#originally that was marcel but he's not IN this tl

[saltspill]

Vinny

Vincent wasn't always a vampire. Once upon a time, the viney vamp was a Fairy Prince.

He grew up only a few years older than his younger brother Oliver, a Star Child. And though they were inseparable best friends as children, Vincent started to get jealous as they grew up. He hated the thought of fighting and killing. He watched Oliver study instruments, paint, and arrange flowers, and he cursed at the calluses that sword training left on his own delicate hands.

Ultimately, that jealousy would push the two apart. Vincent would be shipped out of Capitol before Oliver's ceremonial sacrifice, before ever getting to apologize or say good bye.

Though leading an army didn't appeal to him whatsoever, traveling and exploring did. Vinny would quickly become popular in any town their battalion passed through, with his charming personality, royal wealth and influence, and bright red hair. He'd spend many nights with many lovers, finding a hobby in sex.

Until he met a woman who made him realize there might be more to life. Who talked about adventures and romance in the same breath, who liked him for his smile more than his status. Who convinced him to defect when it came time to move on.

Vincent really loved her. He wanted to do right by her so badly. But one single night, he caught the eye of another man across the bar and fell into an ugly old habit. The next morning, he knew he couldn't hide the deep, bloody wound on his neck, or the bruises across his body. And it didn't help that he didn't know exactly how vampirism worked, being led to believe he had already been turned, or at least become dependent on this other man's blood to live. And so he made the worst decision of his life, to run away again.

It wasn't a good relationship, it was baddddd. And when Vincent finally tried to leave, he was attacked and left for dead in a patch of thorny wild roses as the sun rose. As his blood soaked into the soil, he couldn't help but remember the rose bushes in the castle gardens, where he used to play with Oliver...

The next evening, Vincent woke under a shelter made of giant, thorny vines growing up over him, shielding him from the sun's bright rays. He had survived the attack, but his bright red hair had dulled to pink, his ethereal wings were gone, and his teeth ached and craved for blood.

It would take him a while to figure out his situation. Though his actual magical ability was gone, he had a new, innate connection to nature. He would stay in hiding in the woods for a few weeks, hunting small animals to sustain himself, a far cry from the luxurious meals he enjoyed as a Prince.

During that time he would stumble across a terrified, barely clothed sylph on the run from a deranged circus and decide to travel towards Capitol together

[iamyouknow-yours]

Marcel is a Mikaelson. He does not have to call himself a Mikaelson as he is fully within his rights to denounce the very toxic family but he is one.

I hate the way the show treated him, I hate the way the characters treated him, and I hate that he is involved with Rebekah. I hate the way he and Hope are only kinda sorta siblings.

1. The show:

So we know Julie Plec is very much a white liberal. We know this. We know she has sexism issues, we know she has racism issues (black women will save us all, really Julie????). I don't know which of her multitude of biases made her (and the rest of the writers) think that the way they wrote Marcel and the Mikaelson's relationships with him, was normal (or like normal in the context of the show). But boy howdy.

The plantation house. We're just going to have the Mikaelsons move into the house where Marcel was owned as a slave????? That's what we're gonna do?????? And where his abusive biological father lived and y'know, abused him. Fucking what the fuck?? I feel like this just epitomises the way the show treats Marcel.

2. The characters:

The family never treats him as part of the family unless they want something from him.

They did not raise him as a son and it is weird and terrible and he was a child!!!!! Why did you adopt him if you didn't want a child???

Why is Klaus so scared of having Hope if he's already had a child?

Why does Klaus treat Marcel the exact same way Mikael treated him just because they're not blood related?? (if they actually explored this it could have been interesting but no they just only half treat Marcel as a Mikaelson).

YOU'RE TELLING ME THEY DIDN'T CHECK?? THEY DIDN'T CHECK HE WAS DEAD????? Not once in the 80+ years did Klaus or Elijah go back to New Orleans or even send someone to fucking check that his SON was really dead??? Didn't think to do that???? No???

3. Rebekah:

Oh my god what do I even say about Rebekah?

They could have at least made her be daggered for the time when he was a child and only meet him when he was already an adult and a vampire because that way she's only technically his aunt and not a full fucking adult who saw him grow up!!!!!!!!

Hope:

Idk man, they were siblings. Let them be siblings. The whole thing in Legacies where the Mikaelsons just kind of left Hope alone? Weird. Bonkers. Batshit. I know it's because they couldn't get the actors but maybe think about that before writing your fucking show my guy.

Or in TO where Hope was just left alone and Klaus was not there as a dad for like 5(?) years.

Hayley was the only good parent on The Originals or Legacies canon, fight me.

(side note, you're telling me Caroline would leave Alaric, Alaric, an alcoholic, vampire-hating, weirdo (Caroline and Alaric being romantically involved briefly WAS WEIRD GUYS, WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK HE USED TO BE HER FUCKING TEACHER) in charge of the school for supernatural children??

You're telling me she left him in charge of parenting Lizzie and Josie?? Yeah okay sure.

And look how well that turned out. Locking teenagers in goddamn prison worlds, excellent headmastering there Alaric well done. And just swell parenting of the twins. Favouring Hope over them at all times and letting them bully each other weirdly for years and allowing your mentally ill children to just get more mentally ill from your parenting. Great moves. Very good.

Okay Legacies rant over)

Yeah okay my whole rant is over I think.

TL;DR: Marcel deserved better.

(and so did the kids on Legacies.)

Also PSA, the only reason I have so many feelings about this is because I like the freaking shows okay? I like the characters (except Alaric and Damon and the ones we're supposed to dislike like Mikael and Esther).

[anavi-vrg]

My thoughts on my Day 5's drawings

Day 5 & 6 original post: 🌸

Man, Day 5 and 6 hit me in the feels a little bit too hard, that quote killed me

And meanwhile the Day 5 speedpaint is exporting, i'm going to write some of my thoughts on the individual illustrations that i did for this day.

First of all i wanted to draw every UU character that appeared in this arc at least once.

Have you seen Chikara's school?! it's so fucking big! There's no way Feng was the only P.E. teacher there, i have been in very small schools and they had at least 2. So i wanted to draw some of my ocs, that even though they aren't really average in terms of physical power, just seeing the absolute insanity that is Feng. I tried to make the illusion of a movement so fast, that Chikara's camera couldn't catch it without some blurring, like in Dr. Stone when Kohaku's movement always comes out blurry bcs she's that fast. (from left to right, the short version of the ocs' names are: Mari, Petra, Addler Xia and Lud)

2. i just wanted an excuse to draw Fuuko and Gina with my two most wholesome, nature-loving ocs (An and Marcel), Gina was meant to appear in this one and a ninth drawing, but Gina's presence just wasn't there, i looked at my sketch and thought "this is not Gina, she's not here"

3. UU science couple with my ocs' science team (left to right: Are {i hate his name, i need to change it}, Paula, Saulo and Todd), i feel that i didn't do justice to Nico and Ichico looking very ghostly with that skin color, i had to wing it based on the colored pages, also i felt that i was disrespecting both of them with that robot, but i still finished it, i'm in too deep to back down.

