#wedlakeserenities

[universallongings]

♫ Phillip and Elizabeth ♫ Han and Leia ♫ David and Patrick

This was SO HARD!

♫ Phillip and Elizabeth: I have an entire (very angsty) playlist devoted to these two called “She Cares About the Whole World,” and I just need the world to know that I had “With or Without You” by U2 on it YEARS before it was used so perfectly in the finale. That song has always felt like them to me (”And you give yourself away...”), but since it also feels like cheating, I’m also going to go with “Cannonball” by Damien Rice for Philip’s POV (”'Cause it's not hard to fall/And I don't wanna scare her”) and “The Archer” by Taylor Swift for Elizabeth’s POV (”All of my heroes died all alone/Help me hold onto you”).

♫ Han and Leia: “Feels Like Home” by Chantal Kreviazuk will always give me all the feels about them in their early years. 

If you knew how much this moment means to me And how long I've waited for your touch If you knew how happy you are making me I never thought that I'd love anyone so much

♫ David and Patrick: I mean besides “The Best” (obviously!), I’m going to go with “Unconditionally” by Katy Perry:

Come just as you are to me Don't need apologies Know that you are all worthy I'll take your bad days with your good Walk through this storm I would I'd do it all because I love you, I love you

Send me a ♫ + a character’s name and I will respond with a song that reminds me of them. Send a ♫ + a ship and I will do the same.

[ofthedirewolves]

First Guy Wins - A Queliot Meta

I was rewatching The Magicians and was struck by a realization. Eliot and Queliot fit the “First Girl Wins” romantic trope. Yes, in this case, Eliot is a guy, not a girl but the trope still works.

Credit where credit is due, this is based by @scullylikesscience​ ‘s “First Girl Wins” meta.

When I first realized that Queliot definitely seemed to be the road the writers were going I was a bit cynical. I have quite a lot of experience and have been betrayed by many a showrunner.

I thought the writers had just seen that Queliot was more popular and course-corrected. Then I started my rewatch and realized that as much as the showrunners love claiming they’re winging it, this might have been planned after all. 

It could still be a happy coincidence so I’m not going to give them too much credit. For the likes of this meta let’s focus on the facts and the characters.

We’re going to analyze Quentin and Eliot’s relationship through the lens of “First Girl Wins”

In romantic works, the first girl person introduced — either overall or as a potential Love Interest — has a very good chance of ending up with the protagonist (especially if the protagonist is male).

There are all sorts of explanations as to why this is. Things ending up the same place they started is a very old narrative technique.

From a Doylist point of view, the Law of Conservation of Detail suggests introducing the Love Interest early. An early introduction allows you to get the audience interested in her and rooting for her, gives you space for Character Development, and give her relationship with her (eventual) partner the most time to develop organically.

Eliot gets introduced pretty early, has a lot of character development outside of his relationship with Quentin and Queliot definitely has developed organically.

Is it the first girl the protagonist meets according to In-Universe chronology, even if we first see her halfway through the show's run? The first one to show romantic feelings? The first new girl the protagonist meets?

Eliot isn’t the first possible love interest that gets introduced, that’s actually Julia, then it’s Eliot, followed by Alice in the last place. It is in their introductions though that tells us that it’s actually Eliot that gets the title of First Girl™.   

If you're suspecting some girl is supposed to be the First Girl™, a good idea would be to take a look at how the writer has played her up.

Is he a major character?

Eliot Waugh is one of the show’s leading characters  ✔

Is the "first" interaction led up to, emphasized, treated as a big deal?

We first see him in the background as Quentin walks towards Brakebills. The camera shot is an Extreme Long Shot.

The camera focuses on him smoking for a bit (Wide Shot) until we see Quentin actually approach.

The camera closes on him with a medium shot as he talks to Quentin, then it’s a Medium Close Up as he gets down and introduces himself.

We see Quentin lose his cool and then he follows after Eliot. Asking if he’s hallucinating. Eliot and Quentin are in the same frame until they get to the exam which is where Eliot’s introduction ends.

This connects Eliot to Brakebills/Magic.  So yes it’s definitely a big deal ���

All other things being equal, is he a strong contender for being the protagonist's Love Interest?

