Trivia For Aliens (1986) Dir. James Cameron

If my mother will not sit on the throne, no one else will!!

Valteri Bottas, FrenchGP, 2019

GALADRIEL & EREINION GIL-GALAD THE RINGS OF POWER — 2.08: Shadow and Flame (2024)

Jules,

It’s been two years, hard to believe. There’s a space in the paddock which no one else can quite fit, like trying to force a jigsaw into the wrong place. We think about you every time the lights go out, images flashing behind our eyes whenever a car spins. 

No, not again. we say, our breath in our throats. The driver climbs out of the car and we exhale. There’s this little weight in our chests thinking of you, how you didn’t climb out. It should be you out there.

We miss you. Every race there’s a seat you should fill. Every interview there’s words you should say. You should be here to share your smiles with us. I miss you.

Love,

All of Us

I just need to talk about the mosaic kiss for a minute, okay? I was encouraged to do so by @coldwaughtersquentin​ (who blessedly made these gifs for me to include and is actually the best)  and @ahundredloveboats​ sooo, buckle up ladies and gents, let’s take a walk down adorable, mushy, emotional memory lane together, shall we? 

Here’s the thing. I love everything about this kiss, from Quentin’s and Eliot’s perspectives. I’ll probably focus a little more on Eliot here because he’s my child and I adore him endlessly, but you’re crazy if you think I’m not also going to go bonkers over the sweet bravery that is Q making this first move. 

The way Quentin talks himself up, mentally, to do things he wants has always been adorable to me, but here you can see him just thinking, Do it, Coldwater. Do it before you don’t, and spend the next six months wondering why the hell you didn’t do it. And don’t even get me STARTED in “Hey. Hey.” Because “Hey” has never sounded more like “I think I might love you” in my entire life than it does when those two exchange it softly, like a casual greeting even though they’ve been sitting next to each other and chatting for probably a couple of hours. 

And then he nervously starts to try and explain himself. “I, um -” and he realizes, if I try to talk about it, I’m not going to do it. So instead of waiting, or overanalyzing or making some stuttery, beautiful, heartfelt speech about how he didn’t expect the last year to mean so much to him, and how he didn’t expect Eliot to mean so much to him when they started, but now he does, and so, would it be okay if he, you know, kissed him?? He just does it. He goes in, like Now or never, Coldwater. And never’s not an option. 

And then Eliot. God, sweet, “confident” Eliot. The way he looks so dazed when Quentin pulls away. The softness in his face (don’t get me STARTED on those eyelashes, folks), the slowest blink in the history of blinks. Eliot wasn’t expecting this. He probably made jokes about it, about it being just the two of them, about getting stir-crazy, about falling into bed with each other, the kind of flippant, sexual jokes he always makes, especially when he doesn’t want to be seen, but he never really expected anything to come of it. I mean look at the way his eyebrows shoot up into his hairline. El is so clearly taken aback, in the best way. He takes a minute, with half-open eyes, to internalize the feeling of Quentin’s lips against his own, realizing in this exact moment how many times he’s thought about this without really letting himself think about it. And then, when he lets himself think about it, it’s a revelation. It’s Oh. OH. Oh, Finally. 

And Quentin pulls away, maintaining eye contact, being brave. But he doesn’t say anything - words have never really been his strong suit, anyway. He just looks at him, purses his lips in this little self-conscious smile that says Your move, Waugh. But he’s not defeated. He’s hopeful, he has the feeling of that quick kiss to lean on, the way Eliot looks like he’s actually been affected by something, for once in his life, to sink into. He has reasons to believe that this move might just work out in his favor. And after a quest that has sent them in a thousand directions, only half of which seem to yield the desired result, that feels pretty damn good. 

This. Two things about this. The first, which I know has been discussed at length but is WORTH mentioning again, is the little hand flip that Q does, the tiny, nervous gesture that speaks to the fact that even with those reasons to believe, he’s still insecure, still unsure. Well, I did that, it says. It’s out there. I kissed you and I can’t un-kiss you, so what’s next? And then there’s Eliot. Eliot, who immediately leans in, reassuring, to cover Quentin’s hand with his own. And I have a theory about this, about why he’s so quick to tell Q, in a physical way, that hey, it’s ok. Because he grew up in small town Indiana. He was ridiculed, constantly, for who he was, shouted at and told he was worthless by his own father. But here’s the thing about being visibly queer in a small, rural community like that - you become a magnet, for anyone else questioning their sexuality. So I have a headcanon that Eliot, well, he’s done this before. He’s been “the experiment” for the “straight guy.” It’s familiar territory. (And YES, Quentin is bisexual, but as we all know Eliot has some internalize biphobia he needs to work through so if we’re talking about Eliot’s POV here, which we are, I think that’s worth mentioning.) 

