#Valenti Crime Family

[sandythereadingcafe]

REVIEW

DIRTY SECRETS (Valenti Crime Family 5) by Kelsie Calloway at The Reading Cafe:

'fast paced premise is heart breaking and emotional'

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jessica Valenti at Abortion, Every Day:

Well, it’s official: Presidential nominee Kamala Harris has tapped Tim Walz to be her running mate. While I was still holding out hope for a Harris/Whitmer ticket, I think Walz is the best choice among the men the Vice President was said to be considering. The Minnesota governor is charming, funny and relatable—the internet says he has ‘dad energy’—and he’s clearly eager to take on Republicans. After all, it was Walz who started calling JD Vance and Donald Trump “weird,” an attack that’s working in the polls and has since been adopted by Harris’ campaign. Walz is also very strong on abortion rights, an issue that has become even more central to the presidential election now that Harris is the nominee. So it’s no surprise that while abortion rights groups are lauding Walz as the VP pick, anti-abortion activists and organizations are losing their collective shit. More on that soon, but first let’s get into Walz’s history on abortion and why the issue is so personal to him.

Walz & Abortion Rights

Walz won reelection in 2022 by campaigning on abortion rights, and under his leadership, Minnesota became the first state to codify abortion protections after Roe was overturned. Walz signed the PRO Act in January 2023, a law guaranteeing the right to abortion, birth control and other reproductive healthcare. And while abortion was already legal in Minnesota, the PRO Act added a vital extra layer of protection. Walz said, “No matter who sits on the Minnesota Supreme Court, this legislation will ensure Minnesotans have access to reproductive health care for generations to come.”

He also told CNN at the time, “This is very simple, very right to the point…We trust women in Minnesota.” In keeping with that vow to trust women, Walz also signed an executive order banning state agencies from cooperating with out-of-state investigations into abortion ‘crimes,’ and later signed a law that does the same. Minnesota’s Reproductive Freedom Defense Act shields abortion patients and providers from out-of-state legal or disciplinary actions for providing legal care; prohibits Minnesota agencies from enforcing out-of-state subpoenas, arrest warrants, and extradition requests; and protects patient records and privacy.

[...] Walz also ended a program that gave millions in funding to anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers that lie to and shame women, saying, “I think women deserve better than that.” In March, he accompanied Harris on her trip to an abortion clinic—a historic first by a sitting vice president. And the Minnesota governor has made clear that much like Harris, he’s not afraid to talk about abortion rights directly and candidly. Earlier this year, he slammed Republicans for running from the issue, saying that while they try to “lay a little low and not bring it up…I'll continue to talk about it.” Finally, what’s really interesting about Walz’s support for reproductive rights is that it’s not just political for him—the issue is personal. Walz has been open about his family’s IVF story, especially after the Alabama Supreme Court decision that frozen embryos were “extrauterine children.” Both of Walz’s children with his wife Gwen—Hope and Gus—were born with the help of IVF. Walz says, “It’s not by chance that we named our daughter Hope.”

[...]

Anti-Abortion Response

As soon Harris’ campaign announced Walz as her running mate, anti-abortion groups didn��t waste a moment before attacking the Minnesota governor as an extremist. Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America released a statement calling Harris-Walz “the most pro-abortion Democratic ticket yet,” claiming that Democrats have “become the ‘Shout Your Abortion’ party, with no limits for any reason.” If only! Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, said, “Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are both radically pro-abortion and see the lives of precious unborn babies as disposable inconveniences.” And Students for Life president Kristan Hawkins called them “the most radically pro-abortion ticket in American history.” (I love the idea that a woman who wants to see birth control banned thinks she has the standing to call anyone “radical.”) Hawkins’ group also tweeted that Walz “supports killing babies up until the moment of birth & even moments after the baby is born.” As I’ve noted before, this horrific ‘post-birth’ abortion lie being pushed by Trump is gaining Republican steam. It was just a few days ago, in fact, that Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Harris and Democrats support “abortion up until birth and even after birth.”

The pick of Tim Walz as Vice-President nominee for Kamala Harris is a godsend for reproductive rights and abortion access, especially in the post-Roe climate.

See Also:

Daily Kos: Anti-abortion extremists are big mad about the Harris-Walz ticket

[alex-guerin]

Music of My Heart

Summary: For the first time in his life, Michael wanted nothing more than to have a home with Alex, a family to call their own to make up for the shit hand they’d both been dealt. He wanted it so much it hurt like a physical blow to the chest. A family. Him and Alex. Their own family and home together.

His hopes and dreams all changed in the blink of an eye, though, once Jesse Manes found out about them.

Pairing: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes

Additional tags: Canon-Typical Violence, Teen Romance, Teen Pregnancy, Mpreg Alex Manes, Kidnapping, Jesse Manes is his own warning and war crime, A LOT of Angst, I promise it has a happy ending, Alien/Human Relationships, Angst with a Happy Ending, canon divergence from the toolshed scene, Roswell New Mexico Big Bang 2022, Caulfield Prison (Roswell New Mexico), Deep Sky (Roswell New Mexico), good guy Jim Valenti, Nora Truman lives, Canonical Character Death, Implied/Referenced Character Death, sticking with the show's usage of 90s songs for titles, title comes from a NSYNC song

Word Count: 62375          

Gifs are in chapter 15, but can also be found here and were created (along with the header) by the wonderful @angrycowboy​

Yes, it’s a teen!Malex fic. Yes, it’s an mpreg!Alex fic. Please give it a chance, though?