4. it's impossible that Sean didn't goof around some clubs, he's an actor, he had visited the music and drama club at least once, so i just put my most music related ocs in the place of the teachers in charge of them, Christi would have really loved to goof around.

5. I didn't know what to do with Billy, but i imagined that at least some teachers and students would have a crush for him, so i just put Mari for that role, Tella definetly used Untell on her so she can't get near Billy.

6. Grandpa Isshin! i originally wanted to draw both Isshins in the context of a school daycare, Grandpa Isshin and some teachers that have kids, picking their respective kids. But i wanted the spotlight on these two, so i scraped the idea. There was a point were i was overthinking Grandpa Isshin's eyebrows and how it reminded me of my late Grandpa's eyebrows, almost cried at that one.

7. Same as Feng but with Mui, also made Xia come back after she fainted with Feng, i felt incredibly cursed by Shen's presence in my canvas, after seeing the things i saw in my TL on twitter, i couldn't see Shen without thinking about it, so in the speedpaint there's a section where i put my refences and the characters specific colors from the anime, except for Shen, i stopped the recording bcs i felt cursed to have the anime reference in my canvas)

8. Drama club! also Chikara is here, maybe acting will help him with his Unmove, this one has the cursed unshaded eyes in the speedpaint, everytime i looked at their eyes i remembered @tadpolebobatea, once the speedpaint is ready i will curse all of you with the unshaded eyes.

[chicago-geniza]

- Some background here is I’m in a Facebook group called “Secesja” that posts pictures of Jugendstil and Secessionstil design from that period. It’s moderated but members are allowed to post. This is nice because people upload pics of, e.g., architecture from their towns, family heirlooms, museum objects, etc.

- Today someone uploaded this:

- It is clearly one of the many “Tiffany-style” knockoff lamps you see proliferating in “shabby chic” chain boutiques like mushrooms after rain. However, this design rips off a specific lamp by Philippe Wolfers, “La Fée au Pavon,” first shown at Salon National des Beaux-Arts 

- He did work for Tiffany! He was Belgian, he and his brother Marcel were instrumental in creating the Jugendstil ~aesthetic for interiors and accessories and accoutrements in general, especially jewellery. Real Nouveau hours, fluid lines, floral shapes, those fanciful fin-de-siècle “secret garden” motifs that intersected with the fad for all things mystical and mysterious (see: fin-de-siecle Orientalism)–peacock feathers, butterfly wings, flower petals, fairies, those opalescent droplet pendants with structured silver “streams” flowing toward their “source,” like a fey diadem repurposed to adorn the throat 

- Anyway I just did some translation work for a company that works with Palazzo INT in Germany and this is from their catalogue lol

- Moreover you can see from the cast that it’s either pure resin or polystone with a painted finish, it is not from the early 1900s

  - Here is the original lamp, and its sketch [source I found cites the sketch as a scan from Jugendstil by Gabriele Fahr-Becker]

- Tl;dr please be more rigorous in vetting the images you post and pass off as authentic Secession-era design, administrators of my “Secesja” Facebook group! It doesn’t have to be a peer review process but we must have some community standards, we cannot operate on pure vibes!

- Yes my grandmother was an antiques dealer who put me to work doing inventory in lieu of babysitting yes I am on the autism spectrum and also specifically obsessed with turn-of-the-century decor. Sorry :(

- Also lol at the fact that they put clothes on her. Free the titty

[skyhawkstragedy]

okay so i finally managed to hop on to this tiermaker business, credits to @nerdphobic for the template!

Alyssa: Not really sure what to think of her, she’s giving me Angela/Rachel BB20 vibes so can’t really put her any higher, hoping she’s a bit more decent than the other two

Azah: Honestly I have a feeling that she’s either gonna be a staple or a huge disappointment gameplay-wise. Maybe soon I’ll understand the overwhelming hype but idk for pre-season. To the great pile she goes.

Brent: He’s got the Cody face with the Tommy charm. Right now that’s not a problem... someday it will be.

Britini: Idk her bio gives me tryhard vibes, like idk you can’t do EVERYTHING 🙄probably the only thing keeping her from MOR status tbh

Christian: Every single year there’s always this one person that I just have a bad feeling about, I had that with Tyler and Jack and I wanna see if that goes through once more. Sorry bro you’re the one with those vibes.

Christie: Giving me Rockstar vibes kinda but probably will be a fraction as iconic.

Derek F.: LOVE HIM LOVE HIM LOVE HIM. Honestly giving me Ricky Williams vibes and I liked Ricky so I have high hopes for him.

Derek X.: Definitely gives me “charming best friend that becomes a pawn week one” vibes. But one to look out for. I’ve learned not to discount people after BB21.

Frenchie: Has low lows (bc being a part of stan Twitter is cringe in itself) but some pretty high highs (Rachel’s hair extensions lmaooooo). Per the rules of equilibrium he lands in the middle tier.

Hannah: DEFO the Haleigh/Bayleigh of the season, INSTANT fave.

Kyland: Seems decent enough on paper but I do agree that he gives off “token black friend” vibes. Makes me scared that he’ll end up in an alliance with someone like Travis and get caught in his bs. MOR for now but he could surprise me. I like a movie nerd.

Sarah: Seems sweet enough, but definitely the most middling person in this cast list.

Tiffany: Another one that became an instant fave. I can overlook her poor choice in duos bc her potential to do well is MASSIVE. Do NOT sleep on her, people.

Travis: This man is a Class A AIRHEAD. He’ll probably be Brett but worse. Body can only get you so far my dude

Whitney: Don’t trust her, NEXT

Xavier: oof this guy is GORGEOUS 💗gives me Marcel from The Originals vibes, could also be a FORCE in the game so definitely excited for him

tl;dr I just want this to either be a giant improvement from the last two seasons. even something of bb20 caliber will be acceptable. at the very least give me another twitch streamer

[aeruthien]

Wonder... about your thoughts on Kleya? Klaus & Freya.

I love Kleya, especially in late s2 and early s3. After that, their relation became stagnant, and most of their interactions became plot related, so that’s a shame.

But they had a lot of great moments, which I have partly listed in this post about Freya, but I am happy to talk about them again.

Klaus was highly suspicious of Freya in s2, which was fair. In a way, Freya was a lot like Klaus before Hope entered the picture. Lost, afraid, trusting only him/herself. While Freya did want to join the family, her main goal was freeing herself of Dahlia, and she was willing to go very far to reach that goal. Klaus of course, recognizes this. He says as much to Elijah and Rebekah: 'simple, that's what I would do.'

