's death (and there is speculation that he and Vicky had an affair). But the real John Brown died on March 27, 1883 - and as I've discussed at length, Yana seems to be deliberate in the timing of significant events in relation to real world historical figures. That the 'real' John Brown in the manga died 2 years before Vincent Phantomhive was murdered is not a coincidence - rather, I think something else assumed John Brown's identity upon his death, and may have convinced Queen Victoria that Vincent Phantomhive needed to die...

There's been a lot of speculation about what John Brown is; another reaper, a demon, or an angel*. But he is most definitely not human. Not with those fuck-ass snow goggles.

*For the record, I think John Brown is indeed an angel.

Both characters of John Brown and Ash fill the same roles as the Queen's closest protector and advisor - the 'magicians' to Victoria's 'Vortigern'. The White Dragon Undertaker fights will not literally be Queen Victoria, but John Brown - and it seems Undertaker, GOAT that he is, will have finally met his match.

I think this will be Undertaker's final act in the manga, to reenact the fight between the red dragon and white dragon over the water by the half-built tower as detailed in the Historia regum Britanniae. Undertaker will fight the Saxon dragon, John Brown...

And Undertaker will lose.

In the finale of season 1 of the anime, Undertaker is distantly involved in the fight between Sebastian and Ash/Angela on the tower bridge (while the city of London burns down around them). He teams up with the other reapers (William and Grelle, and unnamed reapers #1-4) to disconnect the 'hearts of souls' feeding Ash/Angela's power. Undertaker's actions weaken Sebastian's final opponent and enable Sebastian's victory (and therefore, Ciel's). And once again - I think season 1 provides a loose interpretation of what will happen in the manga.

His role in the manga will likely be much more significant. I think he will still team up with the other reapers, but it won't be to snip black clouds because Will agreed to waive his fucking library fines. Undertaker's going to go out fighting...

I think Undertaker will meet his ultimate demise in fighting John Brown, but in doing so, he will enable Sebastian's victory and Ciel's revenge - and perhaps also stop whatever it was he learned back in 1819 that caused his initial rebellion.

Now excuse me while I go pre-grieve 😭

Lludd & Llefelys

This isn't particularly relevant - except this peaked my interest because it sounds vaguely familiar to what I understand about the Mother3 theory, so I'm throwing it in here. In the 13th century (after Historia regum Britanniae was published) the tale of Lludd and Llefelys was written as an origin for how the two dragons came to be buried underneath the pool at Dinas Emrys.

As to how the dragons became confined there, the story of Lludd and Llefelys in the Mabinogion gives details. According to the legend, when Lludd ruled Britain (c.100 BC), a hideous scream, whose origin could not be determined, was heard each May Eve. This scream so perplexed the Britons that it caused infertility, panic and mayhem throughout the realm. In need of help Lludd sought counsel on this and other matters from his brother Llefelys, a King of Gaul. Llefelys furnished the information that the scream was caused by battling dragons. The scream would be uttered by the dragon of the Britons when it was fighting another alien dragon and was being defeated. Lludd heeded the advice given to him by Llefelys and captured both dragons in a cauldron filled with mead when they had transformed themselves, as apparently dragons did, into pigs. The captured dragons were buried at the place later called Dinas Emrys, as it was regarded as the safest place to put them.

But that's not the only way this story might relate to Mother3...

Only Two Dragons - But I Thought The Dragon Must Have Three Heads???? Wait wrong show

Two dragons not enough for you? What about Sebastian, the guy who literally loves to light shit on fire, you cry out in dismay? Doesn't he get a dragon?

Fear not my friend, I've got you covered.

There is a much lesser known prophecy that is a sort of an addendum to Merlin's prophecy. It is contained in a series of texts called The Prophecy of the Eagle, and it foretells the Norman invasion of England...

"As the White Dragon expelled the Red Dragon so a Dark Dragon will throw out the White Dragon. The Dark Dragon, fierce and terrible, will come flying and burn up the whole island with the corrupting fire of its mouth. From its loins will come forth a ram with a fine fleece that will strike with its horns in the east."

And that's where I will pick back up in Part 2, on The Prophecy of The Three Dragons! Because really, are two dragons ever sufficient?

Thank you for reading all this! If you're interested in checking out my other theories you can find a masterpost of them here. My ask box is open and I'm always happy to talk about this stuff, if you have any comments to share or questions to ask. (Note that I will answer publicly unless otherwise specified - also note that if you've asked a question and haven't received an answer yet, it's probably because I referenced this theory and wanted to post it first!)

Going to go cry into a tub of ice cream over my prediction of Undertaker's fate now, bye.