Read it on AO3

@rnmbb​

[dayscrazed]

I'm back with more Fanfic Fridays!

Rating: Mature Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Category: M/M Fandom: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019) Relationship: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes Characters: Michael Guerin, Alex Manes, Isobel Evans, Max Evans, Liz Ortecho, Kyle Valenti, Noah Bracken, Mr. Jones, Jesse Manes Maria DeLuca, Eduardo Ramos, Gregory Manes, Flint Manes, Nora Truman

Additional Tags: Future Child, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Multiverse, Future Child Time Travel, basically things happen out of order from canon, so it's better, Getting Together, Slow Burn, Falling In Love, Childhood Trauma, Facing Trauma, Detective Work, Alien Mysteries, Letters as Clues, Mindscapes, Possession, Mind Control, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, PTSD blackouts, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Group Mission, Surveillance, Caulfield, Deep Sky, The Lockhardt Machine, Lots of mindscapes, Alex is a genius hacker, Michael has trust issues, Science, Jesse Manes is a War Crime, Flint Manes isn't much better, Canon Disabled Character, Miscommunication, Alex Manes Needs a Hug, Michael Guerin Loves Alex Manes, Minor Max Evans/Liz Ortecho, Alex & Kyle Friendship, Pod Squad, AU Season 1, Based on The Winchesters, Alex is John and Michael is Mary

_______

When Alex Manes returns from war, he gets a mysterious letter from a young man who looks somehow familiar. That letter leads him to his family’s secret bunker and directly in the path of Michael Guerin and his mission to find answers about his family.

Alex and Michael must navigate their complicated history while following clues from an anonymous pen pal who somehow knows all their secrets and can give advice on how to uncover more alien mysteries and survive their enemies.

Friends get involved. Relationships are tested. Secrets come out. Powers are discovered. Deep fears are faced.

The story takes place the summer Alex returns (the timeline of season 1) and is loosely based off of and inspired by “The Winchesters” (Michael= Mary; Alex= John).

[voidnerd]

TTRPG Questionnaire

Taken from @kiikiibee

GENERAL

Name: Berith Valentis

Alias(es): None, although he generally doesn't use his family name. Called "Beri" by his boyfriend, although anyone else using that would get stabbed.

Gender: Male

Age: 20

Place of birth: Vasterland

Spoken languages: Common, Infernal, bits of Chalgasi

Sexual orientation: Gay

Occupation: Wannabe criminal mastermind

Class: Sorcelock (Shadow Magic/Hexblade)

Ancestry: Tiefling. His mother is a high elf and his father is a tiefling. Despite infernal heritage being quite rare where they live, there's a high rate of it on his father's side of the family.

APPEARANCE

Eye color: Gold irises with black sclera

Hair color: Black, although it gets slightly transparent towards the end and acts like smokey flames.

Height: 5′10"

Scars: None

Burns: None

Build: More muscular than you might expect a spellcaster to be, although it's almost completely for show.

FAVOURITE

Color: Red, gold

Hair color: He doesn't care.

Eye color: Again, doesn't really care or think about it much. Although gold is nice.

Music genre: I don't think he has experience with a broad range of musical genres, but he'd prefer the sort of music you'd hear in the city streets or a bar.

Entertainment: Berith loves a good party, although he'd always prefer something in a tavern as opposed to a stuffy noble ball. He also enjoys anywhere he can stir up general mischief.

Pastime: Crime, scheming, fencing training, strategy games

Food: Anything spicy, although he does have a secret sweet tooth

Drink: Mead, red wine

Books: Gross. (He secretly has lots of books on game theory and strategy, but he won't admit it.)

HAVE THEY

Passed university: Nope, that's (kind of) a work in progress.

Had sex: Yes

Had sex in public: Yes

Kissed a man: Yes

Kissed a woman: Once, just to see if he was into it. He was not.

Gotten tattoos: Not yet.

Gotten piercings: He has several piercings in both ears and his tail.

Had a broken heart: Nope.

Been in love: Hmm...

Stayed up for more than 24 hours: Probably.

ARE THEY

A cuddler: No

A kisser: Berith was never big into PDA in the past, but recently he's come to appreciate it a little more... So yes.

A smoker: He will out of boredom or socially, but it's not a habit.

Scared easily: Berith isn't scared of anything, for better or worse.

Jealous easily: YUP.

Trustworthy: NOPE.

Dominant: Yes. Berith has a very commanding personality and that goes for pretty much all areas of his life.

Submissive: No.

Single: Nope, he's currently courting an aasimar noble named Olivier.

RANDOM QUESTIONS

Have they harmed themselves: No

Wanted to kill someone: Oh yeah, lots of people.

Actually killed someone: Yes

Ridden a horse: Probably like... Once? And it probably went poorly.

Have/had a job: Does being a delinquent count as a job? If so, then yes.

Have any fears: Nope

FAMILY

Berith has an older twin sister named Cailith. They're pretty much complete opposites and don't get along at all. Their parents are a Duke and Duchess in Vasterland, with their mother's branch of the family distantly related to the King.

