#(civilized discussions i can respect but can't promise i'll want to take part in them. sorry)

[piracytheorist]

hey, read your answer about you being an anime only! i promise i'm not trying to pick a fight, but if you're open to discussing this a little: considering it took endo years to get to this point, it's unlikely we'll be able to get a full S3 next year since there's probably not enough manga chapters. will you be reading the manga then? ps: the manga isn't exactly. spoilers. it's the original story, no?

I don't think I'll be reading it, no. I mean, I can't be sure, my resolve may break at some point and I may indulge, but as I've explained why I'm doing it that way, I plan on continuing watching the anime first and then reading the respective manga chapters.

If I may be a little more personal here, this past year I've been stuck on a job that, while not unpleasant or demanding or exhausting in any way, it was far from fulfilling. This job's contract ends at the end of July and if I'm lucky, I may actually get a much more fulfilling job this September and be more proactive in it in general, so I'll have more time filled with stuff I like. Last fall it was Spy x Family that filled a lot of that hole, and I've been stuck all these months without that nor a job I enjoy. So I'm thinking, if I get that job I want, I'll have less unfulfilled time and thus less dependence on the show (not that I'll love the story or characters any less), so it may be easier for me to wait for ten months again for new content.

As for your p.s., by anime-only standards, yes it is a spoiler. If you go to the cinema to watch a film that was inspired by a book, you wouldn't tell someone what happens at the end if you knew they haven't read the book. That's spoilers. The book is still the original story, the film is still an adaptation, but by revealing a part of the story that a film watcher doesn't know, you're spoiling it for them - and no film watcher is obligated to read the whole book and know the whole content just to enjoy the film. And while Spy x Family is quite popular, it's not common knowledge popular. Saying "Jesus dies on the cross and then gets resurrected" isn't a spoiler for the bible or any film inspired by it because it's a millennia-old story that even many non-Christians know.

When it comes to the manga vs anime debate on what's spoilers and what's not, it can get a little tricky cause you have snobs and purists on both sides, which is why I prefer to stay away from the fandom instead of engaging and then complaining about getting spoiled, because I will get spoiled and it will be my fault. My one request is that, if someone reblogs any posts of mine, to not add any details about stuff that happens in manga chapters that haven't been animated. That's all. But no-one is obligated to read or engage with my stuff, a lot don't even see it, I'm not demanding anyone tag their spoilers on their own posts or complaining to those that don't, I recognize my own responsibility in curating my experience and avoiding spoilers and take the necessary measures to do so. So I don't see where's the problem with me, in my personal blog, referring to stuff that hasn't happened in the anime yet as "manga spoilers".

I understand you wanted a discussion, not a fight, but honestly it's a tricky issue, and I'd really really rather not get into the bad side of a purist, whether they're a manga or an anime purist. And such a discussion can be derailed very easily, so while you're welcome to discuss it with me in a civil manner, I will stop it if I feel it can get out of hand.

I'm not mad or upset at you or anything. I'm just a little wary because I know how toxic fandoms can get, especially when they hold some very passionate beliefs about what's "right" and what's "wrong" in the way other people consume fictional media.

[daz4i]

i posted a quick thing abt it earlier but now i’m posting a whole rant. tw antisemitism as well as mentions of terrorism under the cut. i would actually appreciate it if my goyishe mutuals try to read it despite the length

it’s actually making me really angry how easily antisemitic lies are spread on this site, especially under the guise of leftism. you’re using people’s good will to further a destructive agenda, and every time a jewish person speaks up against it we’re brushed off as aggressive, racist (bc correcting goyim about their misinformation is apparently the same as hating palestinians?? for some reason??), or literally attacked for *checks notes* saying we actually don’t want to be murdered or hate crimed in some other way

it’s especially common with american or british goyim to apply the logic of their own countries to the israeli-palestinian conflict and refuse to listen to anyone pointing out how it’s way more nuanced than just “big country steals land from natives just to get stronger” even if that’s what you see on the surface, and part of it is because of said antisemitic lies

there is historical - not that far history either, we’re talking 70, maybe 80 years ago, there’s people still alive who went through this - context to it all, most of it being THE LITERAL HOLOCAUST, YOU KNOW, A GENOCIDE JEWISH PEOPLE WENT THROUGH, 6 MILLION OF US DIED, WE STILL HAVEN’T REACHED THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE WE HAD BEFORE IT SINCE THEN BECAUSE IT WAS THIS DESTRUCTIVE TO OUR PEOPLE, that’s the reason why israel even exists in the first place. that’s not even considering hate crimes and other cases of terrorism targeting jews still happening around the world.