Quentin and Eliot spend a lot of the first episodes together. The first person Quentin truly opens up to is Eliot (and Eliot opens up in return.) Eliot tells him one of his darkest secrets, while Quentin tells him about the hospital. The person he talks to about his worries re: getting expelled is Eliot.

1x02

In 1x03 Eliot goes to Quentin for help in finding the missing book. Thanks to this Quentin is introduced to the Hedge Witches, not only that but to the fact that Julia is one of them. Which means Eliot is there for Quentin and Julia’s big argument.  This means Eliot has seen both sides of Q’s life (before Brakebills and after).

In 1x04 when Quentin gets stuck in Marina and Julia’s spell, Eliot is not only in the spell but visibly worried about Q outside of the spell.

Not only that but we actually see Eliot getting defensive with Julia.

When Quentin breaks out of it, the first person we see go to him is Eliot. Throughout the next couple of episodes, it seems there’s always a scene with the two of them together. The only time they don’t share screentime is in 1x07 (bc Q is with Mayakovsky and we’ll get to that later).  

In 1x11 they literally have sex. Yes they’re high on emotions and it’s a threesome with Margo but it happened. If you hadn’t guessed by this point that Eliot is a valid romantic choice this made it more clear.

There’s no Straight Guy™ Freakout. Quentin was never written as a straight character. From his first interaction with Eliot, we see that Quentin is attracted to him. The only negative connotation the scene has it that it’s cheating because Quentin was in a relationship at the time.

Throughout Season 1 a lot of the major moments for Quentin himself happen with Eliot or around Eliot. Quentin might get expelled? Eliot is there. Confrontation with Julia? Eliot is there. His dad has cancer? Eliot and Margo help him out. Quentin gets separated from the group? Eliot sends a paper airplane to tell them where they are. This season establishes that Eliot is an important person in Quentin’s life.

In 2x01 we get the crowning scene between Eliot and Quentin and not only does it have very romantic vibes but the camera shots tell us a lot about these two characters. We get a Full Shot of the whole group before it becomes a lot more intimate.

The speech that Quentin gives Eliot is the longest of all the Coronation speeches. From Eliot’s side, we get Close-Ups. Close Ups show us what the character is feeling at this moment. We see an Eliot with tears in his eyes looking up at Quentin with so much love.

On his side, Quentin has a Medium Close Up all we see in his eyes is pride. Despite the fact that they haven’t had the best relationship recently Quentin still deeply cares.

Both of them look at each other. The camera focuses on both of them until the moment is over and the camera turns to Penny and the scene continues.

So is he a strong contender for being the protagonist's Love Interest? Considering this is only a smidge of their interactions? I would say definitely ✔.

(I could talk about all their interactions, especially “A Life in a Day” but then we’d be here all year and I wanted to focus on their earlier establishing scenes) 

The First Girl will rarely be the first one to confess her feelings, admit them,

Pretty much all the romantic interactions between them have been initiated by Quentin rather than Eliot.

Back in 3x05, we see that Quentin is the one that first kisses Eliot. They live their life together and raise a family.

In 4x05 it’s revealed that after they got their memories back Quentin put himself out there. We see a Quentin who is sure that he loves Eliot “who gets that kind of proof of concept”. It doesn’t go well for him but he did it.

In fact, he's much likelier to be the one who does it last

We don’t get the full realization of Eliot’s feelings until 4x05. I think Eliot has known for a while that he loves Quentin, but it's just been implied (few people can heart eye as Hale can). But the reason I mention it is that this is where Eliot realizes he has to do something about it. The ball is in his court.

With his small window of opportunity, he tries to convey his feelings to Quentin while also giving him a reason to fight “Peaches and plums motherfucker, I’m alive in here”.

Complications will abound, Romantic False Leads will show up,

Most of Season 1’s romantic subplot is Quentin/Alice and later Eliot/Mike. The interesting thing is that both of the Romantic False Leads appear in the same episode (1x07). Alice has been there from the first episode but 1x07 is the episode where she and Quentin hook up. Coincidentally the same when Eliot and Mike hook up.