TAG

I'll tag @solveliss but anyone else can swipe it too! I might do this for my blood hunter eventually also.

[storyxonline]

Filthy Sinner / Savage Prince by Kelsie Calloway -reviewsThe Reading Cafe

FILTHY SINNER(Valenti Crime Family 3)by Kelsie CallowayGENRE: adult, contemporary, erotic, Mafia romance Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au / Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc ABOUT THE BOOK : Release Date April 25, 2023 “I can explain.” That’s what everyone says when they’re caught breaking the law. City Council Commissioner Sloane…

[gra-sonas]

I'm curious what are your thoughts on the malex scene for ep6?

I think it's a great scene to re-introduce us to their dynamic. It showcases perfectly where they are at with each other - and as it should be, we, the audience, see the whole picture, whereas these two don't. Not yet.

THE TENSION, SO DELICIOUS!!!

So, apparently, it was Michael, who asked Alex for help. Which is a great thing imo.

Michael's a genius, and yet he's aware that not even his superior brain knows all the answers. So, he asked the most capable and clever person he knows: Alex.

And Alex came (OF COURSE HE DID, HE ALWAYS DOES WHEN MICHAEL ASKS HIM TO). He didn't just come to see what Michael wanted/needed tho. Alex is working with Deep Sky now and going by that small flashback to Alex talking to Eduardo prior to the Malex scene, he's aware of some things regarding those bats Michael isn't.

Alex is in a bit of a pickle here. He joined Deep Sky because he wanted answers, because he wanted to see whether there was any good he could do, and he joined in an effort to find out what Deep Sky knows about aliens, and whether that knowledge could be a potential threat to Michael's, Isobel's and Max's safety.

Alex is a protector at heart, and he feels responsible for what his father (his family, really) did to the aliens. He wants to keep the pod squad (and especially Michael) safe, he wants to make sure, that no shadow organization (government or otherwise) can dig up anything about them, and put them in danger.

Michael has always been trying to do the same thing, only now he's also on a crusade to protect other people, even when one of those people is Kyle Valenti. xD He no longer wants to wallow in guilt (about what they did to Rosa) and self-pity (bc he was dealt a shitty hand for most of his life).

Michael wants to do good, use his knowledge and abilities for good. And he damn well wants to figure out who knocked Maria out (to the point where she's in a hospital, possibly unconscious going by 3x06 promo pics), and took Kyle.

Considering that Maria and Kyle are Alex's closest friends, it was fair of Michael to assume, that Alex would do everything in his power to help Michael.

Instead, Alex isn't just hesitant to help, he downright dismisses Michael and his theories, certainly a poor attempt at throwing Michael off the scent of RADIO TRANSMISSIONS.

Remember, Alex has only been back in town for 4 days (give or take), Michael's not aware of Alex having left the Air Force and joining Deep Sky yet (he's very likely not even aware that Forrest is out of the picture). He doesn't know anything about the Lockhart machine, what it does every 47 days, what it might've been built for, and that it reacted to the pebbleturquoise Michael gave him. Alex on the other hand is aware of it using RADIO FREQUENCIES, and he knows that Eduardo has to be connected to it somehow.

Alex doesn't dismiss Michael to be cruel (even though it kinda is), he's doing it bc he's afraid Michael might start digging deeper and possibly putting himself in danger in the process.

When Michael fills Alex in on a detail about the attack (a bloody shovel at the crime scene), Alex visibly freezes. He starts connecting dots (Eduardo's bandaged arm, he claimed was bandaged bc of a rabies shot - wrapping half his arm after a supposed vaccination? SureJan.gif), and he doesn't like the picture he's seeing. Instead of explaining things to Michael, he tries to leave.

Nice try, bc Michael's not done yet, and he uses his telekinesis to stop Alex.

Michael's visibly upset with Alex. He sure thought that Alex would be eager to help him figure out what happened to Kyle and Maria, especially after Alex's I WOULD BURN DOWN THE ENTIRE WORLD FIRST declaration from just 2 days ago (Michael must've been hopeful bc of their interaction when he asked Alex for help).

Instead, Alex is dismissing Michael's theories, and he's trying to leave. SO MANY MIXED SIGNALS, how's Michael supposed to figure out what's really going on?

He doesn't understand why Alex behaves the way he does. He senses that something's off and he wants to understand. Alex isn't ready to share information yet tho.

Michael tells Alex in no uncertain terms, that he expected him to give a damn about what happened to his friends. Bc that's how Michael reads Alex's reaction, he understands Alex's unwillingness to look into the radio/bat situation with him as "he doesn't care about Kyle and Maria".

But also, NOT REALLY! Bc that's just not who Alex is as a person. Michael wants answers tho he wants to understand why Alex is so dismissive, and what he's hiding, so he provokes Alex in an attempt to get a reaction, and an explanation out of him.

Meanwhile, all Alex can think about is "this might've been Eduardo, this might've been Deep Sky, I have to get back to the headquarters to see what I can find out and whether maybe Kyle's there somewhere??? Also Liz has the bloody shovel, how can I get a blood sample from Eduardo to see whether it's his blood? Shit, Michael can't know about any of it bc he'd be angry about me joining Deep Sky, and there's no time for that discussion now. Also, he'd probably insist on coming with me to free Kyle, and there's no way I'll let him near Deep Sky until I know what we're dealing with (or ever, if I can help it)."