people saying zionism isn’t tied to judaism are either lying or are severely misinformed. zionism’s whole point is wishing for jews to be able to live and practice their religion in the country promised to them by god, aka zion, aka israel. that’s literally it. don’t let goyim make you think otherwise, don’t let them make you think it has nothing with religion, this is antisemitic propaganda and you are falling for it. (this whole rant started bc i saw a post of someone talking about how dumb and for some reason racist it is to say antizionism is antisemitism and i wanted to bite someone fr bc i KNOW they’re not jewish they’re just an antizionist and didn’t like being called antisemitic for it so they demonized the jewish people who called them out on it. please don’t put shit like that on my dash thank you)

i will admit that the modern definition of zionism slightly changed - not to most jews tbh, more to a very loud (and dangerous) minority within us, and that’s how we got to the current situation of oppressor-oppressed. i am more than willing to admit the israeli government is committing awful acts driven partially by racism and thirst for more power, especially with how right leaning it’s been for years now. we shouldn’t ignore this either.

however, hating israeli people for committing the awful crime of... being born... in a place........ IS antisemitic. i won’t blame palestinians who hate us, but i will definitely call out anyone else for that. do you hate every american person for simply being born in america because of what the actions of their government? no? okay, then what’s different about the israeli people? 🤔 hmmm really makes you think 

if your argument is “but you all serve in the military and therefore taking part in the oppression” i’ll have to remind you that:

military service is mandatory at 18 years old for 2-3 years

refusing to serve with no actual reason for it (like a disability of some sort for example) means you go to prison as well as get a huge stain on your future in general, so obviously almost all 18 y/os would prefer to serve and just get it over with rather than risk it

most of the soldiers in the idf are teenagers who may have gotten some basic training, a good majority of them probably doing office/computing jobs or stuff more similar to volunteer works but in uniform rather than going on the field and engaging in any form of violence 

which like. i can’t tell you what your opinion should be obviously but i think these are some things you should consider when you form one, not about the conflict itself but about the idf or israeli individuals 

also automatically assuming every israeli person supports the government no matter what is just dumb. we’re not a hive mind. our last prime minister and trump’s ex-bestie netanyahu stayed in power for this long by taking advantage of political loopholes basically (and tbh that’s how our current racist prime minister got the role too) rather than fair democratic elections (also even if he just got elected that doesn’t mean every single israeli person agrees with him, that’s just how democracy works. his supporters aren’t even a majority because we’ve got so many parties in every election cycle - another reason why you shouldn’t apply american or british standards to this country). viewing us as this one being that just wants to kill and steal land is antisemitic

on that note, the whole “thieves” thing ppl have abt israel is also antisemitic. for some more historical context, jews have been called thieves for centuries and we’re constantly blamed for most problems as well as for “taking over” everything because a lot of jews worked in banks and took care of money in many countries in europe, so when people had problems they dumped it on us. that’s part of where the whole lizard people conspiracy theory started from, too (on that note, don’t joke about it, yes not even about mark zuckerberg no matter how much you hate him, i hate him too but that’s no reason to make antisemitic jokes about a jewish man) 

even today, jewish people face violence and terrorism. just two weeks ago in chicago a jewish man was assaulted and synagogues and jewish schools were vandalised and sprayed with swastikas, for example. you can’t pretend antisemitism is irrelevant to this - the reason israel even exists, the reason the un decided it should exist, is to avoid cases like this. i’m only 23 years old but i remember when i was in like, middle school, there was a surge of french jews moving here after a wave of antisemitic hate crimes. this is still an issue and yes, this affects the conflict, because these people - as well as anyone being born here - need to live somewhere, obviously. you can’t talk about how we need to be kicked out of this country when this is what happens when we live anywhere else. you can’t say “never again” but then ignore what needs to be done for jews to actually be safe (i DON’T mean wars and killing palestinians or kicking them out of their homes, on god no one take me out of context and assume i’m implying something like that. i mean finding a place for jews to live and be safe). you can’t say “punch nazis” but constantly fall for their propaganda, they WILL use your good will to trick you into hating us. 

basically, i’m just asking you to pay attention, and to think before you keep spreading misinformation or sometimes even purposely malicious propaganda. 

is the person saying what does and doesn’t count as antisemitism actually jewish? no? probably propaganda, or best case scenario, a misguided person who thinks too highly of themselves. either way don’t engage with what they say and i’d say even block them, even if you think they make some good points.

is this post talking about the israeli government, or about israeli people? if it’s the latter, it’s antisemitic. at the best case scenario, it’s a person not thinking their words through, but this is still spreading dangerous ideas. don’t spread them even further. 

is a post condemning an israeli individual (most obvious example: gal gadot) for serving in the army? if you’ve read this post you already know it’s a little more nuanced. as i said, make your own opinion on the matter, but let it be an informed one rather than hating someone for something they didn’t have much of a choice in. 