But it also works the other way round. When Freya went into Klaus' mind, she saw his insecurities, and she immediately tapped on to them. That speech in the bar? "The voice that whispers, 'Why am I all alone?'" It works for both of them, and it hurts.

Interestingly, they were shaped very differently in response to being betrayed by their parents. Freya has painted an ideal picture of her other siblings in her mind, especially Finn and Elijah, and she holds on desperately to that image. Klaus, on the other hand, will always doubt the love his siblings have for him. He doesn't see his family as a strength, but also as a weakness.

While they were similar, they also didn’t truly consider the pain of the other, because they were to blinded by what happened to themselves. They both saw each other’s pain as an excuse. But in the moment when Klaus is daggered, and Freya tries to kill him with the white oak stake but he stops her just in time, seeing her crying? That’s when they both truly understood each other.

Klaus even added her into his 'grand plan' of having his Sisters look after his child (which thankfully was shut down by Rebekah really quickly. Your Sisters are not instant nursemaids Klaus.)

I also love their interactions in early s3. The scene with Bradd/Brody? Gold. Their plan to distract Lucien and her pink outfit? So great.

But also that little moment with the post-its shows their growth, and it was really sweet.

And then of course Freya is captured by Aurora, and Klaus goes in search for her, and later reassure her that she is part of the family, while family is part of the prophecy. They could have reused the Klaus thinks his family will kill him because of the prophecy storyline but they didn’t and I am very grateful for that.

But sadly after mid s3 their interactions are more plot related. And they didn't have a lot of scenes in s4, and I don't remember s5 enough to talk about their relationship, but Klaus walking her down the isle with Elijah was very fitting.

All of this said, they don't inspire me as much as the other relationships on the show. Like I mentioned, their relationship was pretty solid from mid-s3 onwards, and it didn't change that much afterwards. And while I love Freya, she is also the most one-dimensional of the Original siblings. Her character only started to evolve when she met Keelin, which was also the time where she didn't have many scenes with Klaus. Not to sound like a broken record, but s4 and s5? Yeah...

Now I really wish Keelin was introduced in s3. Then the tension between Freya falling in love with this wonderful werewolf woman and her desperately trying to stop the prophecy would hold far more weight than the stuff we got in s4.

Also, I found it strange that Freya spend so much time with Hope in s5, even more so than Hayley and Klaus, and Klaus never seemed to mind that much if I remember correctly, except that he of course wanted to be with Hope himself. At some point, Freya seemed more of a parent to Hope than her ACTUAL parents. And then Legacy comes around and Freya is nowhere to be seen, because they wanted to push the Sad Orphan Hope TM backstory, even though Kol, Marcel, Freya, Rebekah and Keelin are sitting just outside of frame with popcorn going, Wait Centaurs Exist? What The Hell?

So tl;dr: I love Kleya, when they actually have meaningful interactions like in s2-early s3, but they get overshadowed by the other relationships, like Freelin, Klarcel, Klebekah, Freylijah, Freya x Finn. So basically, my only complaint is that I wanted more of them, lol.

[princeescaluswords]

Fanfiction would have you think Stiles (and Peter) are the only sources of supernatural info when in fact, Alan Deaton is more knowledgeable than both of them and centuries old Noshiko Yukimura is right there with a vast wealth of experience. But, that would require they include characters of color. Also, Deaton is demonized for ~hoarding~ secrets but Peter doing the same means he's a cool, pragmatic chess master keeping his hard earned knowledge safe

It always seems like I come back to the same points, over and over again, but then again, if the shoe fits, wear it.  

Fandom is just a subset of the United States viewing public, which has become accustomed after eight decades of visual media to being able to have certain expectations of characters.  One of those expectations is that mentor figures exist to provide exposition and education for the protagonists.  When they choose not to provide that information, it’s a sign that things are going on behind the scenes or perhaps the relationship between mentor and protagonist have shifted.   

As an example to think about if you’ve seen the show, Giles’ and Buffy’s relationship on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.   The Watcher’s Council plot lines interfered and changed their relationship.  Jenny Calendar interfered and changed their relationship.  Yet, the general consensus was that Giles had a right to his own life and his own identity outside of Buffy.   

Alan Deaton doesn’t get that privilege.  The individual identities and motivations of characters of color (especially black characters – I can’t help thinking about how fandom treated Bonnie in TVD and Marcel Gerard in The Originals, and I’m sure you can think of others) are not permitted to interfere with their roles within the narrative.  That Deaton had his own code of behavior and made his own decisions about how and when he would help made him automatically suspect.  Fandom can’t even comprehend the idea that Deaton didn’t know everything, because if he didn’t, why was he even there?

Whereas going against the established roles in a story is what makes white characters interesting – the fact that Stiles occupies the sidekick role but doesn’t conform to established tropes is one of the reasons that he’s so fascinating to some people – characters of color who do the same immediately become suspicious.  And if they do conform to their established roles in the narrative – such as Mason did – they’re invisible.  

This is part of fandom’s rage against Scott.  He wasn’t supposed to be the protagonist in the first place, and then he refused to conform to the standard tropes that a horror protagonist must follow – the most important of which that he would put away his childish morality and join the ranks of the blood-soaked anti-heroes – and instead made his own standards of behavior and heroism.   

Let me propose it a different way.  Say in Season 4, Scott needed to take the full alpha shift (which he subconsciously did in Monstrous) to defeat Kate but he couldn’t manage it.  If Peter, who had taken, as you observed, a position of mentor, had volunteered to help Scott achieve the full shift without betraying him, working with him without profiting and without humiliating Scott, fandom would have been outraged.  They could not see Peter doing anything for Scott without benefit or allowing him to gain revenge on Scott, because Peter’s shallowness, selfishness and pettiness are well established.  Peter was an ally after Season 3, but he had the right to resent Scott for thwarting his revenge and he even has the right – according to fandom – to resent Scott for being an alpha.   Even if Scott is the protagonist and Peter is no longer a villain, Peter doesn’t have to like or help Scott.

Yet, that’s exactly what they expect from Deaton.   Deaton is supposed to spit out wisdom and help like a vending machine without regard for history or character.  People propose that Peter has a right to be angry because Laura and Derek left him behind, but it doesn’t even occur to them that Deaton was left behind, too.  Deaton, we learned, loved Talia, and he knew Laura.  Why isn’t the same sort of sympathy applied there?  You know why.  Why, when making assumptions about how mean Talia was to Peter, did no one remember that Talia probably told Deaton all about Paige, so Deaton understood exactly what Peter’s relationship with Derek was like. (Deaton: “He’s gonna come at you, Derek. He’ll try to twist his way inside your head, preying on your insecurities. He’ll tell you that he’s the only way you can stop Gerard. Do not trust him.”)

Fandom has proposed that the only reason Peter violated Scott’s mind in Co-Captain was because of Scott’s comment in Magic Bullet, but Deaton is supposed to forget that his first meeting with Derek was when Derek broke into his back room, smacked him around, and kidnapped him.   Deaton is supposed to put aside the fact that Peter lured Laura to Beacon Hills and murdered her for his revenge.