GAAAAAH, these two idiots! Michael's upset that Alex seemingly refuses to help and investigate with him, and Alex wants to protect Michael and wants to figure things out on the Deep Sky end before he has a conversation about it with Michael. Michael wants to share information with Alex in order to save their friends. Alex is withholding information from Michael in order to protect Michael.

Was it kinda rude of Michael to say that he'd like Alex to be the guy who cares about their friends? Yes. Was it kinda rude of Alex to keep Michael in the dark and behave like there's nothing to Michael's theory, and then just wanting to leave without any further explanation? Also yes. Did Michael say it to provoke a reaction from Alex (and get an explanation he can understand)? Yes. Did Alex give him that? Kinda? In a way? Hopefully? Maybe? It's hard to tell how Michael interprets Alex saying "I just don't want you anywhere near whatever it is I decide to do."

Is this the face of a man who understands that Alex is doing what he can, but that he can't share the details with Michael yet (Alex said earlier "Look, I'll talk to you later." That implies more talking and possibly an explanation from Alex's end.) Or is this Michael taking what Alex said as the biggest dismissal (FUCK YOU but with more words) ever, and he's resigning to figuring this out on his own?

They both fucked up in this scene, both had their reasons, and it's all about figuring out alien-related shenanigans and keeping people safe at the same time.

⬇️ THIS is their dynamic. Always has been, especially when Alex found out about aliens, and that Michael is one.

And Alex is ready to twist himself into a pretzel to keep Michael safe (joining Deep Sky was about that first and foremost).

But I'm sure this whole scene wasn't for nothing. There has to be a build-up to them finally TALKING, and learning where the other's coming from, learning that neither of them's malicious just for the heck of it. And man, I can't wait for the moment when all cards are on the table, and they start working together!

Alex has been a lone wolf for so long, and bc of his "I'm a trained soldier, if anyone's going to be in danger, it better be me bc I know how to handle these situations" mentality, he often keeps things to himself until he has a better idea of potential dangers/threats. Hell, he just went on a one-year long trip out of town to make sure that Project Sheperd was well and truly finished, it's nothing short of a miracle that he told Kyle about Deep Sky trying to recruit him - but as far as we know, he hasn't told anyone but Greg about actually doing it yet. And I doubt that Greg had nothing better to do than tell everyone in the group chat.

Michael on the other hand, has also always been a lone wolf. Aalways the outcast, the only guy who didn't get adopted, the kid who was lonely and poor, and didn't get to have the happy ending with the boy he loved. He's also always been the most powerful of the pod squad, the one wanting to find out more about where they are from. He's the one who decided to take the blame for something Isobel did to spare her dealing with it. He believes in his skills, and like Alex, thinks that if anyone's getting in danger, he's the one best equipped to deal with it.

Imagine how powerful they'll be when there are no more secrets between them, when regardless of their urge to keep everyone safe, they're trying to figure out the best way to do it.

Okay, this got VERY long, and I have no idea if it makes sense anymore, but I really think it's a cool scene that will serve as the real starting point for Malex this season.

[sandythereadingcafe]

REVIEWS

POSSESSIVE CAPTOR / DEVIANT DESIRES (Valenti Crime Family 1 & 2) by Kelsie Calloway at The Reading Cafe:

‘spicy and animated’

http://www.thereadingcafe.com/possessive-captor-deviant-desires-by-kelsie-calloway-reviews/

[adiwriting]

For the wip game - Alex waiting for his dad please ☺️

Alex sits in front of the computer screen reviewing the files he’s just broken into. Information about the 1947 crash. Experimentation on the aliens that they found. Searching for information on just how much his father might know about Michael, Nova, and their family.

There’s a healthy amount of fear, for sure. Knowing that there is a xenophobic secret military organization in charge of hunting down aliens and eliminating the percieved threat they cause is terrifying. But there’s also a deep feeling of satisfaction that he’s having in this moment.

Right now, he has his father zip tied to a chair, unable to move or do anything. He’s powerless. And after decades of feeling powerless in the shadow of Jesse Manes, Alex is enjoying how sweet this revenge feels. He’s enjoying the desperation he can see just under the mask of nonchalance his father is attempting to wear. Jesse is scared. He doesn’t want Alex digging into the files he’s just uncovered.

“Alex, I’ve kept all this from you for your own good,” he says, and Alex continues to ignore him. Working to run a trace through the massive amount of data he’s currently mining for any proof that his father is aware of Michael and Nova. “Because of this project, our family, the Valentis, have suffered for decades. I’m trying to protect you, son.”

And that’s the bomb that sets Alex off.

His father isn’t trying to protect him. He’s not trying to protect anyone. This is the man that left a handprint sized bruise on his daughter. A helpless four year old whose only crime was accidentally running into his father as she was playing an innocent game with her family.

“Protect me,” Alex scoffs. “Jesse Manes, such a saint. An American hero. Tell me, is that why you left a bruise on a four year old? Because you’re such a good and moral protector?”

