#desert reunion

[gayofthefae]

Thinking about the number of Milkvan moments that were unscripted and therefore not intended or required for the scene. The fall into Mike's arms in the sauna. The head rest in the hospital. All these moments called for by characters and therefore advocated by actors but not intended by the writers who KNOW THE ENDING they're planning.

The Snow Ball kiss. The Snow Ball kiss would not have happened. It wasn't in the original script.

There would be so many more of these moments

Kiss SUBSTITUTES. I've told you I had a forehead touch rejected for being "too platonic" but I haven't told you I have also had it used as a stand in before we choreographed the kiss.

They wanted intimacy without a kiss so they picked this. But they were committed enough to it not being a kiss that they brainstormed that.

Mike and El would have kissed in 1x08, in 3x01 only to annoy Hopper, in 3x08 for Mike to stand still eyes open, and in 4x02 at their reunion...which was in front of Will (and in his perspective, so exaggerating the joy and romance makes sense) and makes character sense.

So for all the making out...we have two kisses. TWO. One confirmed to be scripted. Their first kiss. The other one is unconfirmed because it isn't completely necessary so it's possible for it to not be there. Their first kiss only. Wow.

So in the original version, they kiss for the first time romantically, then to annoy Hopper, then to annoy Mike, then to annoy Will, then not of their own accord again.

Got it.

Anyways, as I always say: THEY SHOULD HAVE KISSED AT THE REUNION!

He didn't know what place they were in and maybe she was planning on breaking up with him before he said ily but it could have been impulsive on her part, or he could have initiated, or it could have communicated almost an olive branch - like this did, saying "we're in a fine place right now. We're okay." to each other

But nope. Forehead touch.

[gayofthefae]

Once again, Mike clearly has a lot on his mind.

And once again, he is contrasted to others used to remind that yes, it is possible for a character otherwise going through stress to have their smile never faulter throughout this scene, we see it in Will.

So perhaps something more specific here is going in with Mike...

another thing i have to say about st4

desert reunion scene is very important to me because will spends the entire mike/el reunion scene grinning ear to ear at el, meanwhile when mike realizes that will saw them his face falls so fast

[rubikor]

star wars obligatory post

[stardust948]

Rivers in the desert AU

Ozai: And then he hugged me.

Ozai, tearing up: Why didn't you tell me our son is so cute?

Ursa: I did! Multiple times! Why didn't you tell me our daughter is so talented and brilliant?

Ozai: I did.

Ursa: You said, and I quote, "She’s just like her father."

Ozai: Exactly 😌

[dangermousie]

Some more posters.

The couple in Love in the Desert is fully clad for once!

This poster for Moonlit Reunion does not feature the moon but looks like an old (and I do mean oooold) movie ad so points for creativity. Plus, for whatever reason, I remain forever fond of Xu Kai however uneven his drama record is and TXW is adorable.

Aaand a still for that Bai Lu x ZSX drama - nobody is being choked or stabbed for once!

I refuse to call it Love Game in Eastern Fantasy so have the poster for the Guide to Capturing a Black Lotus - I loved the novel but all the clips I’ve seen left me wondering if it will pull the adaptation off. Here’s hoping!

Speaking of no choking, unlike in the clips, no choking in sight for the poster for The Blossoming Love of choking.

I can’t muster much enthusiasm for Perfect Match, a drama that seems a thematic sequel to Song of Youth (where I loved the main story but it got so sidetracked into various main couples I lost a lot of interest) but with an Austenian undertone of marriages for many daughters which isn’t my particular jam, but this is vvv pretty:

[tarrare-big-naturals]

[desertfangs]

For some reason you feel like the right person to ask about this (probably because of your fic where Daniel volunteers to manage Lestat'smusical comeback lol), but if the Armand bed pile (plus anyone else you have thoughts on) was a band, who would be in each role?

Lestat as lead singer, obviously. I feel like Louis has broody, 'bass guitarist who seems ready to drop out the band at any point but is a fan favourite for his mysterious and dark looks' vibes

But should Daniel be drums or keyboard 🤔 and I'm really unsure about where Armand himself should be

Also, not a traditional bed pile member, but I do want to suggest Bianca as another possible band member, either guitar or drums maybe?

Idk, I've just been imagining all the touring drama (imagine locking this lot up in a tour bus for months on end!), the dramatic and theatrical performances, how completely unmanageable they would be. The Vampire Lestat turned up to 11

Oh this is a fun question! I think you could ask everyone to build their own The Vampire Lestat reunion tour band from the vampire cast and everyone's answers would be different but I'll do my best. I'm just gonna use whoever might be at Trinity Gate when Lestat has this wild idea.

As you said, Lestat is the lead singer. That's his thing. He's the front man and he does the vocals.

I think you're right that Louis would be the bassist. He has dark, quietly brooding bassist energy especially with his hair long so it could drape over face. Louis would have his own groupies after a single show.

Armand would do lead guitar, because he'd refuse to take a backseat and he'd often try to steal the show with long solos. He and Lestat would probably fight backstage over him trying to take over certain songs, which would lead to them disappearing into a dressing room "to work things out" and coming out with their clothes all rumpled.

This means Daniel can do drums. I think he'd be good at them, even if though he might get excited sometimes and do a little "ba-dum-cha!" after Lestat says something that could be taken as a joke but maybe isn't meant to be. (Lestat will glare at him and Daniel will promise not to do it again, but he will.)

I'm also going to veer left here and add Sybelle on keyboard. The original band didn't have a keyboard I think it would add something and she'd be that keyboardist who doesn't speak but answers only in music if addressed.