[abybweisse]

Aby, what do you make of the fact that we never once in the manga saw our earl and Sebastian do actual digging/investigation into possible Phantomhive murder suspects? It’s the whole premise of the story (a soul for a revenge), but so many years in, nothing was shown of our earl’s progress on finding those responsible. Do you think that our earl and Sebastian have already learned everything off-screen?

Plot device to delay the inevitable

That's basically what it is... that when they first make their contract, our earl decides that instead of searching out whoever attacked the Phantomhives, he's going to let them come after him in an attempt to finish the job.

He assumes that all the assassins sent to kill him on a somewhat regular basis are just pawns. He's waiting for the person or persons who ordered the attack(s) to show themself/selves.

Apparently, he and Sebastian realize it's not someone like Haku, either. Because he's out of the picture, replaced by Lau. And they don't seem to suspect Lau, since he's been so useful and helpful. Lau has made asides to himself (or perhaps they were just thoughts) that are very suspicious, but I don't think he could even possibly be the "big bad" here. He wouldn't be behind the original attack, anyway, all the way from China, before he had much power. He was already sending letters back and forth with our earl before leaving China, and it could simply be that our earl was planning to get Lau to England and in charge of the local branch of Qīng Bāng... specifically because Haku needed to be "dealt with". Our earl was trying to put together a loyal network of evil nobles and route out the disloyal members of the extended network, too -- like Haku and Vanel.

His father's network seems to have included some very disloyal members. I believe at least two of them were high-ranking members of the cult that bought the twins. And then Kelvin was in the extended network.

Personally, I think Sebastian has at least an idea about who the true culprits are -- the one who ordered it, at least -- and maybe even someone who was involved in her decision making process. Just like Sebastian figured out, before our earl did, that Jack the Ripper was likely Madam Red and Grelle working together, he might have already figured out the ones who plotted the attack were probably Queen Victoria and John Brown. With John prodding her to it, and then her ordering it. He wants his young master to figure out who Jack the Ripper is. Similarly, he might be waiting for our earl to put the pieces together about the "doting" queen and her odd master of horses... with that damned Prince Albert puppet of his.

Our earl suspects his own aunt Angelina of being Jack the Ripper, but it is some final timing clue presented by Sebastian that tips him off it has to be her and Grelle. Something should finally tip him off about the queen and John. Who knows?

Maybe he finally realizes the puppet serves John in a way that something similar would have served Sebastian... if our earl had agreed to the original offer for the demon to make him think his twin had returned. I wonder who might comment about the puppet and get our earl to thinking about it. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Or -- and this is more likely -- our earl thinks about the timeline and circumstances of the Tower Bridge project... and finally realizes how much the queen has gained from having control over the Phantomhive estate, coffers, and entire earldom for a few months. She would do anything for her "Prince Albert", and that bridge is historically dedicated to his memory.

[lowcountry-gothic]

All Together Now: 25 Years of Photographing American Music by David McClister

[piqtescue]

If your watching "Under The Bridge" or planning to, here's a PSA from someone born & raised in that city. Oh, and Kelly's personal info and location bc she deserves absolutely no peace✨😊

((if you dont know this series, or who im talking about, I swear to god I do not do reveal personal information lightly and take revealing someone else's very seriously- but Kelly is a cold blooded psychopath and I urge you to google what she did))

I couldn't believe it when I heard the worst crime that has ever happened in my city was going to be made into a fucking hulu drama... I used to be so intrigued by true crime renditions, but this has made me rethink it all. The murder of Reena is something that makes us as locals sick to our stomachs, is still a very open wound to our city and her family and every day so many of us are forced to drive over the Craigflower Bridge, the place where she was brutally murdered. She was 14.

I never plan to watch "Under The Bridge" on Hulu as I really don't need it replayed back to me in a miniseries, but just need to give some PSA's here + gonna give you some recent photos of Kelly/Kerry and her location because she doesn't deserve the luxury of people forgetting what she fucking did:

To start, I'm not throwing shade to anyone watching the show- I know this doesn't affect everyone the same. Just want to make sure this bitch's face & the real story is plastered in your mind so you can publicly shame her if you wish, and realize this isn't just a miniseries- this actually happened.

Though the author who wrote the book this was based on was in search for their "humanity"- there is zilch in that sector for Kelly Ellard. None. See, Kelly was a teen when she lead the brutal murder of Reena and you might be pointing "upbringing and trauma/mental health" to blame- but don't even go there for a second. Warren is 100% holding the same sin for what they did but displayed actual guilt and talked to her parents. He knows what he did wrong and will live for it the rest of his life.