TL;DR:   United States viewing audiences see white characters as individual entities with their own motivations and experiences, and thus see those characters departing from pre-established roles as interesting and enlightening.  The motivations and experiences of characters of color are seen as irrelevant, so if they depart from their established roles, the reason must be sinister.

[spy-in-the-house]

SpyInTheHouse/ 674.fm _ podcast 016 _ 09242018

One more wild all-vinyl ride by Claus Bachor (and so hosted by Psycho Thrill Cologne) through all different Electronica genres like HiTech-Jazz, House, Techno, Industrial, Breaks, Electro/HiTech Funk, Detroit, Chicago and Acid as the he first SpyInTheHouse 2018 fall-edition. Live recorded and streamed on September 24th, 2018 via 674.fm broadcast in Cologne/GER from 19-22:00 cet. FULL TRACK LISTING 00 PINK FLOYD [DAVID GILMOUR, NICK MASON, RICHARD WRIGHT, ROGER WATERS, SYD BARRETT]: Shine On You Crazy Diamond (1-2) [ A1/2-track(s) from “Wish You Were Here” Harvest SHVL-814 UK Album | 1975 ] 01 SPIRAL DELUXE [GERALD MITCHELL, JEFF MILLS, KENJI HINO, YUMKO OHNO]: E=MC² [ A-side from “Voodoo Magic” Axis AX-076/ Axis Audiophile Series 2xUS 12" | 2018 ] 02 THOMAS FEHLMANN/TERRENCE DIXON: Dreaming Of Packard [ A-side from “We Take It From Here” Tresor TRESOR-302 US 12" | 2018 ] 03 SPIRAL DELUXE [GERALD MITCHELL, JEFF MILLS, KENJI HINO, YUMKO OHNO]: The Paris Roulette [ B2-track from “Voodoo Magic” Axis AX-076/ Axis Audiophile Series 2xUS 12" | 2018 ] 04 MOLLISON FOLSON & SEAN TATE: Is It Because I’m Black _ Godson’s [RICK WILHITE] Flip Mix [ D-side from “The Godson IV” Mahogani Music MM-042 US 2x12" | 2018 ] 05 MODEL 500 [JUAN ATKINS]: Neptune [ B-side from “Sonic Sunset” R & S Records RS-94043 BEL 12" | 1994 ] 06 RICK WILHITE: Xanadu 3.0 [ A-side from “The Godson IV” Mahogani Music MM-042 US 2x12" | 2018 ] 07 SPIRAL DELUXE [GERALD MITCHELL, JEFF MILLS, KENJI HINO, YUMKO OHNO]: Let It Go _ Terrence Parker Mix [ D-side from “Voodoo Magic” Axis AX-076/ Axis Audiophile Series 2xUS 12" | 2018 ] 08 CAB DRIVERS [DANIEL PAUL & JENS AUGUSTOWSKY]: Holiday Time [ A-side from Cabinet Records Cab-53 GER 12" | 2018 ] 09 DRIVETRAIN [DERRICK THOMPSON]: Lozen [ A1-track from “Plexity” Soiree Rec. Int. SRT-170 US Test-12" | 2018 ] 10 THOMAS BARNETT: Overlords [ R-side from “FOUR313” Four313 The Label TL-001 US 2x12" | 2017 ] 11 TEKNOBRAT [THOMAS STEPIEN]: Relapse [ A2-track from “Plexity” Soiree Rec. Int. SRT-170 US Test-12" | 2018 ]   12 THOMAS BARNETT: The Original Day _ Original Dub mixed by Chez Damier [ B2-track from “Nude Photo The Official Release” Final Sessions FSL-006 US 12" | 2018 ] 13 MARK FLASH [MARKUS LOVELESS]: Elmwood Park [ A2-track from “Corktown EP” Elypsia ELY-06012 BEL 12" | 2018 ] 14 SCAN 7 [TRACKMASTA LOU ROBINSON]: He's Able [ B1-track from “Test Of Time EP” Transmat MS-087 US 12" | 2018 ] 15 MARK FLASH [MARKUS LOVELESS]: Kairad [ B1-track from “Corktown EP” Elypsia ELY-06012 BEL 12" | 2018 ] 16 ORLANDO VOORN: Waveforms Ahead _ Gary G’s Incoming Menace Mix [ A2-track from “Waveforms Ahead” Body Works #2 US 12" | 2018 ] 17 BIRD OF PARADISE [JO HOWARD]: Alone Again _ Steve Legget Dub [ A-side from “RV Trax” R&S Records RSRV-001 BEL 12" | 2018 ] 18 MARTYN [Martijn Deijkers]: Cutting Tone [ C2-track from “Voids” Ostgut Ton LP-029 / Kompakt GER 12" | 2018 ] 19 KECKCLIP [DENON RIKTUS]: Vesicle Interferon [ B-side from “unionmaide 2” Unionmaide Records UM-002 UK 12" | 2016 ] 21 PETTER B [PETTER BÖRGESSON]: Higher Thirds [ B2-track from “Unconfined EP” Bond-011 SWE 12" | 2017 ] 22 DIE GESTALTEN [HENNI HELL, JAN-KRISTOF LIPP, LARS BORGEFELD, MARKUS HOLLMANN-LOGES]: Der Aufstand [ A-side from “Der Aufstand” DIEGESTALTEN-001 12" | 2018 ] 23 AQUANAUTS [BILEEBOB, LAMONT NORWOOD, MILTON BALDWIN]: Cruiseship Killa [ A-side from “UR presents Aquanauts II” Underground Resistance UR7-056 / Submerge US 7" | 2005 ] 24 AQUANAUTS: Relentless _ Xpect No Mercy Mix [ A-side from “UR presents Aquanauts I” Underground Resistance UR7-060 / Submerge US 7" | 2003 ] 25 DJ SKURGE [MILTON BALDWIN]: Slide Skate [ A-side from “Slide Skate / The Time Haters” Underground Resistance UR7-064 / Submerge US 7" | 2005 ] 26 AQUANAUTS: Bubble Beats [ B-side from “UR presents Aquanauts I” Underground Resistance UR7-060 / Submerge US 7" | 2003 ] 27 DEREK CARR: Nauvoo [ C1-track from “Contact” Subwax Excursions SUBWAX E-X-C-LP003 ESP 2x12" | 2018 ] 28 DJ BONE [ERIC DULAN]: Lectronimo [ E2-track from “A Piece Of Beyond” Subject Detroit ‎SUB 044 US 3x12" | 2018 ] 29 KILLAWATT [MATTHEW WATT]: The Roamer [ A2-track from “47 016” 47-016 GER 12" | 2018 ] 30 MARK FLASH: Corktown Groove [ A1-track from “Corktown EP” Elypsia ELY-06012 BEL 12" | 2018 ] 31 DJ BONE: All My Heart [ C2-track from “A Piece Of Beyond” Subject Detroit ‎SUB 044 US 3x12" | 2018 ] 32 SRVD [MATT EDWARDS & PATRICK MASON]: Elevate _ Extended Mix [ A1-track from “Elevate” REKIDS ‎REKIDS-124 UK 12" | 2018 ] 33 DJ BONE: Sweat [ D1-track from “A Piece Of Beyond” Subject Detroit ‎SUB 044 US 3x12" | 2018 ] 34 MARCEL DETTMANN: Metalloid [ D-side from “Test File” Ostgut Ton ‎O-ton-114 / Kompakt GER 2x12" | 2018 ] 35 DJ BONE: Dreamers 9 [ C1-track from “A Piece Of Beyond” Subject Detroit ‎SUB 044 US 3x12" | 2018 ] 36 THOMAS FEHLMANN/TERRENCE DIXON: Strings In Space [ C-side from “We Take It From Here” Tresor TRESOR-302 US 12" | 2018 ] 37 FLUG [SEBASTIÁN LOPEZ]: Rave _ Original Mix [ A1-track from “Rave” Suara ‎SUARA-315 ESP 12" | 2018 ] 38 LOCKERTMATIK [STEPHAN SCHINDLER]: Lock 10.1 [ A1-track from “Ten” Lockertmatik 010 GER Promo-12" | 2018 ] 39 PERM [Stefan Schmidt-Dichte]: Untitled A1 [ A1-track from Shtum 008 GER 12" | 2015 ] 40 ANAXY [THOMAS ECKHARDT]: Lock 10.3 [ B1-track from “Ten” Lockertmatik 010 GER Promo-12" | 2018 ] 41 THE FLAT EARTH [THE DETROIT UNDERGROUND]: Mutual Suspicion _ "Decline"/ Radio Mix [ B1-track from “Mutual Suspicion” Rhythm Tech Records RT-0100 US 12" | 1989 ] 42 FINAL CUT [ANTHONY SROCK, GREG LUCAS, JEFF MILLS, JOSEPH LAFATA, MAX EDGIN, VAN CHRISTIE]: I Told You Not To Stop [ B3-track from “Deep In 2 The Cut” Full Effect Records FE0-700 US 12" | 1989 ] 43 THE FLAT EARTH: Mutual Suspicion _ Dix Mix [ B2-track from “Mutual Suspicion” Rhythm Tech Records RT-0100 US 12" | 1989 ] 44 INHABITANTS: Mut11 [ A1-track from “Mutations Volume II” Tachyon Audio TAC002 / Complete US Promo-12" | 2018 ] 45 PROTOTYPE 909 [DIETRICH SCHOENEMANN, JASON SZOSTEK, TAYLOR DEUPREE]: Anoise_NYC [ B2-track from “Outabeta EP” Schmer ‎schmer-012 / Complete US Promo-12" | 2018 ] 45 INHABITANTS: Mut1 [ B1-track from “Mutations Volume II” Tachyon Audio TAC002 / Complete US Promo-12" | 2018 ] 46 RUSH PLUS: Sweat [ B1-track from “The Sweat EP” E-MISSIONS EMS-005 / Complete US Promo-12" | 2018 ] 47 ANDRÉ KRONERT: The Trip _ re-mastered [ Odd Even ODDEVENONE-01 Decks GER ss-12" | 2018 ] 48 MARCELL DETTMANN: Error (1st Take) [ C2-track from “Test File” Ostgut Ton ‎O-ton-114 / Kompakt GER 2x12" | 2018 ] 49 DESERT SOUND COLONY [DSC]: Fast Life [ A1-track from “Fast Life” Touch From A Distance TFAD-001 GER 12" | 2018 ] 50 H2H [CHEZ DAMIER / BEN VEDREN]: Les Perdre _ The Demo Mix [ A-side from “Les Perdre / Thomas Barnett Mixes” Balance Import Promo 018 FRA 12" | 2018 ] 51 DELANO SMITH: They're Coming [ A-side from “They're Coming / Safe Place” Mixmode 013 US 12" | 2018 ] // 674.fm _ video-stream parts ONE & TWO