also while i’m at it (didn’t know where else to put this rant sorry it’s a little off-topic), thinking all jews/israelis are white is racist - there’s more historical context like the holocaust and years before it that i’m not even sure i can explain (find any post complaining abt mother gothel’s design in tangled it’ll surely do a better job than me), but there’s a more obvious thing: a lot of jews are just. not european. honestly when it comes to ancestory, i’d argue no jew actually is (bc we’re originally from israel, aka the middle east) but obviously after so many years of assimilation it’s not exactly how it works and like everything regarding humans, it’s not black or white. still, most people in israel especially are a mix of multiple ethnic origins from across the world and it’s just unfair to brush it off to, again, apply western logic to a country that’s fundamentally different to justify your hate as being “woke”.

just. everything about this is very nuanced and complicated, because that’s how humans are. blind hate will get you nowhere. educate yourself if you can (i’d say start with the basics, read about the holocaust first, why and how it started and what led up to it). apply critical thinking before spreading infromation you’re not educated about and consider who posted and why they did it. talk to more jewish people, israeli or not. and stop putting antisemitic bullshit on my dash please i am begging you this shit is shortening my lifespan- 

[one-boring-person]

Only Traitors Consort With The Damned. (Part Fourteen)

The Lost Boys x reader

Warnings: injuries, death, blood, use of harmful gas, bad language

Context: (Y/n), Dwayne, Nico and Paul try to reunite themselves with David and Marko.

A/N: I'm sorry if this is getting a bit repetitive now, I promise it won't go on much longer!😅

Edited By: @jawline-of-steel

Masterlist

A hand on my shoulder wakes me, the gentle yet insistent sensation of someone shaking me from my dreamless sleep becoming apparent. I crack my eyes open to look at who it is, immediately meeting a hard grey stare as I do so, Nico's slightly dishevelled hair falling into his face slightly as he carefully tries to wake me, a grim smile creasing his features as he sees me looking at him. Withdrawing his arm, he replaces it where it was before: at the small of my back. Realising now that I'm lying on his chest, I go to roll off, hoping I haven't made him feel awkward in any way, only for him to stop me and gingerly help me sit up with him.

"Go steady, (Y/n). You're hurt, remember?" The werewolf chides me, lifting me very carefully off of his lap and onto the sofa beside him, keeping his hand at the crook of my back as I let out a whimper of pain, accidentally putting weight on my back leg.

"Yeah, thank you." I smile at him, turning my gaze to the room, where I see Dwayne and Paul watching us closely, both of them tense and jittery. Somehow neither of them look as if they've slept well.

"Sleep well?" Dwayne asks, voice sounding oddly detached, his mind clearly elsewhere.

"Surprisingly, yeah. You?" I respond, rubbing my head as the events of the night before come flooding back to me, dread reawakening itself in my core at the memory.

Paul laughs, bitterly.

"Not at all." 

I nod, hearing exactly what I expected, pulling a sympathetic face as I do so.

"Do you think we can get back to the cave?" Dwayne interjects, the brunette anxious to get back to his friends.

I think for a minute, considering the dangers and odds of what might happen if we did, replying a minute or so after, noticing now how Dwayne has started pacing.

"We should be able to. If they found nothing, then the team will have moved on to the next likely spot, so there'll probably be very little risk in trying. If there is any threat, it'll probably only be a guard or two left there to catch me, but I reckon David and Marko will have taken care of them." I frown momentarily, "You guys must be hungry. When was the last time you fed?"

Paul and Dwayne look at each other briefly, seemingly considering when their last meal was, neither of them particularly sure of themselves.

"It definitely wasn't yesterday. We were going to, but then things went wrong, so we never really got a chance." The blonde reveals, scratching his head slightly, "Can we go, please?"

Unsurprised at their eagerness, I go to stand up again, groaning when a bolt of agony spikes up my leg. Frowning, Nico moves to support me, pushing me back onto the sofa with a firm hand.

"Take it easy. I'll carry you." He reassures me, getting up to stretch out his rippling muscles, his bones cracking audibly as he does so, the sheer size of him made more apparent than ever in the small confines of the safe house. The three of us can only watch in awe at the sight of the werewolf tensing and flexing some of his more painful muscles, eyes naturally drawn to him. Noticing our stares, Nico lifts an eyebrow.

"What?" He asks, looking at us all in turn, clearly confused.

"Nothing." We all say in unison, looking away again until he's finished, at which point he comes over to me and scoops me into his arms again.

"Ok, let's go." Dwayne proposes, leading the way out of the safe house and to the ladder leading up to the abandoned gas station above, where Nico briefly hands me to Paul so he can climb up and take me from him again when he's made it through the opening. Once the three of us are out in the open again, we start walking in the direction of the Bluff, Nico following on after Dwayne and Paul, who are going much faster than him, despite his broader stride, due to their nervous disposition. Neither of them say a word, choosing instead to focus on getting where they need to be, navigating the darkened surroundings with ease, using their heightened senses to the best of their ability. 