Quentin falls in love with Alice while Eliot is very deeply into Mike. Of course, both relationships end in tragedy. Eliot has to kill Mike to protect the rest and Alice dies defeating the beast. The pain of his actions makes Eliot turn towards substance abuse which leads to him going to Fillory with the rest. It sets him on a path that deviates from Quentin’s.

Quentin’s plot is about bringing Alice back from being a Niffin. Yet when he does she hates him for it. So their relationship fizzles out and never truly recovers.

In Eliot’s case, we also get Idri as a false romantic lead as they did technically get engaged and were clearly attracted to each other.

misunderstandings will arise between them, pride and denial will keep them apart.

The biggest misunderstanding between the two comes from the same scene in 4x05. Eliot believes that Quentin wouldn’t choose him if they had a choice. He gets scared and so he pushes Quentin away. Eliot mistakenly believes Q is straight so that’s probably the biggest misunderstanding between them. Quentin interprets it as Eliot not choosing him if he had a choice.

The misunderstanding gets worse when we remember 3x06 had Eliot rejecting Quentin’s idea of going on a quest. He has a perfectly valid reason but Quentin probably sees it as another rejection from the man he is in love with.

They’re both in love with each other but neither believes the other would choose him. Miscommunication is a large part of romantic tropes.

A more subtle tactic is to get the First Girl "off the radar" somehow —

Ironically enough Queliot fits this criterion as well. Eliot is married to Fen (and later engaged to Idri) while stuck in Fillory being High King the majority of seasons 2 and 3. While Quentin is dealing with Niffin!Alice and helping Julia in Season 2, and largely involved in the Key Quest in Season 3.

That doesn’t mean they don’t see each other because they do. They just can go periods of time without sharing meaningful screentime (especially in regards to show-time as time in the show passes differently than how we see it episode by episode).

You can expect an in-universe justification for how these two people met so early and took so long to figure out they belong together.

In Queliot’s case, it’s misunderstandings, romantic false leads, magical quests, their own stupidity, false identities and of course the fact that one of them is possessed by a monster.

The fact of the matter is that Eliot fits pretty much all the criteria for being the First Girl (or in this case First Guy). So whether it was on purpose or just a happy accident it still counts.

Eliot Waugh is the First Guy™ which leads me to believe great things are on the way for Queliot. We just have to sit back and enjoy the ride.

(Remember to pack tissues, as I have a feeling the writers aren’t done torturing us yet)

[stevenkodalys]

On top of being one of the most positive and delightful AT fans who actually respect the man, bless you for adding more Schitt's Creek to my dash!

i just started watching it last week and i’m already on season 4. i just like...want daniel levy’s entire wardrobe lol

[qqueenofhades]

wedlakeserenities replied to your post: wedlakeserenities: the Christian girl in me is...

go away with those tags @qqueenofhades​ i am already wounded!!!!

NEVER.

I EMBRACE THE SPIRAL OF THIS SWEET SWEET PAIN OF HOW GODDAMN MUCH HE LOVES HER AND BELIEVES IN HER AND IS A FLAMING PILE OF FAILURE WHO’S ALL “WHY SHOULD I TRUST YOU” WHEN WE ALL KNOW HE’S REALLY LIKE “LUCY PLEASE SAY YOU STILL LIKE ME CHECK YES OR NO”

AND NOW THEY ARE FINALLY ON THE SAME SIDE AND TEAMMATES AND SORTA FRIENDS AND ROOMMATES AND SHE’S GONNA BE THE ONE GOING “WE NEED TO GIVE HIM A CHANCE I TRUST HIM” WHILE WYATT AND RUFUS ARE LIKE “LUCY WHY IS YOUR GARBAGE HUSBAND LIVING WITH US WHO AUTHORIZED THIS”

FUHHHHH.

[kalena-henden]

@wedlakeserenities replied to your photoset “Hey, so um, I know this might sound weird but on a scale from 1 to 10…”

OMG SINCE WHEN DID YOU START MAKING GIFSSSSSSSS

Since the year 2000. *cheeky grin*

Oh, you mean SUPERSTORE gifs?! *wink* lol Well, it was really bothering me that Jonah never got to answer Amy’s hotness rating. So I HAD to make it just to get out all my feels. Honestly, Jonah would’ve rated her high and then she would’ve bragged to Mateo and Cheyenne which would’ve gotten back to Kelly (awkward!) and he would’ve rated Kelly just as high but the cracks in their relationship would’ve started to show. Instead, we got Amy making a mistake which became very public but on the plus side multiple men were fighting over her and we got to see that Jonah was majorly disappointed cause he’s still got feelings for her. 