[hithelleth]

The Originals 5 x 10 “There in the Disappearing Light”

I knew that a) the poignant title and b) JP’s tweet about this one hurting meant nothing good. (Well, there were some good things, but still.)

(There was also DG tweeting about a bunch of JM’s scenes being removed for quality/dignity and not by his choice. LOL. I’m gonna miss this cast and their shenanigans if nothing else. ;))

So, to the episode.

Obviously, violence therapy via hurting Klaus didn’t help Hope since it wasn’t not him she wanted to hurt, so Klaus obligingly wen to get Roman whom Antoinette had under guard, though that of course didn’t stop Klaus.

He then proceeded to advise her on torture techniques to maximise the effect, but she sent him away, not wanting him to watch her become a monster, I guess. Roman seemed to be really sorry and didn’t even plead for his life.

Of course, Antoinette turned to Elijah to save her little brother and Elijah raised the concerns of Hope’s humanity as well as triggering her werewolf gene with Klaus to no avail – but I think it was good/important that it was Hope’s own choice not to kill Roman as she realised that she couldn’t do it – so he and Antoinette coined a plot to give Hope another target for her rage and lured the Nazi vamps into a trap in the church under the guise of waging war against the ‘abominations’ where Hope screamed everyone dead.

(Oh, me of little faith, for a moment there I feared Elijah would truly side with Emmet & co. in the beginning. Fortunately, it didn’t happen.)

Unfortunately, not soon enough.

Namely, meanwhile Marcel was investigating what Emmet was up to and got caught into a trap by his witch and Emmet extracted his venom from him to use it against the Mikaelsons.

Josh, who had a new admirer, came to the rescue after seeing his voice mail, but got stabbed with a syringe straight in the heart and died. I fucking can’t even. I cried through anger. At least we saw him meeting Aiden in the afterlife, but still. GRRR.

(Although, since vampires/supernatural creatures now go to the afterlife, I guess they can also be brought back. Like Hayley? Come on?)

(Although (2), I don’t even know what they are doing with the mythology on this show anymore, it’s gone completely WTF.)

Speaking of mythology and death, Ivy and the witches woke up because they had vampire blood in their systems. How, I have no idea. Maybe they didn’t die right after being poisoned and Elijah made a generous donation? Although wouldn’t that have cured them and prevented them from dying altogether? Or had Vincent (?) sneaked it into their celebratory/ceremonial drinks beforehand?

