#qualice

In part 3 we visited an alternate version of Quentin's visit to the drowning garden.

The flowers bloom, and Quentin gets a dose of concentrated magical ambient which he uses to cast the incorporate bond on the bottle that holds the sister.

Im making a change to what happens with Julia, since Quentin dies in canon she gets her powers back at his memorial, as Q isn't dying that no longer works.

Im going with Penny choosing to make her human again, but instead of leaving her powerless it leaves her temporarily depowered like Alice was when Quentin restored her shade.

Julia would lose her goddess powers, but her magic would gradually return. This change would leave her sidelined and vulnerable for the fight against Everrett and the library. She's angry about it, but better to be this than dead.

A second change that Im outlining in this segment relates back to the earlier headcanons and the unfinished memory spell.

Penny starts to realize something is wrong. Whenever he's in a room with Quentin he starts getting a hint of weird psychic feedback. The best description I have in mind is when a phone is hooked up to 2 bluetooth devices and the sound is about a half second different because there are multiple frequencies being used.

Penny doesn't know what is causing it and for the moment he chalks it up to Quentin being exposed to such highly concentrated ambient magic.

Josh's dose of ambient magic gets eaten up taking him and Quentin to the realm of the elder gods, where he and Q learn about the seam and the anti-verse. They return with their cake and the plan to cooperatively cast to hold the incorporate bonds is formed.

Penny is still experiencing the psychic feedback when he's around Quentin. When Julia sees that something is irritating him he explains it, but also explains that he doesn't know what is causing it.

Now we get to the conversation that happens on the stairs between Quentin and Alice. Alice has almost reached the limit of how long she can hold her secret, and is ready to tell Quentin the truth. Quentin saying he wants to know where the seam is so he can go throws her off track.

She asks why and Quentin tells her he wants to be the one to make sure that the monster never comes back, he has to be responsible for it. Then almost as an afterthought he tacks on that he wants her to be safe.0

He wants to save her, for her to be safe. Its a sentiment Alice hasn't heard from him in a long time. They had been on an edge for so long, through the majority of the keyquest and through the resolution, and now he wants to protect her again.

She says they should go as a team, because they are best as a team. She knows they are best as a team. Rewatching the episode again Quentin is so hesitant about this, he holds his answer for almost a full second, like he's trying to convince himself that she is correct.

'If nothing else I like the sound of it' is his line in canon.

'Because its true' is Alice's response.

There isn't an emotional connection the the words. When Margo interupts them he almost gets up to follow her, then Alice leans in to kiss him and it is just the most awkward brush of lips. Its a kiss thst Quentin breaks first, he stands up first

As they walk outt of the room the camera pans to Julia, who is sitting close enough to have heard everything, and it doesn't sit right with her. You can see the way she watches them as they walk off screen. None of it adds up.

The Quentin at the start of season 4, solely dedicated to saving Eliot Waugh.... even at the potential cost of his own life is talking to Alice like she's the only one he would put himself into harms way for.