As we walk, however, I become increasingly aware of Nico tensing behind me, the werewolf becoming warrier with each step, his grip on me incredibly tight as he moves along behind the vampires. The werewolf's head twitches in each direction every now and then, listening out for any tell tale sounds, though I can tell from the set of his jaw that he has not heard anything.

"What's wrong?" I ask him softly, worried at his behaviour.

"It's too quiet, I don't trust it." He says, looking down at me momentarily.

I frown, tensing my own muscles as I realise he's right: the surroundings are silent, not a sound to be heard for miles around except the footsteps of the three walking beings, the air laced with secrecy, my gut starting to wrench as my instincts start screaming at me to run. Before I can say anything, however, I notice that we've arrived at the Bluff, the raging sea audible from here as the cool breeze blows harshly around us.

Instantly, the two vampires run forwards into the light fog that surrounds the top of the cliff, something which I've never seen before up here, both of them eager to see their friends. Nico is more hesitant to follow, only just stepping into the mist to avoid continuing on into what could be certain doom. As he does so, I catch sight of two familiar figures standing at the crest of the cliff, looking as if they are waiting for us, their features obscured by the fog, though their silhouettes are very recognisable: David and Marko.

With cries of relief, Dwayne and Paul run towards the other vampires, only to slow down when neither of the others reciprocate the movement, both of them remaining stock still. Paul and Dwayne come to a halt, calling out their friends' names, only to be met with silence, something finally clicking in my mind.

"Shit, they used gas. Cover your face, now!" I yell out to them, aware now that we've been duped into feeling safe. Nico growls and steps back, his head twisting frantically from side to side, eyes flashing amber as Dwayne and Paul turn to face us, clearly confused. As they do so, two audible whooshing noises are heard, grunts of surprised pain escaping the vampires as crossbow bolts suddenly appear, protruding from their stomachs, blood erupting from the new wounds as they look at each other, then at me, terror clouding their eyes momentarily before they collapse to the floor, unmoving.

"No!" I scream out, wishing I could go to them, horror flooding me like a burning acid, fear and panic shredding any rational thought I had beforehand, my body writhing in Nico's grip.

"(Y/n) we have to go! Come on!" The werewolf says to me, sounding oddly aggrieved and reluctant to do so, clearly regretful that we have to leave them behind, only for a yelp of pain to fall off his own tongue, his eyes widening as he looks down at the silver knife in his chest. Staggering, he tries to hold me up, only to awkwardly fall to his knees, dropping me in front of him as his hands clutch at the bloody wound in his chest, his breathing heavy and ragged, the light leaving his eyes as he looks over at me one more time, before he drops to the floor, his muscular body soon going still.

"No, no, no! Nico please wake up! Please! Come on, this can't be happening! Oh, god, please wake up!" I shriek out, tears suddenly finding their way out onto my cheeks, coursing down my face as I sob into the bloodied shirt of my best friend, clutching at him as if I can bring him back.

"And this, my dear, is precisely the reason why you are no longer suitable for your job." A cold, snake-like voice cajoles me from somewhere behind me, the sound inciting a feeling of anger deep inside me, "You know the rules."

"Fuck off." I spit, turning to face the newcomer, keeping a grip on Nico's limp body.

"Now, now, there's no need to be vulgar." She chides me, coming closer, though her features are obscured by the presence of a gas mask. I know exactly who it is without needing to see her, however, and my suspicions are only confirmed when she makes a hand signal and the gas is switched off, the fog gradually clearing.

"I'll be vulgar if I want to be." I snarl back at her, glowering defensively at her as she removes her mask.

"Maybe around the scum you consort with, but not with your superiors." Valentine Fletcher commands, her pale, gaunt features highlighted harshly in the light from the tower just past the Bluff, each alabaster plane of skin cast in a bluish hue. Her pallid hair is swept up into a tight bun, her piercing heterochromatic eyes fixed sharply on me as she nears, "Plus, if you behave yourself, your friends might stand a chance of surviving."

At this, I frown and look ober where she is pointing, my heart dropping even further when I see what it is. 

David and Marko are tied to respective chairs, their legs staked to the seats with their eyes covered in what I can only assume are holy-water soaked blindfolds, blood staining their skin and hair, their heads bowed to their chests. Behind them stands a line of black-clad Hunters, their faces masked, too, to ward off any remaining effects of the gas. Horrified, I look back at Valentine, who smiles at the look on my face.

"Well? Can we discuss things in a civil manner?" She chuckles mockingly.

Part Fifteen

[roswelldetails]

RNM 2x08 - Say It Ain't So

EPISODE SUMMARY:

JAMIE CLAYTON GUEST STARS — Despite promising Liz (Jeanine Mason) that he’ll take things easy with his new heart, Max (Nathan Dean) sets out to find Cameron after learning that she’s gone missing. Michael (Michael Vlamis) grows concerned about Maria (Heather Hemmens) after a surprising discovery about her family history leaves her vulnerable. Elsewhere, ready to move on, Alex (Tyler Blackburn) goes on a date with Forrest (guest star Christian Antidormi), and Rosa (Amber Midthunder) makes a decision about her future. Rachel Raimist directed the episode written by Eva McKenna & Christopher Hollier (#208). Original airdate 5/4/2020. 