Kelly, a privileged psychopath from birth, is a disgusting, soulless slime who deserves nothing but to suffer for the rest of her days. Go read up on her parole hearings and realize in no way is she remorseful and in no way does she deserve to walk free or be a mother. She doesn't deserve to fucking breathe. Though if you read her most recent parole hearing, you will hear her speak of this series being "disrespectful to Reena's family": I want you to know she has finally learned to say what they want her to say after all these years; she doesn't give any fucks about Reena's family, all she cares about is leaving the past behind her but jokes on her- she will never get that luxury because we as residents won't let her.

✨Here's her new name/photos/insta account/location, ect✨

-She goes by Kerry Marie Sim now

✨Photos of what she looks like presently: here, and here and here.

✨Instagram: kehrisima007

Fun fact! In the second link I provided, she uses the hashtag "legally kidnapping our children" in relation to the Ministry of Child and Family Development's (canadian version of DCFS) involvement in her life. That was posted in 2021. Her day parole was then continued in 2022 & 2024, and it's unknown if she still lives with her children, but lets hope to god not.

✨Location:

Going by this article, she might be serving her sentence in the Fraser Valley Institution for Women, or might just have had her parole hearings there. But apart from the prison she's in, she is most definitely doing her day parole in the lower mainland of BC, from the looks of her instagram she hangs around Surrey and Langley.

----------

To end this PSA, if you ever do visit our city and are intrigued by this case as a true crime story enthusiast, I urge you to not come to the Gorge where Reena lost her life at in interest/excitement, but come with the intention of paying your respects and give a thought on just how far teen bullying can go, and how you yourself can advocate for it not to get to that point. Whether it be awareness, talking to your kids about speaking up or advocating for public discussion.

And if Kerry ever sees this: we will never let you have peace. You get no peace for your acts, and we will never. fucking. forget.

[afternoonhorror]

LIBRARY STACK! I just finished The Rules of Magic and lemme tell ya, read it only if you love crying!

[spockvarietyhour]

Victoria Bridge, etching, 19th Century

[travelmanposts]

Princes Bridge, Melbourne, Australia: Princes Bridge, originally Prince's Bridge, is a bridge in central Melbourne, Australia that spans the Yarra River. It is built on the site of one of the oldest river crossings in the city, and forms a gateway into the central city from the south. The bridge connects Swanston Street on the north bank of the Yarra River to St Kilda Road on the south bank, and carries road, tram and pedestrian traffic. The present bridge was built in 1888 and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. Wikipedia

[galleryofart]

Venice

Artist: William Callow (English, 1812-1908)

Date: 1843 or 1863

Medium: Watercolour over traces of pencil touched with body colour

Collection: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

[td-tbbg-official]

“ come cry to me, baby, cry to me, pretty baby cry to me that you’re born as someone you don’t want to be… ” – 4 Syllables, life of a woman

Back in the first days of Total Drama, you could not go a day without hearing someone call this contestant weird or off-putting in a way. Her poor hygiene, lack of social skills, and her habits of interrupting others to correct them on their mistakes quickly earned her a reputation that she couldn’t be proud of.

Despite this, she actually managed to make some friends on the show, and she fell for one girl in particular… who never saw her as more than a friend, despite kissing her once or twice. Ouch.

Now, she travels the world alongside three fellow former contestants. Their multi-genre band, 4 Syllables, is one of the most famous in the world, their concerts always being outsold minutes after the tickets go live. They’ve visited every continent and made sure everyone knows their name. Most importantly, they’ve shown a younger generation of queer people they can live in pride of who they are.

Fans of TDI and 4 Syllables alike will be happy to hear that our next contestant is… Victoria Meredith Laurel Alice McGrady V! Or Vickie for short… Jeez, that girl’s name is a mouthful.

“I figure everyone will be saying this, but I’m over the show, and I don’t want to come back. I’m more than happy as I am; touring the world with Cody, Trent and Justin, who have become my family, in a sense… But, of course, you’ll need the ratings, won’t you, Chris? And what better member of 4S to have on the show than the publicly trans woman? I mean, I guess the publicly trans man would do, too, but you love the shock, don’t you? You were always the most childish of us all, despite our younger age than yours…

“Well, anyways, I suppose I can come back. There’s not much harm in it… I’m still as skilled yet awkward as I was in my teenage years; the fans will love that.

“Have I said how much I hate you, McLane? Because I really, really do. At least there’s a chance you’ve also decided to invite Leshawna back on... But I know she’ll want to be here even less than I do.”

How far will Vickie get? Only time will tell, here on Total Drama: The Bridge Between Generations!

coming soon to an AO3 near you.

questions, concerns, suggestions to be deposited in the ask box.

TD: TBBG is written by @canonically47. the blog is entirely run by the writer.

note: this AU features harold as a trans woman named vickie who uses she/her pronouns. please respect that and use her name and pronouns when referring to her.

for the type of music 4 Syllables would produce, visit this link!