Whatever, it doesn’t matter; the whole thing was a completely unnecessary recycling of the whole dilemma on whether or not to go through the transition and so we could watch Ivy die twice because she didn’t want to transition. That, and to add a new spin on mythology with the so-called ancestral well that fuels NOLA’s witches’ magic, but the ancestors live in limbo – albeit Ivy had visions of witch paradise, so Vincent found a way to release the ancestor’s from the well and, I guess, made her visions possible before she died, but it changed the nature of magic, which the witches will now draw from the earth itself.

What a mess, but I don’t even care.

Anyway, there was also Declan, struggling with his ‘black outs’ and partial memories (not compelled that well, I guess) and worrying whether he was going crazy like Sean and Kieran and thinking about getting answers in their journals – against Josh’s advice to leave it alone – which he was retrieving from the church and got caught up in Hope’s death rage blast.

Fortunately, Klaus felt benevolent and gave him his blood, so he lived. But his companion wasn’t so lucky and died, which triggered Hope’s werewolf gene after all.

Before that, Hope and Roman had a heart-to-heart about their families and sorrows and being alike and she cried on his shoulder and so on. Well, I guess, it’s nice they are kinda friends?

Antoinette is off to hide in Shanghai.

Marcel didn’t tell Klaus about Josh yet and had his private commemoration instead.  

TL; DR: I liked that it was Hope’s choice not to kill Roman. And also that Elijah chose family after all and basically orchestrated Hope’s revenge (and his, perhaps) for Hayley and redeemed himself a little.

[papermoonloveslucy]

THE CARTERS MEET FRANKIE AVALON

S6;E11 ~ November 19, 1973

Directed by Coby Ruskin ~ Story by Fred S. Fox and Seaman Jacobs, Teleplay by Bob O'Brien

Synopsis

Lucy, Harry and Kim go to see Frankie Avalon perform and Kim is chosen from the audience to sing with him on stage. This leads to her performing in the nightclub's talent competition as Cher, with Avalon as her Sonny.  

Regular Cast

Lucille Ball (Lucy Carter), Gale Gordon (Harrison Otis Carter), Lucie Arnaz (Kim Carter)

Guest Cast

Frankie Avalon (Himself) was born in Philadelphia in 1939 as Francis Thomas Avallone. A recording star and musician, Avalon’s movie career took off when paired with Annette Funicello in Beach Party (1963) and its string of sequels. He played Teen Angel in Grease (1978) and considers “Beauty School Dropout” to be his most popular song.  He previously played Tommy Cheever (Bank president Mr. Cheever's son) in “Lucy and the Starmaker” (TLS S6;E4) on “The Lucy Show” in 1967.  

Vic Glazer (Vic, Conductor / Pianist) enjoyed a long career as an accomplished arranger, composer, pianist and Music Director for many well-known entertainers, which included long stints as Musical Director for Debbie Reynolds and Frankie Avalon. He traveled the world for his work, and made two appearances at The White House during the 1960s.   

Sid Gould (Maitre D') made more than 45 appearances on “The Lucy Show,” all as background characters. This is one of his nearly 50 episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” Gould (born Sydney Greenfader) was Lucille Ball’s cousin by marriage to Gary Morton. 

Jerry Fogel (Mr. Collins, Wilshire Room Entertainment Director and Emcee) is perhaps best remembered as Jerry Buell on “The Mothers-in-Law” (1967-69), produced by Desi Arnaz. He was also a semi-regular on “The White Shadow” (1977-78) as Bill Donahue. This is his only appearance with Lucille Ball.

Lucy says his name aloud in the dialogue, although he is listed simply as “M.C.” in the final credits.

Robert Hogan (Jack Lucas) played the Reverend Tom Winter on TV's “Peyton Place” (1968-69) and was the inspiration for the naming of the title character on “Hogan’s Heroes” (1965-71). His screen career began in 1961 and he previously appeared as Captain Perry in “Lucy and the Astronauts” (S4;E5).  

Jack is Avalon's agent. Although his surname is never spoken in the dialogue, it is listed in the final credits.

Bob Whitney (Call Boy) appeared with Lucille Ball in The Facts of Life (1960). This is the fourth of his five appearances on the series.

In this context, a “Call Boy” is a person who gives the star his “calls” (“10 minutes,” “5 minutes,” “You're On.”) while they are in their dressing room.  

Bill Lee (Talent Competition Singer) frequently dubbed the singing voices of non-singing film actors such as John Kerr in South Pacific (1958), Matt Mattox in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), and Christopher Plummer in The Sound of Music (1964).  This is his last screen credit and one of his few on-camera roles.  

Marl Young (Talent Competition Conductor / Pianist, uncredited, above left) was the “Here's Lucy” musical director and often appeared on camera when episodes included music.

Avalon brings his own musical director, Vic Glazer, for the first part of the show, his nightclub act, but “Here’s Lucy” musical director Marl Young takes over for the Talent Competition at the end. 

Shirley Anthony (Audience Member, uncredited) makes the eighth of her 13 appearances of “Here’s Lucy.”  

As the episodes opens (and the blue curtain in the title parts) Anthony is the very first person on camera, sitting in profile.

George Holmes (Audience Member, uncredited) was previously glimpsed in the studio audience in “Lucy and Art Linkletter” (TLS S6;E4).  He also did three films with Lucille Ball: The Facts of Life (1960), Critic's Choice (1963) and Mame (1974).

Other audience members and the onstage musicians are played by uncredited background performers.

This is one of a very few episodes to have both a “story by” and “written by” credit for the writers.

The episode opens at the Wilshire Room nightclub where Avalon starts his show with “It's Good to be Here” written by Harold Karr and Matt Dubey for the 1956 Broadway musical Happy Hunting starring Ethel Merman.  

Bringing Kim on stage, they sing "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" to each other, a 1967 song by Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio of The Four Seasons. The song earned a gold record and reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week. It is now part of the juke box musical Jersey Boys (2005).

Avalon says he has seven children (with another on the way) and is married. He later says his wife's name is Kay. Mrs. Avalon was born Kathryn ‘Kay’ Diebel.  A former beauty contest winner, they were married in 1963.

The band plays a brief fanfare based on “Hooray for Hollywood,” a song by Richard A. Whiting first featured in the 1937 film Hollywood Hotel. It launches the portion of Avalon's show where he does impressions of famous actors auditioning for the role of George M. Cohan in the film Yankee Doodle Dandy. Naturally, the audition song is “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” from Cohan's hit Broadway musical Little Johnny Jones (1904).  

Avalon first does an impression of John Wayne (1907-79), who was a guest star on both “I Love Lucy” and “The Lucy Show.”  

He then does his impression of Bela Lugosi (1882-1956) in which his idea of dancing is flapping his arms like bat wings. Lugosi's iconic character, Dracula, was humorously presented on “The Lucy Show.”  Finally, Avalon imitates James Cagney (1899-1986), who actually played the role and earned an Academy Award for the film. Kim did her own quick impression of Cagney during “The Hollywood Unemployment Follies” (S3;E22).  