DETAILS:

Rosa's secret identity:

"...Cousin Rosalinda from Arizona. My mom married a minor league baseball player, but when he got relocated to a team in Florida…"

"Okay, you know what, let's just go with, they're dead."

This is a Twilight reference.

Rosa about the Mean Girl's art in the cave:

"That reminds me of Stephen Powers before he sold out."

Stephen Powers is a former street artist who went commercial. Some examples of his older work here:

Other examples of his newer, more commercial work here:

By the way, speaking of the cave:

And this is some fabulous visual storytelling right here:

Max is working at the Wild Pony. Temporarily, of course.

"Turns out debt collectors don't care if you've been half dead in a glowing pod for a few months."

So much for the headcanon that Max "I've been driving the same car since high school and am a homeowner before 30" Evans is good with his money. 😆 Debt collectors don't show up that fast… not that I know from experience or anything.  😳 *backs slowly away*

Iris refers to the cave as the go to hang spot for all the artsy weirdos. So it isn't like it was specifically Rosa's cave/hidden spot.

It's the first time we've seen this particular cave other than in 2008 flashbacks.

Iris Sanchez & Rosa Ortecho. Flower, Mexican family name. 😭 The hint is there!

Also 👀 from:

The iris earned its name from the ancient Greek Goddess Iris, a messenger to the gods who was thought to use the rainbow as a bridge between heaven and earth...these flowers were named to honor the Rainbow Goddess and bring favor upon the earth.

Mimi made Maria take back the necklace.

"She said that it was too late for her and that I needed it more."

Michael has seen the necklace before, but he didn't know what the flower was when he fixed the clasp and returned it to her in 1x10.  It was 1x11 when they learned of the existence of the anti alien pollen. Michael reminds us:

"I know this flower.  Its pollen has a paralytic effect on alien abilities."

Once Maria takes it off, she can name every card Michael pulls from the deck.

Maria lists off a bunch of necklace facts from past episodes that fandom has previously noted...

Her powers were heightened when Michael had the necklace in 1x10. 

She wasn't wearing it when Noah invaded her at the gala.

And she wasn't wearing it at Woman As Warrior in 2x02 when she sensed that Isobel was pregnant.

"Kyle said you aren't an alien."

Fact. Kyle did say that.  It doesn't mean that it's a fact that Maria doesn't have alien DNA in her though.

Kyle determined that her blood doesn't carry the alien protein that's in the Pod Squad and Rosa. He is making an assumption that the protein is tied to being an alien.

He said he ran other tests, but the results would take longer to come in. 

Also, just a personal theory, what else do Rosa and the Pod Squad (and Noah) all have in common? They all spent significant time marinating in a pod full of goo. Rosa (10 years), Pod Squad (at least 50 years), Noah (60 years). Kyle has not studied any samples of alien biology from an alien who didn't spend time in pod goo. It's possible the protein is related to the pod goo, moreso than the alien biology. Again, just speculation on my part.

Maria confirms that her mom started getting sick when she was 18, just after she passed the necklace on to Maria.

"If this prevents you from having more episodes, it probably stops the neurodegeneration process too. It's not kryptonite, Maria. This is preventative medicine. Keep it on."

In 2x06 it was established that in addition to Sanders' place being a junkyard and a mechanic/auto shop, they also do tow truck service.  Now that comes into play again as Michael was hired to bring Cam's car back to Roswell for the investigation into her disappearance.  He brought it to the junk yard first though to give Max and Liz an hour to check the car for clues before the sheriff's department comes to collect it.

Max is smart too, in his own way. He quickly identified that "Agent Powell" was driving a rental car and that her gun wasn't government issue. 

However, it's only when he sees her tattoo (which Cam told him about in 1x07) that he confirms that she's actually Charlie Cameron!

(10 points to fandom!)

Max & Liz's conversation with Charlie is mostly just reminding us what we know about Charlie and Jenna's relationship. 

Liz indicates that Jenna had been looking for Charlie for months.  Charlie responds that she didn't want to be found (both things we learned in 2x04 through Cam's discussion with Jesse Manes.

Max indicates that Jenna thought that Charlie hated her, a call back to us first learning about Charlie and the matching tattoos in 1x07.

"I worked on a controversial project a while back. A lot of dangerous people want to know what I know."

(Again, stuff we learned in 2x04).

They learn through Cam's text history that she was looking for Jesse Manes (which we already knew, because...2x04).

"I'm just a guy standing in front of a tourist trap asking a history buff to shoot him with high velocity paint."