“ your life is mine, your life is not yours your life is for me, to serve at my feet! so go on, die; go kill yourself in war, that’s the only way you’ll ever get a grave, pretty boy! ” – 4 Syllables, Spartan Education

[bonkobarnes]

After much thought this is how I want Cam and Becca’s storyline to end:

- they have their big blowout fight and then reconcile (not sure what either of those will look like)

- post trial becca starts over with her book, focused entirely on Reena. Ultimately decides to stay in Victoria for at least a couple more months

- cam gets a call from Vancouver, asking her to interview

- we don’t see Cam move away, but it’s heavily implied she’s leaving

- they never really talk about what it means for them, theres no grand gestures or hopes that the other will stay. There’s a silent acknowledgment of the love they have for each other

- Ultimately there is an understanding that now isn’t the right time, maybe there never will be and that’s okay. It doesn’t change what they have but maybe now it’s okay to move on

[abybweisse]

What do you think, who will be the final villains?

Maybe Queen Victoria will be a negative character in like in the anime?

Could London burn down like in the anime?

I've answered asks like this a few times.

Basically, I still expect the big bads to be Queen Victoria and John Brown, much like the queen and Ash Landers/Angela Blanc were in s1. But I doubt it would include London burning down.

I do, however, expect/hope that Tower Bridge is discussed as part of the reason the Phantomhives were attacked. Because I think that Vincent wasn't as helpful as the queen wanted when she asked for money and workers... and after the attack, the estate was relinquished to the crown, and she moved funds and people from the estate into the bridge project. Which points back to what our earl says (ch85) about how long it's taking to build the bridge -- that humans have priorities. I think that Vincent focused on other priorities, while the queen wanted all the needed resources for the bridge right away... since the bridge was historically dedicated to her dead husband, Prince Albert. There are other clues about this, like the timeline itself for the bridge project in the manga (ch85 again, see below), as well as Vincent saying (ch132) that bridges and ditches take a lot of money and help (manpower).

Sebastian points out in ch85 that the project plans were approved around when the earl was born, so 1875. Then he says construction didn't actually start until 3 years ago. This discussion is in 1889, so construction started in 1886. Well, the twins were born in 1875, and Vincent's priorities were his pregnant wife, the expected child, and their estate's prosperity. The attack happens December 14, 1885, and the demon contract is made ~Jan 20, 1886. Then construction "magically" begins around the time that our earl is working to regain the estate under the Phantomhive name. Vincent had previously (ch132 again) warned Francis/Frances that if he didn't have an heir who could run the estate, they might have to relinquish the property to the crown. That's exactly what happens between the attack itself and our earl officially becoming Earl Phantomhive. Our earl officially gets the earl title on March 17, 1886 (ch63). In the letter the queen sends to our earl, she even confirms that the estate and title were in her hands until it could be returned to the Phantomhives (or bequeathed to another family).

Though there is probably more than one reason for the attack on the Phantomhive family, I theorize that a big part of it is essentially a money (and labor) grab by the queen.

[lobotomologist]

Sorry if this is stupid to ask but I saw your post about under the bridge and I’m confused…. Is the town on the show where it takes place a made up place? Or is it like a suburb outside of Victoria? Sorry, dumb American here who got D’s in geography…

It's real - there's multiple municipalities inside of Victoria, which is a city at the southern tip of Vancouver Island. The murder of Reena Virk happened around View Royal (neighborhood in Victoria), and her body was discovered in the Gorge waterway closer to Downtown Victoria.

Saanich is the largest municipality in Victoria - that's why Cam's badge says "Saanich Police Department." That confused me at first, since Reena's body was discovered in an area that would have made it Vic PD's jurisdiction - but if her missing persons complaint was filed in Saanich, that makes sense.

What the show gets wrong is the population of Victoria. In the 90s, just over 300,000 people lived there year-round, making it a small city by Canadian standards, definately not a small town. Even Saanich, the municipality Cam lives in, is the University District, meaning it would be largely populated by families who owned property in the area, and college students who rent there.

TL;DR: the entire southern peninsula (below) is Victoria. Saanich, View Royal, Esquimalt, and Oak Bay are municipalities (neighborhoods) within Victoria.

You can actually see the Craigflower Bridge (which we see in the show) on the map, which is getting pretty close to Metro Victoria - it's right near the largest shopping mall in Victoria in the 90s.

Anyway, all this to say - yes, Victoria, and Saanich are both real - but they're a lot more Metro than the show represents.

EDIT;

Adding to this post - Victoria is only the southern tip of the island. Here's Vancouver Island:

The island is larger than several US states for reference. And for the Europeans, it's about the size of Belgium and separate from the mainland of BC by the length of the english channel. It's BIG. Just under a million people live on the island, mostly on the southern half surrounding Victoria and Nanaimo - which is also a city.