I absolutely LOVED last week! It felt like a vintage Amy x Jonah adventure (SO MUCH FUN!) and then he had to leave to hang out with Kelly. But now that Amy’s not married anymore and has proved she’s ready to move on, there are less obstacles. Admitting she has a crush on Jonah was so huge! I can’t believe we’re already a week later with a new episode tonight! Time is flying. 

[morwennacarne]

très bien, you son of a bitch.

[fairytalesandtimetravel]

wedlakeserenities replied to your post “I just finished applying for my masters. I need a drink and a prayer...”

<333333333 YAYYYY YOU GOT THIS BB!!

GAHH I HOPE I DO LOL <3<3<3<3

blurryfacedavocadosatlaw replied to your post “I started a new book series, and it basically starts off with a love...”

Please tell me what book

It’s the first of a trilogy (god if this love triangle last the whole time i may go mad lol) the series is called the Remnant Chronicles and the first book is Kiss of Deception 

wedlakeserenities replied to your post “I started a new book series, and it basically starts off with a love...”

I'm stressed out for you.

UGHHH  I am thinking one of the guys as Armie Hammer and so sabotaged myself bc i want him to be it but the other guy right now is closer to her and he is good too but AHH I can’t handle love triangles! but at least this is done well and i like both of them and there is no pining over assholes bc that is the worst. 

[vickyvicarious]

wedlakeserenities replied to your post: I have been thinking for a while, on and off,...

YELLING ….. VICKKKKY WRITE THE THING

YOOOO I REALLY WANT TO BUT, like, it’s such a vast universe with so many little details I know I’d miss out on, and I can’t help but feeling like someone else would handle it way better...

[dundermifflinscranton]

HIII FRIEND! I hope you're having an amazing day so far! I have a quick question for you because google isn't being very nice right now and I need this answer stat lmfao. Please tell me you know how old Pam was when she gets with Jim.

Hey! 👋💖 Pam was born March 25 1979 and they started dating between seasons 3 & 4 which was mid-2007 so my guess is Pam was 28 and Jim was 29 😊

[sweetestinthegale]

I refuse to watch televison without you. Simple as that.

But yes, people. Watch. This. Show. Watch itttttt.

Hello yes I’ve risen from my Tumblr hiatus and thanks to the always trustworthy @sweetestinthegale fallen into a new dumpster. I would literally do anything for every single character on The Expanse and I need every single one of you to watch because the fan content is severely lacking for this show.

[hopethroughtheanchor]

Happy Wonderful Birthday 🎉 Gissane! I’m sorry I didn’t know it was your special day. That’s changing now of course but I’m so honored and blessed to know you like sooooooooooooooooooo many of us who know you on here and in real life. You are such a beautiful soul inside and outside and it’s inspiring how much heart and spunk you have. I’ve only known you since season 4B of OUAT but it feels longer 😉 thank you for being you and I pray for dreams to come forth to you this year! Much love ♥️ and blessings to you girl!!!!

@we

[ofthedirewolves]

The Magicians || Hogwarts Aesthetics

Fen || Hufflepuff 

(3/??) 

[just-tinkabelle]

wedlakeserenities

  For me this was more than just Emma and Killian...

:’(

It’s odd but there’s a sense to closure watching CS get married and thinking of Adriane. 

[sweetestinthegale]

This is my Goose. She started a youtube channel. You should check it out because she is the most amazing of land mermaids with the best thinky thoughts. Seriously.

[qqueenofhades]

A little birdy told me that her little friend goose has a mighty, mighty need for some daddy!Flynn fics. Anything and everything that you can provide. JUST GIVE HER ALL THE DADDY!FLYNN. She's a very nice girl and would greatly appreciate this.