[elisaenglish]

Books are my lifeblood. They are the gift my mother gave me, not least of all because – as with the familial generations that preceded her and through circumstance not choice – she never received them herself. Although she couldn’t have known what she intellectually had on her hands with me, she did understand that breaking cycles comes from embracing what you’re terrified to hold. Or to read or to write, especially when you can’t.

It’s a story, I suppose. But never one that I’ve felt is mine to tell – and I haven’t. Except now she’s halfway gone and I don’t know how long we’ve got, I wonder whether I’ll have to reconstruct her one day, that this is my gift, my terror. Not to break a cycle, but to complete one. And if love is immortality, then I have to pass it on.

Whether the goddess is in the questions or the cumulative answers that yield yet more, we are the precipice becoming. Feminism isn’t a label or an identity and, whilst we flirt with ideology, I still think that it’s too politically charged, too abstract in conceptual terms to fully capture the visceral stance – in defence of self and other.

Balanced scales, balanced hearts. Everything in equilibrium.

And no, not in any way or shape or default, always necessarily female.

As to the why? To paraphrase Maya Angelou, Why wouldn’t I be on my own side? A side further in and farther on than socially determined gender norms or archaic modes of being. A side that is not so much a binary line as an opening to what has closed upon itself, either in substance or in meaning.

One word after another, page by page, and on...

As I return once more to books, I remember that my greatest freedom has been that I’ve read from the first unbounded. My literary breadth, depth and contextual scope aren’t confined to the feminist sphere by any stretch of the imagination; but I’ve roamed there nonetheless and, suffice to say, it is the current course.

In this regard, we see tastes trending towards Atwood and a revival of the like but lesser-knowns; Naomi Alderman offers up The Power should you have a penchant for cautionary reversals; but for me, it’s still Carter that reigns and her ever so unsettling castration fantasy – The Passion of New Eve – that litmus tests the nerve:

“At the end of the second month, she took off all my remaining bandages and inspected me without a word. Then she opened the wall upon the mirror and left me alone with myself.

But when I looked in the mirror, I saw Eve; I did not see myself. I saw a young woman who, though she was I, I could in no way acknowledge as myself, for this one was only a lyrical abstraction of femininity to me, a tinted arrangement of curved lines. I touched the breasts and the mound that were not mine; I saw white hands in the mirror move, it was as though they were white gloves I had put on to conduct the unfamiliar orchestra of myself. I looked again and saw I bore a strong family resemblance to myself, although my hair had grown so long it hung down to a waist that, on the operating table, had acquired an emphatic indentation. Thanks to the plastic surgery, my eyes were now a little larger than they had been; how blue they were showed more. The cosmetic knife had provided me with a bee-stung underlip and a fat pout. I was a woman, young and desirable.

[…]

Let the punishment fit the crime, whatever it had been. They had turned me into the Playboy centrefold. I was the object of all the unfocused desires that had ever existed in my own head. I had become my own masturbatory fantasy. And – how can I put it – the cock in my head, still, twitched at the sight of myself.”

Tip of the revelatory iceberg, I tend to think. Although technically it falls under the critical auspices of feminist fabulation. Either way, it’ll reflect his mettle – and yours if you’re up for it.

But I promised you debate, not fiction – layers of the living kind and ours, as women. So here it is, complete with the usual perspectival caveat and varying degrees of intersectionality, my list of eighteen. It’s neither absolute nor essentially prescribed; just what has steered my lens to clarity. I could wind it back to Christine de Pizan’s Le Livre de la Cité des Dames and her proto-feminist assertion that:

“Condemning all women in order to help some misguided men get over their foolish behaviour is tantamount to denouncing fire, which is a vital and beneficial element, just because some people are burnt by it, or to cursing water just because some people are drowned in it.”

I could hover over Wollstonecraft, meander through A Room of One’s Own, abandon Woolf for De Beauvoir, then on to Friedan, Lorde and Hooks, go the Greer or Dworkin route, or the academic one via undergraduate staples such as Judith Butler and Hélène Cixous. I could. But I’m keeping it here and now, and only so far back as I go – and maybe one day you’ll do the same for your girls, for your futures:

Everyday Sexism, Laura Bates

Men Who Hate Women, Laura Bates

Misogynation, Laura Bates

Asking For It, Kate Harding

Down Girl, Kate Manne

Know My Name, Chanel Miller

Cunt: A Declaration of Independence, Inga Muscio

Rose, Inga Muscio

Bitch Doctrine, Laurie Penny

The Mother of All Questions, Rebecca Solnit

Whose Story Is It Anyway?, Rebecca Solnit

Three Women, Lisa Taddeo

Full Frontal Feminism, Jessica Valenti

The Purity Myth, Jessica Valenti

Sex Object, Jessica Valenti

The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf

Promiscuities, Naomi Wolf

Not All Dead White Men, Donna Zuckerberg

Occasionally I wonder whether I would’ve wanted someone more like me for a mother. I wonder if we would’ve had a different dialogue, a different ending. But then I remember that without who she was – and is on her better days – I wouldn’t be me.

Read freely, ma fleurs. Be well in yourselves, have faith in each other. Now let’s go build a thing. Because that’s who we are, and these are our verbs – compose, construct, cultivate. Here, now, always. So we are, together.