But then he covers his hand completely, brushes the back of Q’s so tenderly I could die about that alone. It’s this silent reminder that Hey, I’m here, Q. It’s just you and me. And it’s an allowance, too, a door Eliot lets himself open, to be okay with this, at least in this moment, meaning what it means to him, as he brings his hand up to Quentin’s face. And the microexpressions here, how Quentin adjusts his body, leaning in ever so slightly, already positioning his head in anticipation of Eliot kissing him back. Their bodies are so in tune here it’s like this gorgeous, tiny dance. 

Eliot leans in, wrapping his hand around the back of Quentin’s neck. And you all KNOW he did the thumb swipe across Quentin’s cheek approximately .2 seconds after this shot ended. There is this open vulnerability in Eliot’s face here, this quiet sensuality, in the small smile on his face. The tiny lower lip bite that likely murders Q as much as it murders me. The way his eyes flit down to Quentin’s lips as he leans in. It’s so soft, and sweet, and beautiful. It’s You bet your ass we’re doing this, Coldwater. It’s I’ve been waiting for this. It’s Me, too. 

And the kiss. THE KISS. The way Eliot’s eyes stay open for a half a second and then they slide shut, and he sinks into it, holding Q close. Eliot knows, that they aren’t planning on being here much longer. He said it himself when he offered the toast: “To our first, and last, year at this thing.” But that doesn’t matter. Because even if they figure it out tomorrow, Eliot wants this moment to have happened between them. He wants to remember the feeling of losing himself in Quentin’s kiss, he wants to memorize the way Quentin’s hair feels brushing against the back of his hand, the way he tastes like bad Fillorian wine and sunshine from a day spent working hard at the mosaic and a tiny bit of smoke from the torches they light every night. He never wants to forget exactly what it felt like when, for even just a moment, Quentin Coldwater was his. Quentin wanted him, and Eliot wanted him, too, and they both let themselves, for once, hold the thing they really wanted in their hands without being terrified of breaking it. 

Naomi Nagata ↳ Singlet + Belter tattoos appreciation

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER (2022 - ) Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor & Charlie Vickers as Sauron 2.08 - Shadow and Flame

No, hear me. Hear me! Shadow of Morgoth. Hear the dying words of Celebrimbor. The Rings of Power shall destroy you. And in the end, I foresee, one alone shall prove your utter ruin!

That's the most beautiful about this show. It isn't about the magic for us, well, maybe a little but mostly the fact that the writers are writing about real people, and that I think is more intoxicating in a good way because they screw up, they learn, get up and keep going. Although some of their stories carry heavy burdens, that doesn't deter them from trying to do good. One can relate with them. I love that about the show mostly.

So let’s talk about how The Magicians as a show about for with depression and/or trauma. Nearly everyone has a weight that’s constantly pushing them down, and they have to keep going and fighting anyway.

Quentin has literal, diagnosed depression, keeps losing people, is unable to fix things, and kind of had to pull the plug on his father in order to bring magic back - and it still didn’t fix things. Eliot is an abuse survivor who grew up in a toxic environment, doesn’t let himself be happy, is an addict and lives inside walls he’s built because of it. Alice’s family never allowed her power to grow, were selfish and sex-obsessed, and she’s so powerful it’s a burden, and was once pure magic, brought back, and now she has to remember, and now has to figure out to be a person. Penny’s abilities are a constant curse, both in never getting a silent day as long as there’s magic, and in either being in constant danger or tied down because of his travelling, and now he has to make sense out of a life after his life. Julia is a rape survivor who lost her soul for a while after her demon baby abortion and was tormented by her rapist nearly constantly, and then lost her god powers after working so hard to heal and find a way towards the light. Kady’s upringing was toxic, she didn’t let herself love anyone for the longest time - and once she did, he died and now she has to watch her love’s dopple ganger love someone else. Margo’s all armor, hard and glossy and so very angry because the world is undercutting her at every turn, trying to diminish her power, and even the one man she learned all that from, her dad, couldn’t handle it.

And then, there are the fights. They never cease, the bad guys are always upping their game, it’s from monsters to gods to uber-gods.

Which is not to say that there’s not joy. Or love. Or laughter. Or silliness. Or sex. Or bland old boredom. But there’s always something there with you in the room, or in your head, or in your arms, you don’t get to check out.

And magic comes from pain, right? And also, magic is a part of you. You don’t get to choose it. So maybe them being at the centre of all of these stories is really about them being cursed, cursed with power and rage and suffering. But they also need their respective curses to have a shot at fighting back. 

And I guess I’m writing this to remind myself how much everyone carries at all times in this show, and how that’s informing their actions. It’s not about doing the perfect, the perfectly right, or the perfectly moral thing. Usually, it’s about making it through, surviving to fight for another day. And I find that really complelling, true to reality and actually kind of beautiful.