Tongue-in-cheek reference to the movie Notting Hill.

"So, you're cool playing war? Doesn't bring anything up?"

"Oh, yeah, my PTSD triggers are a little more complicated. Suffice to say, this war zone is the only place that my family actually got along when I was a kid."

"Yeah, some of my old platoon buddies actually play in leagues."

"I didn't know that you served."

"Yeah I wouldn't go bragging about it to a guy with a Purple Heart. I might have googled you."

New information… both that Forrest served, that he looked into Alex (which could be innocent OR sketchy…).

And of course this is the first open discussion about Alex's PTSD issues.

Cowboys versus aliens paintball… Alex is the cowboy, so Forrest must be the alien.

The call that interrupted Forrest's attempt to kiss Alex was from the hospital. Hence why Alex goes there to see Jesse.

"Look, if I had a little lucky charm that could stop people like Noah from messing with me, I would have that surgically implanted into my décolletage."

Have to admit, I wasn't sure what décolletage meant, so in case anyone else isn't familiar: 

"These abilities are a part of me. I'm not gonna just throw away the chance to learn about who I am. That make sense to you?"

"Yeah, actually, it does."

"You've gotten stronger this year, right?  Can you teach me to train? Learn how to control it all?"

"Look, it took a lot of practice before I could do anything without puking and guzzling acetone to kill the pain.  And you can't practice, because according to Kyle, every time you do it eats your brain."

"Look, I'll stop before it goes that far, okay? I know the signs. Besides, if you help me, maybe I can help you. There must be something that you want to know about your future."

"What about my past?"

Max meeting with Jesse at the Crashdown. This is super interesting because it's the first time Max has sat down, face to face, with a hostile human who knows he's an alien. 

"My uncle used to bring me here. That was back when it catered to a more civil clientele. People who actually respected the history of this town."

This is likely foreshadowing what's to come next week, based on the promo pics released.

Again, similar to the scene with Charlie at the junkyard, much of this exchange between Max and Jesse is just reminding us of stuff we learned in 1x04.

"The last time I saw her she came to me with questions about her sister.  And I told her that the people most interested in Charlie's device were a black ops group based out of Los Alamos. They're called Deep Sky. This is their logo. Paramilitary. And I told Jenna that what she was getting into was gonna be dangerous. But apparently she didn't listen.

Note: in case any of you are unaware, in Los Alamos there's a US DOE lab that has a long, sketchy history of weapons development.  Makes perfect since that it's where a paramilitary organization interested in Charlie's research would be based there.

The Deep Sky Logo

I compared this to a number of screenshots of alien symbols (like the ones we saw in Jim Valenti's letters in 1x12) and there were no matches.

However, fandom has already noted that the logo matches Trevor's ring in 2x06 (see that episode's details post for the photo).

"Charlie Cameron's mind is a unique specimen. Kind of like you. And there's always someone in the shadows waiting to crack those open."

"What did you do to Jenna?"

"I told her the truth. Which is more than you ever did. You're kind of a wolf in sheep's clothing, aren't you?"

"And what are you? Do you feel like a hero? All those people you tortured, all those people you killed. Turns out none of them were an enemy.  They were refugees. So you're not just a murderer, you're a failure."

"Yeah, I know. I am. But I tell you, something shifted in my brain when I had the stroke.  All the hate's gone out of me. All the fight. Caulfield is over and my son Flint has been reassigned. Look at me. I can barely walk."

Liz and Charlie in the car:

"Waitressing's really got to blow when you've grown a fully functioning heart muscle in a lab.  Or are you not the same Elizabeth Ortecho who co-authored a 2013 paper on cellular reprogramming? Some people build model trains; I do my homework.  Your boyfriend seems more like the train type."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"We've discovered new worlds and changed the course of mankind from a microscope. Should I go Netflix and chill with my boyfriend or stay in the lab, architecting the future?"

"No offense, but if it's true that you've been in prison and in hiding, it does not seem like you've seen much of the inside of a lab either."

"I went too far.  I thought I was building something with real value. The thing is, anything that has the potential to create real change, it scares people. And anything that scares people is inherently dangerous no matter what your intention is."

"You could start over. Get a new identity, work at a research university."

"I've done extraordinary things. Everything ordinary is ruined now."

More exposition that we already know as Max catches Charlie and Liz up on what he learns from Jesse.

"He said Cam is headed to Los Alamos to investigate a group called Deep Sky. Does that mean anything to you?"

"No. Let me reach out to some of my military contacts, do some recon. Give me a day, we'll go from there."

Liz and Michael, in the lab, on The Science:

"I'm looking for the sample of yellow pollen."

"The stuff I swept off the floor after throwing it at Noah? I don't know. I didn't see it while we were packing up."

"Well it was here a few months back.  Did I miss an experiment where it grew legs and a fondness for the outdoors?"