Since Sybelle is there, Benji can work the merch table. He's probably not a bad sales person. And Marius can bounce between the merch table and backstage, acting as the haggard over-worked manager who's trying to keep everything in check and make sure the show goes on even when Lestat refuses to do a soundcheck (he can sub Daniel in for that!) or Louis refuses to come out of his dressing room in the sequined outfit Lestat is insisting he wear. A lot of this will be Marius solving problems, I imagine, but they'll play a few solid shows.

People will ask for autographs and think it's a fun tribute to Lestat's music and books, and never think these are the real actual vampires since of course the vampire are not real, and obviously this isn't the original Lestat. Except for one or two true believers who post videos on TikTok comparing their cell phone photos of Lestat at the show to footage of him from MTV and insisting it's the same guy and he hasn't aged a day.

Oh and Bianca is going to play the tambourine.

[spikyseasponge]

[indilaras]

Flame Mane (literal)

[t4tbruharvey]

📗 👀

when oh when will i have the motivation to write my trans bruce banner thesis fic wherein rick immediately clocks him as an egg but doesn't say anything because bruce is kind of going through it rn

[kakerutori]

Don’t mind if I do 😉

So I just went back to compare these reunions, and the differences are actually pretty incredible. El’s hold is already pretty damning, but I wanted to add things about these scenes in general:

These are Hopper’s reactions during his and El’s reunion. His expressions are clear and absolutely heartwarming. Also note the Byers hold he does right back to her! These shots were easy to capture for me as I was watching and screenshotting. And look at the lighting and background, so dim and warm and comforting. The mood is very tender and intimate and full of the relief it brings, and this moment takes almost two minutes of screen time.

Meanwhile, these are Mike’s reactions during his and El’s reunion. They’re sweet, but they’re a little less gentle, strained by squinting in the harsh sunlight. And on top of that, they were pretty hard to capture. That first expression happened in a split second, and I had to rewind and pause five times just to screenshot it. The lighting is loud, the background even louder (the open van making a huge contrast, Argyle right behind Mike, and of course Will Byers smack dab in the middle of them), and this whole exchange takes just under thirty seconds.

Mike and El’s cinematography is not only pretty damn similar to a familial reunion, but it also does not serve as emotionally at all.

we've really gotta talk about this more

[gayofthefae]

It's the way they say "hey, a person experiencing the relationship events that Mike and Will are between them still has the capacity to prioritize El when it comes up. Look. Will is doing it. He's looking for El and not bringing up their fight himself. He's overriding their fight to tell Mike he's worried about El. He's breaking the silence to vent about El being gone. He's not jealous she got to hug you, he's jealous you got to hug her first, it's his turn with her now he missed her. Totally possible and plausible to do"

and then they have Mike prioritize the tension we didn't know he knew about at the roller rink and look at Will and have his face fall. So maybe it's not about their surface level relationships problems either. Maybe it's something more personal. Hmmm. What could it be...

I do love contrasts between queer characters like this especially within the same love story too, though. Great way to distinguish queerness from personality.

But yeah even within the "abnormal" box of queerness they're like "yeah queerness is a weird thing to be dealing with it but there IS a normal way to go about the weird thing and this ain't it, Mike." They really said "even for being gay you're weird, man".

[mrmichael55]

Wondering the “Why”

Hello on a steamy July afternoon, As the global sizzles from the Southwest to the European continent and beyond, it is increasingly apparent that we are facing temperatures and heat that is beyond what we are used to, climate events that have cactuses in Arizona dying from the heat. That is stunning to me. Since when does it get too hot for a cactus? And yet, there are daily examples of how…

[inkedinserendipity]

oh my god this session is unhinged. that session of wild life was CRAZY. for so many reasons. oh my god???

- mumbo and skizz killing grian. he brought them back to the series! and they KILLED HIM!!

- martyn having listener powers. I put my phone down and cheesed so hard. martyn! the listener!!! CRAZY!! absolutely could not believe that was random. still can’t believe it.

-bdubs’ bed ability was PERFECT it was so good. love that for him. i think he should have authority over the day and night always.

- skyblings real 💕 grian and pearl having the ability to fly 💕💕

- grian trying to fly in a life series killed him 💕💕💕

- still going feral about that last one actually because of the common headcanon that he loses his wings for the life series. and then he gets back and icarus-ass falls out of the sky? dies from it?? remember his last death in third life?? CRAZY

- spanners back together!!!!! going for tango!!!! love it love them. love the reunion even if grian would not stop fucking killing them

- even if they got him first 💕

- scar’s little “grian stop [killing people] every time I think you’ve died :( “ desert duo real. desert duo real?

- scar’s superpower being protective…something something watcher grian giving him a power that would keep him safe…keep other people from attacking him…desert duo REAL

- i was so stressed for grian trying to kill on red in the last fifteen minutes

- mumbo became a BEAST out of nowhere that was so funny i love that for him

- martyn being so down to lose a life if it meant causing chaos. good for him

can’t wait to watch the other POVs they’re gonna be so good

[li-louie]

This comic follows the reunion of Law and Rocinante after a long separation. The Heart Pirates leave the two on a deserted island, giving them time to confront and work through their unresolved emotions.

[titiro]

insanely funny to me is how grian is a grumbo truther and hates scarian cause man knows damn well that grumbo is also a ship name and yet at every chance he gets its grumbot, grumbo reunion, grumbo irl as far as the eye can see. Meanwhile bro hears the word scarian and hes running into the sunset goodbye! Every time after third life ish he teams up with scar its all ‘desert duo, sand duo’ you can fucking hear the slash platonic escaping his mouth.