#qots asks

[mymostimaginaryfriend]

I doubt it they will get back together in the final season James and Teresa

Hi there! You don’t think so? I do! 

After 501 Teresa now knows he left for her not because he wanted to, James has irrefutably proven his intentions are to save her yet again and because of his actions KG was able to warn Teresa about who she was potentially walking into a meeting with, saving her life. And this was all accomplished without Teresa and James getting a patented Jeresa one on one convo....

I admit Teresa’s behavior is kind of shocking in how Queenpin-like she is already this season but I for one (angst ho that I am) cannot wait for James “let me in” Valdez to approach her with softness only to realize how much has changed and get to work using the light he has left to get her out of the cave. 

I may be overly optimistic, but I loved the first episode and really don’t think the “will they or won’t they” part will last too long.  I think the larger issue for Jeresa will likely be:  can their relationship survive Queenpin? 

[northcountry39]

what about you? do you think the teresa motorcycle scenes are real?

Hey anon! One of my pet theories about all the queenpin scenes at the beginning of each season (and the visions that Teresa has of Queen!Teresa) is that they are from a possible future (or several different possible futures). I feel the show focuses a lot on different kinds of choices and how those choices impact who you become (and the ongoing struggle of survival vs keeping your humanity), and so maybe the story depicted in those scenes is from or represents a timeline where Teresa chooses to go a certain way. But not necessarily what will happen in the show. There may come a day when Teresa just says no to the Queen whispering in her ear, and then all that goes up in smoke. But that’s just wild speculation (and my obsession with alternate timelines).  

I think it would be awesome if Teresa had a motorcycle (because those scenes were BADASS), but I also wonder if she would actually zoom around the city by herself in (rather conspicuous) glowing white gear. So I would lean more towards artistry than reality. But who knows. Thanks for the ask! :)

[mymostimaginaryfriend]

Okay because you are much wiser than me - this whole mirror thing in 5x02. I think there were three (maybe more) deliberate shots with them all featuring Teresa - any thoughts on that? Just pretty cinematography or something deeper?

I was LITERALLY just making a post about this Lauren lmao.  Idk about wiser (your galaxy brain smoking scene meta AHEM), but - and I’m fully aware my clown shoes are squeaking here - 

I was thinking all of these mirror shots in 502 - especially the Jeresa ones - might be a visual metaphor for:

“maybe in another life”

What does everyone else think? Am I too far in the clown car on this one? (Don’t worry it’s a stretch limo, there’s room for everyone).

[mymostimaginaryfriend]

Will you write a drabble for this promo too like last time? :)

(later, just the two of them)

He watched Teresa as she stood at the end of his bed, agitation evident even in her stillness. As much as he’d had good reasons, he’d still kept the truth from her, something he knew she’d need time to process. Still, when she didn’t immediately follow Pote and the rest of them out the door, he couldn’t help but feel a sliver of hope. 

God, he loved looking at her, always had. The soft curve of her cheek, the determined line of her jaw, the fierceness of her gaze.  His eyes had seemed to search her out instinctively from the start.  He used to dismiss it as threat assessment and maybe, in a way, it still was.

When she looked up, her expression had broken wide open, the depth of feeling on her face striking deep in his chest with a serrated blade.

“Why didn’t you trust me?” she asked, anguished, her eyes bright with emotion. “If I’d known, I could have — we could have...”

She let her voice trail off, swallowing hard, no doubt coming to the same conclusion he had all those months ago.  An outright war with the CIA was a war they could not win. 

He moved to sit up, wanting to close the distance between them but was cut short by the pain lancing through his abdomen.  She was at his side in an instant. No hesitation — just like she had been when he’d shown up shot in the loading bay. 

He watched her hands hover above his bandage, concern etched across her features, and felt a profound sense of gratitude.  Gratitude she’d come into his life.  Gratitude she let him stay in hers.

“Teresa.”