"Could have been accidentally thrown away. Sample was too oxidized to be of much use, and I've been trying to get my hands on fresh flowers, but it's impossible. I think they might be extinct. Why are you freaking out?"

"Because I have a math problem. There's only one flower in Maria's necklace, but there are two DeLuca women and apparently the flower is the key to preventing their illness. This is everything from the Caulfield drives and the experiments done on Maria's grandmother. A lot of it was lost in a lab fire in the '80s, but…"

"I'll take a look."

(Aside… 👀 Lab fire in the '80s. I have a feeling that's more foreshadowing.)

"I just want you to see if anything done could be undone. I don't want you to, like, Dr. Frankenstein it. The experiments were very bad."

"My days as an alien scientist are officially over."

"Why don't I believe you?"

"'Cause it's hard not to think about the far-reaching implications of this kind of research. You don't get sick on this planet. If I could figure out why, I could eradicate all illness."

"But you can't. Because that would expose us."

"Which I would obviously never do. It's over."

Arturo's text to Liz:

Have you seen our little mouse?

"Rosalinda" is late for her first shift.

Isobel and Maria go to Michael's trailer and Isobel shows Maria the newspaper clip of Michael's mom to try to trigger a vision.

"It's not working. And I don't feel great going through this stuff without Michael knowing."

"Why not? One day this palace might all be yours."

"It's not working.  I have a business to run, and you need to go Instagram something."

"Says the social media revitalizer. Listen, word to the wise, every time Max saw Liz in a skirt and tried not to pop a bulb, he wound up setting off a fire alarm. Everytime I push myself too hard, I miss time, or wind up accidentally realizing that my mom still thinks about her ex-boyfriend Rocco, like, in vivid detail."

"Okay, where are you going with this?"

"Effort doesn't equal control. So if you want to do this you're gonna have to embrace your inner ice queen and let it go."

"I'm not great at letting things go."

"Yeah, I know.  That's hard…"

Maria's vision:

Triggered by a t-shirt hanging in the trailer.

Louise is hanging laundry

Walt runs up to her and gives her a little windmill with her name on it. (Initially I thought her name was pressed or punched into the metal, but on second viewing, it looks like it might be puff paint or something similar.)

Walt runs off to find Nora and Louise goes back to hanging laundry.

After the vision Maria's nose starts bleeding.

Max goes after Charlie to stop her from turning herself in.

I wonder if his tire screeching action guy driving is supposed to be emphasizing to the audience that he's not being as cautious as he should be? 

Deep Sky said that if Charlie "...wasn't at Sutter's grain depot by 11pm, that they would torture (Cam) to death."

Charlie heard on the call:

A train rolling by

A demonic laugh

And somehow that's enough for Max to magically know exactly where Cam is.

Alex and Jesse at the hospital:

"Hey, they said that you mixed whiskey with your medications.  That's not like you."

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I don't know. I mean, you're my father. I can't seem to shake you."

"Yeah. I failed."

"Yes. But in what way specifically?"

"Uncle Tripp. I let him down. I never could figure out what he needed of me. And tonight I went to the bunker.  And I keep trying to crack the code."

"Liz said that you spoke to Max Evans. She said that you were half decent to him. Is that what this is about?"

"One of them killed Tripp, you know."

"An alien? Yeah. Then he hunted them. He dragged them to a torture chamber. I'm not surprised one of them…" 

Jesse slams his cane.

"He was the best man I ever knew.

Jesse tries to stand and falls into Alex, then continues to walk away.

The location that Deep Sky is holding Cam looks like a rodeo or horse arena or racetrack with a big grandstand.

There are nearby train tracks, and a warehouse where a mechanic repairs old carnival rides.

As Max and Charlie are scoping out the area you can hear both sounds softly in the background.

The sniper was watching and shooting at them from the grandstand.

Charlie is shot in the leg.

"Let me go get her."

"No. Deep Sky wants me alive. Your brain is worth considerably less to them which means it'll be splattered all over the dirt."

(Oh the irony...confirming that Charlie doesn't know that Max is an alien.)

"If anything goes wrong, call Liz. No doctors."

Max does shoot the sniper!

And then uses his powers to knock out the power (and instantly feeling it in his heart when he starts to use his powers!!!!!!) which, as @angsty-aliens very eloquently pointed out, is absurd because there was a big red lever that would have done the same thing. *facepalm*

Cam on her kidnapping:

"The last thing I remember is this weird sound. It made the hairs on my arm stand up. And this bright light, and the pain in the back of my neck like you wouldn't believe."

Cam's burn is fractals.  Like Liz's burn from Max's powers in 1x03. Top is Liz's fresh burn in 1x03, bottom is Cam's not-so-fresh burn in 2x08. Keep in mind, we don't know how long Cam was missing for.

Rosa and Iris at the "art show".

"So you said you're from Roswell?"