[lambourngb]

re: your tags on that one post abt plotholes in rnm: what are the plotholes that make you lose the most sleep?

(this is my main btw, my rnm blog is @curlyguerin )

Hi! Okay... strap in, because there are a lot of little and big things that wiggle into my thoughts and makes me wonder ...am I the only one who couldn't follow that plotline?

In my opinion RNM suffers more from abandoned narratives and continuity errors than plot holes I guess, since we only have 2 seasons, with at least 2 more to go I guess I can hope they come back to these issues... but: [Under the cut plus some spoilers for season 3]

Things I would like explained :

1. What did Jesse Manes fund with family money in 1x08 ? I'm guessing it was surveillance of the town and the search for more aliens that could have escaped the military in 1947-1948. The idea that Jesse funded Caulfield is just laughable to me, along with how he was able to get his Army-assigned son moved from Germany to New Mexico for 5 years and no one noticed?? Caulfield has to be separate from whatever Jesse was doing in Roswell. Clearly there is still an ACTIVE military project focused on aliens because Flint isn't AWOL, Flint also takes Noah's body to Area 51, so where was Jesse in violation of his orders (Alex's threat to Jesse in 1x08 and then shipping him to Niger)? Surveilling citizens and setting up cameras all over town?

2. Did they ever build an Air Force base on the Fosters Homestead Ranch? (1x01-1x02) ...then it's never mentioned again.

3. I am aware I am the only one who cares about this little bit, but the show seemed to set up a narrative in season 1 about the spotlight Roswell shined white victims of crimes - like Katie and Jasmine, that the town of Roswell holds quite a lot of racism regarding justice- vilifying Rosa for over 10 years, ignoring the deaths of people around Ranchero Night, and then Noah kills Wyatt Long's best friend Hank Gibbons in 1x13. I dunno, I was expecting more from Wyatt in season 2 about this than picking a fight with Michael over Mimi's missing persons sheet and showing up with a crossbow in 2x04. And like, there was a theme of people going missing in season 2!! Mimi, Jenna, the weird twins from 2x06, Charlie -- but yet, no closer scrutiny by Sheriff Valenti other than her focus on Max Evans and the story about Mexico- Like this felt not like a plot hole, but a dropped narrative -- to wrap up the fate of Racist Hank in a missing persons sheet in 2x01. To treat him weirdly like all of Noah's other victims (who were women and men of color and poor), but for a few factors like he was white, he had actual lines in the show over a couple of episodes, and he's one of the few townspeople we learn his first and last name still sticks out in my mind as strange. The Doylist explanation is the actor wasn't available for season 2, but the Watson-perspective of this is just someone the in-show universe doesn't care about ...? Okay. I will keep that in mind, and try to ignore the fact that the town of Roswell swings wildly back to caring about white victims again in 2x13 with Jesse Manes.

4. The Alighting from 1x13 - just how far away was it from happening? Noah was ready to stick a sheriff's deputy, the town event planner and Michael (who probably would be been the only one to go missing without much fanfare, except maybe by Alex) into a pod...for how long? Months? Years? What was his endgame? how did he expect to go unnoticed by the town while he waited for his alien salvation/alien UBER to arrive? Could he just mindwarp everyone into forgetting about the pod squad? Since we didn't see any alien ships show up in the six months from 1x13 to 2x13, and no further follow up by any of our heroes about what Noah was babbling about... I'm going to say this should come back into play for season 3, otherwise it's the most egregious plot hole from season 1.

5. Why did Flint want to work with Helena? Jesse had this master plan that Helena knew all about apparently but she never shares the plan with Flint? Jesse never shares this plan with Flint either? Why? As far as I can tell from the plot of season 2, Jesse takes the console piece from Alex, he was going to kill Alex to keep him out of the way, use the console to blow up civilians, he created a paper trail that pointed the finger at Max, and then when everyone knew the truth about aliens, he was going to use HIS atomizer bomb to release the toxin that Charlie had already developed for Project Shepherd to kill all the aliens.... WHY would Flint want to stop that, especially since they fight in 2x11 over how slow Jesse was moving in his plans? Other than objecting to killing Alex, why would Flint turn Alex over to Helena to blackmail Michael into building a second atomizer bomb? He should have just kept Alex out of the way until it was all over and let Jesse proceed with his plans. Flint's desire to work with Helena Ortecho remains a plot hole to me, that is explained in the most flimsy way of he thinks his dad isn't serious about killing all the aliens even though he has the means? And if he takes Alex from Jesse's control so easily, why not steal the bomb Jesse had too?

6. These are more gripes about continuity, not really plot holes, but the fact we have this loose timeline of events but it doesn't match the weather of filming.... Like Heather Hemmens looked so gorgeous in that little silk outfit in 2x01, but she's wandering outside in Dec in Roswell New Mexico looking like that. I get that it was filmed in August/Sept of 2019 but come on... so my main frustration is I have no idea what season and month is supposed to be on screen. Universe timeline says Winter but filming schedule meant it was early fall with still having the heat of summer there...then the show ends in May/June in the universe, but we all know RNM wrapped in Dec 2019/Jan 2020 so they are all bundled up in winter again.