When Lucy says she has a son, Avalon wonders why he can't play Sonny to Kim's Cher. Lucy explains that he is too tall. Ironically, Harry called Kim and Craig ‘Sonny and Cher’ in “Lucy Stops a Marriage” (S3;E16) three years earlier.  Lucy never uses Craig's name, however, or mentions where he is.

Before Avalon and Kim take the stage as Sonny and Cher in the talent competition, an unnamed singer (Bill Lee) finishes up the last few bars of “The Impossible Dream,” a song written by Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion for the 1965 Broadway musical Man of La Mancha, which was filmed in 1972. The singer makes the applause meter hit 89. 

Sonny and Cher were a pop music duo, actors, singers and entertainers made up of husband-and-wife Sonny and Cher Bono in the 1960s and 1970s. They also had two top ten TV shows, “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour” (1971-74) and The Sonny & Cher Show (1976-77). The couple's career as a duo ended in 1975 following their divorce. In the decade they spent together, Sonny and Cher sold over 40 million records worldwide. They had one child together, Chaz Bono, who was born Chastity Sun Bono in 1969. Sonny Bono left show business for politics and died after a skiing accident in 1989. Cher, who has won an Oscar, Emmy, and Grammy, has continued her career as a superstar solo act. 

Cher and Lucille Ball appeared on an Emmy-nominated special together in 1979.  

Frankie Avalon and Lucie Arnaz actually went to see a taping of “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour” the week before they shot this episode in order to get some pointers. Cher loaned Lucie the wig, the earrings, and a pair of her eyelashes for the episode.

Frankie and Kim sing “I've Got You Babe” written by Sonny Bono in July 1965. The song became their signature song as a duo. The original version spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 selling more than 1 million copies and certified Gold. Avalon and Arnaz sang to a prerecorded track.

Mid-song, ‘Sonny and Cher’ (aka Avalon and Arnaz) break into comic banter just as they often did on their TV show. One joke references “Gunsmoke,” a TV western that aired just before “Here's Lucy” on CBS. The show was on television for two decades (1955-75), after two years on radio. After two years on radio, Lucille Ball also moved to television for a career that spanned from 1951 to 1986.  

When Kim and Avalon win the talent competition with a record-high score of 97, Avalon launches into a chorus of “Beach Blanket Bingo” by Guy Hemrik and Jerry Styner, written for the 1967 film of the same name. Coincidentally, the film was written and directed by William Asher, who also directed 102 episodes of “I Love Lucy.”  

Frankie Avalon played a young man who was torn between banking and singing in “Lucy and the Starmaker” (TLS S6;E4) until Lucy Carmichael comes to his rescue.

Cher's mother, model and actress Georgia Holt, was one of the two models wearing the Jacques Marcel “potato sack” dresses in “Lucy Gets a Paris Gown” (ILL S5;E20, inset). Ten years later, she modeled fur coats for Lucy Carmichael in “Lucy and Pat Collins” (TLS S5;E11).

Distraction Action! Lucy keeps absentmindedly fiddling with the table card in the Wilshire Room. She even starts gesturing with it in her hand.

Eye Catching! Not exactly a goof or a blooper, but sometimes production design can upstage the action, which is the case with this woman’s HUGE grey wig and this equally HUGE ceramic cat!  

The crazy cat was first glimpsed in Flip Wilson’s office in “Lucy and Flip Go Legit” (HL S4;E1) and also (bottom photo) in Shirley MacLaine’s apartment in the Universal film Sweet Charity (1969). 

“The Carters Meet Frankie Avalon” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5

Who knew that Frankie Avalon was such a talented impressionist?  This episode showcases his talents well. Avalon and Lucie Arnaz do a spot-on impression of Sonny and Cher, the main attraction of this episode where Lucy is more background than star.  

[ghostmartyr]

lionhearthell replied to your post: SnK 95 Thoughts

   ? The retcon of the teeth is probably to show that inheriting the jaw titan did give ymir some benefits   

Oh yeah, that’s exactly what it’s for. It’s just not a choice I think had any business being implemented.

It’s cool to be specific about which parts of which Titans are inherited abilities, but in a series full of tiny moments with significant implications... undoing the canon of a very memorable moment (...around 60 chapters later) when you don’t absolutely have to is what I consider a bad call. Anything that draws attention to the strings in the rafters takes away from the illusion of the story.

It might suit Isayama’s tastes to have the teeth as a unique Jaw Titan thing, but that’s not how he originally wrote it, and it doesn’t break anything in canon to have Ymir’s teeth a certain shape before she noms Marcel. Calling attention to the Jaw Titan’s main attributes by sacrificing suspension of disbelief frustrates me, and nothing so far indicates that it needed to happen.

tl;dr I have unnecessarily strong feelings about retcons.

[reikukaja]

Pardon me, but I must ask you why you ship Reihisu so much. I'm not judging mun BTW. I'd just really like to know.

Thank you for the ask!! I’ve actually been wanting to write this out for some time, so thank you for giving me an excuse! :) 

Reikuri/Reihisu is a complicated ship, and I admit to really liking that aspect of it. I prefer for there to be some darkness in my ships, and this one has plenty of it. 

–Manga spoilers (& wholesome stuff) below –

1.  Where Things Currently Stand…

It all kind of started for me with chapter 97. That’s what ‘flipped the switch’ and made Reikuri my OTP. I had just recently finished a reread of the entire manga when 97 came out. Because of that, there was one thing that really struck me about the chapter. Reiner wants to die. He doesn’t want to exist. Oof.

And then I remembered…Historia has a soft spot for people who are sad, lonely, or feel as if the world would be better without them. She wants to save them, no matter who they are.

We were reminded again of Reiner’s desire to die in chapter 100. This boy has suffered too much. I really like the idea of him being saved somehow.

(Plenty more reasons under the cut)

2. Their (Sad) Backstories

We now know what childhood was like for both Reiner and Historia. These are not happy origin stories.

Hisu had a mom that never bothered to even pretend to love her daughter. Alma didn’t sugarcoat her feelings for Hisu, and made it very clear that she wished her daughter was dead. Reiner had a mother who used him to gain favorable status for herself and pushed him to become what is essentially a mass-murdering weapon at the age of ten. Ugh.

Neither of them had the lives they should have had as children. They deserved so much better. I think these similarly sad backstories make them well-equipped to really understand each other. 

3. Reiner and Historia both care a lot about children.

When kids are involved, these two are just too wholesome. This probably has something to do with the fact that their own childhoods were both so… disappointing. Despite not being loved and cared for as they should have been as children, they are both naturals when it comes to taking care of kids. 

Regardless of who it happens with, Reiner and Hisu would both make excellent parents. I think we can all agree there…. but damn… some Reikuri babies would be loved.