He wanted to tell her he loved her as he reached for her hand, but “You’re the only one I trust” came out instead.  

Maybe, for them, that was the same thing.

[mymostimaginaryfriend]

I loved that Boaz and Judge scene too - like what is he up to 👀

Oh me too, anon. When Boaz started talking about Kique and revenge I was like oh shit, he’s going to disobey Teresa and take out the judge.  BUT THEN, I remembered: it was Teresa who got Boaz his revenge on Cortez for Kique’s death... Was he thinking of that and how Teresa had promised revenge on the Judge too? I loved the unexpected nuances of it all.  

[mymostimaginaryfriend]

I was wondering if you are going to write any more fics for Queen of the South. I just discovered your writing recently and it's really amazing and I was hoping you had more in the works. I love the way you write Teresa's character especially. My favorite is "shoot the lights out (on the things we did wrong)" from your Cartel Carols series, I love that one so much. TIA :)

Hey there anon! Thank you so much!! This was so lovely to see in my inbox :) To answer your question: I haven't been writing much lately but I *do* have a few qots drafts I'd like to eventually finish, so while nothing is imminent, maybe/hopefully someday? Thanks again for reading my stuff and making my day.

[mymostimaginaryfriend]

I really hope we don’t get a 3x07 type Teresa all of season 5. Kind of sounds like it. You think so?

Hey anon! Oh, I hope not. If you’re worried about the coldness, I take heart in the fact that Queenpin in Teresa’s visions and “flash forwards” or whatever they turn out to be, still has some warmth. 

If you’re worried about Jeresa, I think there will be tension for sure, especially with James back expecting Teresa’s “different way of doing things” and finding Teresa conducting more of a cartel business as usual approach, but I don’t think it will be that raw, lashing out hurt that Teresa was experiencing in 3x07, especially not over a full season. 

And TBH, after S4 I’m looking forward to the tension James introduces into the story. The relationship between Teresa and James is the most dynamic relationship she has on the show.  He’s the only one who can get through to her on that level, especially if it’s stuff she doesn’t want to hear.  What I loved the most about Ryan’s IG chat and the EW article is the confirmation that as much as James has been all “this is your life now” to Teresa in the past, he is also the last line of defense for her soul.  I think his return for the final season gives Teresa the best chance of a happy ending. Hopefully for both of them.

Thanks for the ask!

[mymostimaginaryfriend]

How could Teresa do that??? Like why not just turn in Boaz instead?

Hey anon! That was so hard to watch! Even logically knowing that the story and Queenpin arc in particular required it to be a painful betrayal didn’t help me cope much lol. But if it didn’t hurt we wouldn’t care, right? We wouldn’t feel the loss of our Teresa.

Teresa has always been about SURVIVAL though. The more powerful she has become, the more this has skewed toward seeing her business as key to her survival rather than her soul being key to survival in this business. Both can be and are true but the balance that was there before has shifted to favor the former. I think with the recent reminders of her and her loved ones’ mortality, she likely senses the walls starting to close in a bit and she’s starting to take some risks she might not otherwise to get to her phantom idea of safety (hence the mad rush to get the money for the waterfront property etc).

As for choosing Boaz instead of turning him in, was anyone else alarmed at just how much control he had over her bottom line? No one else knew anything about the day to day in Sinaloa—the only location in Teresa’s empire that absolutely needs to run smoothly or else has the ability to grind her entire organization to a halt. Like Kelly Anne said, Boaz has made himself a very valuable asset to Teresa and I don’t think that’s by accident. I found his “I’m impulsive ...but you’re not” both insightful and a little manipulative maybe? Boaz has said something to Teresa along the lines of: “you should have killed them the moment they [acted out]” several times this season but because he was so un-Boaz-like in his delivery it’s been easy to not hear what he’s really saying in both his words and actions. Instead he calmly appealed directly to her sense of logic, business and revenge...combine that with Teresa’s business = survival mindset and Boaz lives to act out again another day.

Thanks for the ask!