7. Also on continuity, small things like Rosa's birthday being wrong, the fact her astrological sign isn't Pieces for either date, openly letting Greg Manes see Rosa, not seeming to care that Liz's ex-fiance hears that Rosa is alive - like i'm sure her "dead" sister came up in conversation between Liz/Diego

- the show gives us this beautiful conversation with Michael sharing his background with Alex in 1x10, but then Alex completely forgets it in 2x04 by dropping some line like "this is what you do with family" when Michael expresses confusion about a height chart. Also, on the same note- the jabs about the Library being a dive bar, also felt like a drop in continuity because Alex knows that Michael just lost his mom (1x12) , the government IS studying aliens, and his brother is in a pod, so like, he has some very valid reasons to drink if that's what he wanted to do with in his life in early season 2!! but, also he knows Michael is a genius??

- Why Alex never mentions Rosa, Isobel's blackouts/why Michael gave up UNM, or even hint about what happened with his dad in the shed during his conversation with Maria in 2x05 is also beyond bizarre to me. It was an "information" dump conversation that Alex still doesn't share all the information he has about a situation and just ends up looking kind of judgmental in my opinion.

- the truck conversation in 2x06 between Maria and Alex, why Maria prompts a girl's name when Alex says he's never been in a real relationship INSTEAD of addressing the very real elephant in the room, Michael Guerin, that they had a conversation about in 2x05- also feels like a gap in continuity.

8. Science wise- the pathogen that Charlie developed? It was supposed to be so specific that it could kill a leader of Al Quada and all of their direct descendants but leave the rest of the population unharmed. [Which um, that's a war crime, but whatever!] How was Maria affected? the DNA they had at Caulfield to develop it - like, Maria was descended from Louise and Louise lived free. The only person that pathogen SHOULD have affected was Michael (if they used Nora to base it on) Unless you're telling me that there's some protein in "alien dna" that is so specific to aliens, that no other human shares it, but also so completely undetectable that Kyle couldn't find it in Maria's blood... ? I suppose it's possible. I hope we get more explanation about that in season 3. It makes me wonder why Caulfield/Project Shepherd ever let Patty Harris go after she volunteered for some study then, and remained content to just pay her medical bills through a fake insurance company? [But also didn't flag Mimi and all the doctors that Maria took her to???]

9. Michael's hand. I'm going to reserve judgment about this, because some of my salt on this is based on season 3 promo pictures, but I really thought that moment in 2x13 when he takes off his hat, while Alex is singing, you see him without the wrapping on his hand, that maybe he found some peace with Jesse dead and demolishing the shed with Alex. But then it looks like the hand-danna is all over season 3, right up until the finale of season 3, so... was that a mistake in wardrobe AND not a beautiful moment of character growth??? I wish I could extend some grace to RNM about that, but alas... see above for why I have trust issues.

10. Perhaps I wasn't watching season 1 closely, but I thought Noah's madness was brought on by the fact he was stuck in his pod? That it was "lower class travel accommodations" and Isobel's scream at 13 got his attention? I assumed that he stayed in the pod, possessing Isobel on and off, right up until he used her body to kill Rosa in 2008, absorbing enough power to break out. So how did Noah find Jim Valenti so quickly? If it was through Isobel's memories, then why did Jim not immediately have Noah, some random alien approaching him about his recently dead daughter, hauled off to Caulfield? Jim pays $1,000 for Rosa's body, putting her in a pod [Noah's broken pod??] and stores her, waiting for...something? An alien to come along to bring her back. So did Jim know about The Savior? Why would Jim work with Noah and vice versa? Again, I'm hoping we get more about this in season 3.

11. Was there a point of keeping Alex in the Air Force? He arranges a place for them to work on bringing Max back, but I feel like anyone could have done that? Like Isobel had money, she could have rented a storage facility. All of the equipment was borrowed from the hospital, not the military. The information about 1947-1948 was from the drives decoded from Caulfield or the AAR report left by Flint in the Project Shepherd bunker (which again was decommissioned, not an active military installation). I could support the decision if it had provided some richness to the plot or some conflict within the character, neither of which really happened. Alex hacking the government and going undercover in the Air Force to protect Michael is basically fanon. I love that fanon, but alas...

12. Finally, the time jump. What year are we jumping into? 2020? 2021? Why does it make me think none of those questions above will be answered.

[pastelwitchling]

Kyle Valenti Appreciation Week [Day 2]

               Kyle rubbed his eyes as he stepped out of the lecture hall amongst a hundred other chattering doctors and Alex at his side.

               “If I have to hear about dead cells and bone marrows one more time,” he grumbled, “I may just jump out of our very fancy terrace.”

               “It wasn’t so bad,” Alex said, holding up his glass of peach liquid. “At least they were serving drinks.” He picked at the raspberry with his straw. “What is this stuff anyway?”

               “Not strong enough,” Kyle said, and Alex started to laugh when his phone alerted him to another text.

               He sighed as he pulled it out, but Kyle had already had his hand out. “Nope, not again, hand it over.”

               Alex raised a brow. “Excuse me?”

               “Does Guerin know you’re here with me?”

               He shifted. “Yeah?”

               “Then he’s just bugging you,” he said. “He knows you’re not in any danger, so if you turn your phone off, he’ll know it’s just because you’re frustrated with him. Which you are, god bless him.”