4. They were both playing roles.

During the time they knew each other, both Reiner and Historia were pretending to be someone else. Historia was playing the role of “good-girl” Krista, while Reiner was doing his best to be “good-soldier” Marcel. For a lot of people, this is a reason to dislike this ship. I see it differently. Once again, I think Reiner and Historia are uniquely-equipped to really understand each other. They have both experienced some serious psychological trauma, even outside of their respective identity crises.

It’s almost poetic… but also really sad =\

5. Total Reversal

During the time they spent together in the 104th and the Survey Corps, most people would probably say that Reiner was the “stronger” and more confident of the two of them. I don’t mean physically… but as a person. Now, Historia is likely the stronger one. Reiner’s soul is basically crumbling to pieces, while Historia has had to bear the weight of leading her people for the last four years. She was tough as nails when we last saw her four years ago, so I look forward to seeing how the weight of her responsibilities has affected her.

I really like the potential of this kind of dynamic.

6. Reiner’s Crush is Freaking Adorable.

I think Reiner’s crush on Krista is one of the cutest things I have ever seen. 

Not only is it cute, but it also transcends universes. 

TL;DR: I see this as a super wholesome ship with some darker undertones. Reiner sees himself as a monster, and I think Hisu is someone who would try to make him see otherwise. 

I’m not saying I think this will be canon. I know it probably won’t be, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting it. Reiner probably has only two years left (unless the curse somehow becomes a non-issue… not getting my hopes up there). I’d love for him to be able to forgive himself for all the terrible things he has done, and maybe even find some shred of happiness. I believe Hisu would want to help him heal.  

[sunshine-gays]

You know I just caught up w the originals and honestly? Marcel is one of the most important characters in the world? Am I pissed he tried to kill all the siblings and locked Klaus in a torture dungeon? Yeah. But also??? He and Klaus love each other so much? Like, for all he pretends not to care, Klaus was his father and Klaus, though he was a fuck up of a dad, tried desperately not to fuck him up. You know who really fucked him up? Elijah. Tl;dr Elijah mikaelson can suck my dick

[aeruthien]

Next up in my favourite things about the Originals: the cinematography.

One of the things which caught my attention while watching is that the Originals has a very distinct style wrt the cinematography. Im in no way a film expert, but Ill just point out the aspects which I noticed, which were mostly the use of close-ups and long shots, the framing of the characters, and the use of space. The examples I use are all from s01e10, which has a bit of a horror-vibe, but the techniques are used throughout the series. Maybe Ill do another episode one day.

This post is very picture heavy because it is hard to talk about this without giving examples. I definitely recommend going back to see the episode (or any episode) again and pay attention to these things. (Also because it is an excuse to watch TO again ;) )

TO has a lot of beautiful locations, and they have created beautiful sets, which they gladly make use of.

Take for example this shot:

It is a long shot in deep focus, which means that everything is in focus and we can see the details of the books on the self and so forth. The characters themselves almost disappear within the frame, and are placed to the far left. Marcel moves here, so we follow him through the frame, but he is moving to the left, instead of to the right. Before the cut he nearly blocks Klaus from view. So instead of opening up the space, he makes it even smaller, adding to the tense situation of these guys arguing with each other.

Here is another example between Cami and Kieran. Again a deep focus shot, in which the details are almost overwhelming. The darkness of the chairs seems to cut the frame in half, and gives the illusion of a changed aspect ratio.

Or this shot of Sophie (she is standing between the trees to the left, almost invisible:

They use this technique a lot, often to make the dialogue which are often quite heavy on exposition more interesting and adding a sinister touch to it. The characters are going behind each other’s back, and by positioning them behind objects or things, the audience gets the feeling that we are spying on them and that we are not supposed to hear what they are saying. Take this shot of Hayley, who is on the phone with Sophie, talking about going behind Elijah’s back:

And Sophie on the other side of this conversation:

They are clearly up to no good. Again, both are small compared to the size of the screen.

Within these longshots, part of the frames are often blocked by either characters or objects. In the above, it is objects, but in the shot below it is characters:

And here as well (Elijah is standing to the right):

Hayley and Elijah are almost unrecognizable as characters.

But they also use the scenery, such as here:

Or here:

Nearly 2/3rd of the frame is black, leaving very little space for the actual characters. It nearly becomes an abstract painting in this way. Add to that that Marcel’s back is turned towards Klaus and Klaus is looking away (never mind the pool of blood) and you get a very sinister shot.

Something interesting also happens here:

Davina draws the attention at first, because she is the only character dressed in white and she is the one positioned in the centre. But the triangle created by the dark outlines at the left and bottom, and the line where the wall meets the floor at the top, guide the gaze towards Josh who enters at the upper left. Whatever way the eyes wander after straying from Davina, they are forced to stay within the triangle. And then the bodies (laying and standing) form a line which they can follow.

All of these shots are made especially poignant because they are juxtaposed with close up shots with the background out of focus, like these:

This shot immediately precedes the first one I showed with Marcel and Klaus. So an out of focus close up shot is followed by a(n) (extreme) long shot deep focus shot.

In this shot with Davina,

the background is completely unrecognizable. The lights are only blurred bulbs. Also notice that she is positioned to the extreme left and takes up less than 1/4th of the frame, as well as being shown in a side-profile. This makes her snarl even more expressive (and impressive) somehow.

But even when shot from the front, they play with space:

The audience’s gaze can be guided or directed through multiple aspects in an image/scene. One of these is movement, another is the eyeline of the characters. We automatically follow where Rebekah is looking at, which in the above scene is to the right (her left). Like with Marcel’s movement in the first shot, she looks away from the open space instead of towards it, guiding the audience’s gaze out of frame.

Here the same happens with Kieran:

This is not the only technique at their disposal, but they do similar things when there are two characters in the shot present:

While Klaus in in the centre, our gaze is directed to the left because he looks to the left, so off centre. In this particular shot it is also interesting that his shoulders are turned towards us, while his head is turned towards Cami.

Characters are often positioned in ways that is slightly confusing:

The guy Tim is in focus, but is framed to the left. Rebekah is out of focus, but draws the attention more than him, also because Davina is nearly obstructs his face. Or in the following shot:

Elijah is in focus, but again framed to the far left. His eyeline also guides our gaze out of the screen. Marcel nearly blends in with the background, but because he is a character and we are used to focus on them, he still draws attention, making it confusing as to where we should look.

So tl;dr: TO does some cool and interesting things when it comes to cinematography. I want to end with this sequence:

Rebekah brings in Davina. There is a high contrast between the shadows and the lights. The camera pans to the right, and we get this shot:

Again the scene is in deep focus. The details of the windows in the back, but also the details in the front are all visible and sharp. Note that both Elijah and Klaus are visible in the background. After the confrontation with Klaus, the shot is mirrored as Rebekah walks back out again:

Now only Klaus is left in the background. He is small, while Rebekah is large, which is also the current power balance between the two.

I think TO contains some very stunning shots, and I wish I could see it in the cinemas on the big screen.