"Oh, I was from Roswell.  I got out and went to art school as soon as I graduated. I work for an artist now. I help her run her gallery. Yeah, I used to want to be a painter, but then I realized I loved curating art way more than I ever loved making it."

👀 I wonder what this says about Rosa's internal motivation. If Iris is the life she wishes that she had, does she not want to be a painter? Or is that her internal insecurity rearing its head.  Like, she can't even dream about that possibility because it's what she really wants above all else.  Which is why Iris then motivates her to paint and prove to her inner self that she is an artist? 

Speaking of which, here's Rosa's painting from the episode. Mucho gracias to @rosaortecho for giffing it for me since it wasn't cap-able in a single shot.

Iris's assessment of Rosa's art:

"This piece is you outrunning your demons. This is amazing. That's what you have to do.  You have to capture them and rattle the cage.  This is art. This is what you're meant to do, Rosa!"

Rosa's hallucination starts to fall apart as they dance.  She starts coughing and having trouble breathing.

"Your star sign's just out of whack."

Play on lyrics from God of Wine by Third Eye Blind, which was heavily referenced in 1x02. 

The direct quote is "your star sign's out of whack" and the next lyric is "a fraudulent zodiac"

Which, of course, is what Rosa had written on her hand before she died in 2008 and is a reference to Ophiuchus, which was Noah's zodiac obsession.

And then Liz finds her overdosing in the cave. 

The coughing in Rosa's hallucination was from smoke inhalation.  Because while passed out she started a fire with her powers.

Feels like a good time to point out that it's the same cave that she died in back in 2008, and she would have died there again if Liz hadn't found her. 😭

At the hospital Rosa tells Liz that she wants to go to rehab, but she knows she can't since she can't control her powers. 

Liz gives her Maria's necklace to borrow since it will suppress her powers and allow her to go to rehab.

Alex and Forrest at the Wild Pony:

"I still have my dad's voice in my head telling me that being seen with a man in public is an embarrassment. To my name and my uniform."

"Well, there's nothing like a dad voice to mess up a perfectly good date."

"It's also just that...I mean, Roswell's so conservative. This bar is filled with cowboys. If you want to go someplace private…"

"Look, I like you. But I don't want to climb into somebody else's closet."

"I cannot tell you how badly I want to be done with this frickin' closet."

"But you're not. And that's okay. Really. Listen, if that voice in your head ever shuts up, give me a call. Because between you and me, making out with a hot guy in public is only made hotter when it pisses off all the bigots and homophobes."

Charlie took off and left a note for Jenna. According to Jenna it says she's gonna disappear again and not to look for her.

Arturo is taking Rosa to a rehab center that Kyle set her up with "a few hours away".

Max tells Liz "let's go home." So… did she move in with him??

Liz says no though.  She says she has to open the diner and cry alone.  But instead she goes to the secret lab.  

Both Max and Liz were evading the truth a little bit here.  Liz didn't tell Max that she wanted to go to the secret lab.  Max didn't tell Liz that his heart did wonk out after using his powers and he did overdo it going after Cam. Bad Echo!!

Liz goes back to packing the secret lab up initially, but then her eyes fall into the Caulfield folders, and she stops. 

She unpacks her stolen equipment (genetic sequencer?), puts on her lab coat, and sits down to start reading the file.

Isobel brings Michael beer as a peace offering, since she's coming to admit that she helped Maria trigger a vision.  She thinks Michael will be mad, but he isn't because he and Maria already worked it out.

So Isobel tells him about the vision and seeing Louise, and specifically about Walt giving Louise the windmill. 

Michael immediately reacts, goes to a shelf, and grabs a similar windmill.

Turns out Walt is Sanders.  He pulls up in his car and Michael immediately confronts Sanders.

"It was you. You're Walt. You're the little boy in the photo.  You knew my mother."

And Sanders nods.

10 more points to fandom.

Max goes to Charlie's hotel to confront her about turning herself in to Deep Sky.

The windmill in both scenes. Until I put this together I didn't think they were the same one (because Louise's name isn't on Michael's. But other details (like the word weight on one of the legs) are the same.

"You think Deep Sky needs to have Jenna by the throat to kill her? Okay, the only way that I can protect her is from the inside."

Then the "abduction scene" happens.

It mirrors what happened to Jenna in 2x04, only to Max and Charlie.

MUSIC:

1.  Hole "Celebrity Skin"

2.  Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real "Die Alone"

3.  Shelly Fairchild "Worry No More"

4.  Marc Danzeisen "Some Things Last Forever"

5.  Joey Sykes "Sign Of The Times"

6.  I AM ORFA "Like That Look"

7.  Danny Ayer "Set Us Free"

8.  Hamish Anderson "Trouble"

9.  OMC "How Bizarre"

10.  Muscadine Bloodline "Movin' On"

11.  Little May "Hide"