Iris Flynn is just a few minutes old when her father falls in love with her. When they hand him the bundle on a beautiful summer morning at the hospital in Dubrovnik, Lorena smiling at him tiredly but so happy neither of them can breathe, and he sinks into a chair, completely and utterly entranced. He’s been fearing this. Fearing he won’t be enough. Remembers his mother, and the shadow that always lay behind her eyes. He had a half brother named Gabriel. Gabriel died at the age of six and a half. Houston, 1969, from a severe allergic reaction to a bee sting. Maria Thompkins was never quite the same again.

Garcia Flynn has always wondered who is brave enough, strong enough, to lose a child and stay sane, stay right, stay good. As he looks at his newborn daughter’s face, he thinks that the answer is no one.

Iris Flynn is one year old when she learns how to talk. Precocious like her daddy, like her grandmother, chattering away in Croatian and English (as well  as some of Lorena’s parents’ Spanish) so that they can only understand her half the time. They live in a comfortable third-floor flat on a cobbled street in Dubrovnik, a breathtakingly beautiful medieval walled city. To all appearances, they are a lovely, ordinary family. And they are, mostly. Except for the fact that Garcia works as an asset for the American NSA; he’s a dual citizen, thanks to his mother. She fled the States after losing Gabriel, came here and married his father, Asher. Garcia has spent his life around tech and defense and state secrets, runs and heads covert ops around the Balkans and Russia (protip: when in doubt, blame Putin). He’s away often. It’s genuinely risky work.

Iris Flynn’s smile when he comes home, puts down his bags, and yells, “Where’s she hiding?” is what makes everything worth it.

Iris Flynn is two years old when Garcia and Lorena take her to a street fair one day, and some sleazy lowlife tries to lure her off among the crowd. This was a very, very bad decision on his part. By the time the policija get there, he’s basically pulp anyway. Flynn gets booked and taken to the station, but it was clearly defending his daughter, and once his name comes up in their database, their eyes get wide and they apologize for his trouble. Sends him on his way.

(He only regrets he didn’t actually kill the motherfucker.)

Iris Flynn is three years old when she becomes scared of potential monsters under her bed, and Daddy has to clear them with a water pistol before she can sleep. He sits next to her and holds her in his lap, those nights when he’s home, and the world, the entire universe, is raw and warm and bright in his chest. The entire future is ablaze, when he watches her finally, safely, dream.

Iris Flynn is four years old when she punches a seven-year-old teasing her on the playground hard enough that he runs off with a bloody nose, crying, and Garcia comes over, kneels down, shows her how to make a better fist next time, and whispers that they probably shouldn’t tell Mommy.

Iris Flynn is five years old when she decides to be a rocket scientist when she grows up, like Grandma. The kid is crazy about space. Has the books, the planet pillows, the maps, the model spacecraft, Star Wars obsession, the works. They take her to a planetarium and she almost dissolves with joy. Asks a thousand questions, arms around Garcia’s neck as he carries her through all the exhibits, slumping to fall asleep against his shoulder as they finally go out to the car. He buckles her in, and drives home humming the Imperial March.

Iris Flynn is six years old when her father first reads the name Rittenhouse.

Iris Flynn is six and a half years old on the last night of her life.

Iris Flynn is six and a half years old when she dies.

Just like Gabriel.

So they are cursed after all. There is no escaping it.

There is, in fact, no staying sane, or right, or good.

Iris Flynn has now been dead for over two years. A hundred and four weeks, seven hundred and thirty days, seventeen thousand, five hundred and twenty hours, one million, fifty-one thousand, two hundred minutes. Endless, impossible, uncounted seconds that never stop, that scrape and rasp away, all the dreams that Flynn – no more Garcia now, no more Daddy, nothing, none of that – wakes from in a cold sweat, seeing her eyes staring accusingly at him until they fade. They always do.

I trusted you with my daughter.

If only Lucy Preston could have understood. If only she knew what the weight of that was. If only she could have. If only. If only.

A fool’s game.

A dead man’s solace.

The seconds never stop passing. Longer and longer. Further and further.

The seconds never stop.

[morwennacarne]

I hate you SO MUCH for dragging me down every damn dumpster you're in. But mostly I love you. And I miss your face.

I LOVE YOU MORE AND MISS YOU MORE MY PERFECT LIL GOOSE