               “But,” Alex hesitated, “I – I can’t . . .”

               “That’s why I’m choosing for you,” he said. “Now, give me your phone, Manes.”

               Alex clenched his jaw, looked down at his screen, then back at Kyle. Kyle held his gaze, and something in Alex seemed to soften as he nodded and slowly gave his phone, his only connection to Michael Guerin out here, to his best friend.

               “There you go,” Kyle said, and as he clicked to turn Alex’s phone off, he saw another message from Michael appear. Please talk to me, Private.

               The screen turned black, and Kyle cleared his throat before pocketing the phone.

               Alex blinked. “What, I don’t get it back?”

               “Not by a long shot.”

               Alex huffed a chuckle and ran his hand through his hair, still uncertain. Kyle didn’t want to care that Michael meant so much to him, that it was so impossible for Alex to ever really let go of him, no matter what he’d done, no matter how angry or brokenhearted or betrayed Alex didn’t realize he was. Sometimes he just wanted to put Alex’s head on his shoulder, rake his fingers through his soft hair, and tell him that he had someone who cared about him so much more, who loved him so much more.

               Kyle’s train of thought came to a cold still. Loved? He didn’t love Alex, not like Michael did. He loved him as a partner-in-crime, as a best friend, as family. And that was what Alex needed from him now. Genuine, caring family.

               “Hey,” Kyle slung an arm around his shoulders. “Would I ever steer you wrong?”

               Alex’s eyes narrowed. “I can’t tell if you’re being serious or not.”

               Kyle poked him in the stomach, making him laugh. “No, Manes, the answer’s no. Preferably, ‘No, beautiful. How could you, my knight in shining armor and undeniable eye candy, ever steer me, your devoted admirer, wrong?’”

               Alex scrunched his nose. “Too wordy, I could never memorize it.”

               Kyle glared. “I’ve seen you memorize sheets of coding in under two minutes.”

               He laughed and kissed Kyle’s cheek, effectively silencing him. “No, beautiful,” he said softly. “How could you, my knight in shining armor and undeniable eye candy, ever steer me, your devoted admirer, wrong?” He walked on ahead, smirking over his shoulder at a dumbfounded Kyle. “Happy?”

               Kyle swallowed the lump in his throat. Maybe he’d been wrong. Maybe that drink they’d had was too strong. It had to be why he felt so dizzy and light now.

               “Yeah,” he murmured, watching Alex leave with his hands in his pockets. “I am.”

***

Sorry it’s so short, but I hope it made your heart flutter just a little bit, nonetheless 💗

[benoitblanc]

Erebos sounds sick as heck, tell me all about your characters

and THANK YOU MUNDIE! it's got a really large cast so i'm going to put this all under the cut because it's likely going to get really long. for those reading this ask who may have missed the initial conversation, erebos is the crime drama show i'm working on outlining right now. the VERY short elevator pitch is leverage meets peaky blinders but gayer and in modern-day france

our less-than-intrepid not-really-heroes:

lily spence runs this damn town. well, that's not really true. lily spence runs this damn fringe group of four other petty crooks who kind of just rob enough people to live comfortably and not much else. but they are VERY good at it. born into british aristocracy, she was disowned by her extremely traditional parents when they walked in on her kissing another girl. only seventeen, she fled to france to stay with her brother, who was working in marseille, but got waylaid in paris. she was nearly mugged until karim intervened and took her under his wing. and now look at them seventeen years later. criminal masterminds. lily is very very smart and ruthless and also a total nerd. if an episode of doctor who is airing, she will not run a con because she is absolutely insistent on watching it. also, there’s a running gag of how she, as a stereotypical bisexual, cannot sit on chairs properly. she loves her team and she loves committing crimes, but the prospect of going toe to toe with elise archambault terrifies her. (but she'll be damned if she shows it.)

karim ayari acts as lily's second-in-command. he has the least fleshed out backstory of the gang right now, but he used to work for the dutch intelligence force before getting sick of all the bullshit and corruption involved with federal law enforcement and leaving to become something of a vigilante. somehow he ended up in paris, where he met and teamed up with lily. as the oldest member of the team (though only by a few years), he's also the most level-headed and often has to bail the others out of trouble. he's also just a total sweetheart. he spends his free time teaching self-defense to homeless women and children. i love him.

yvette laroche started her adult life as an automobile saleswoman before she discovered that her persuasive skills were much more lucrative when applied to crime, at which point she joined the team as their grifter. she is the only member of the team who is actually french and more or less the only member of the team who is still on good terms with her family (though i'll talk about lily's brother later.) she's a black trans lesbian- in fact, she and lily even briefly dated before deciding they were better off as friends- who adores few things more than eating the rich. these few things include terrible jokes and even worse romance novels.

adrian valenti is the team's resident cat burglar, which is an apt title because he is also my poor little meow meow. (for the record, i STILL have no idea what that actually means, but the feeling it evokes is definitely adrian.) he grew up on the streets of manhattan, which is where he learned to become such a good thief. i have no idea what words in the next big plot detail in his life have been banned by apple, so let's just say for convenience's sake that he also developed a substance problem. adrian has been clean for several years now but still struggles to talk about his time in new york. i'm not completely sure yet how he made his way to paris, but here he is. he's kind of an asshole 90% of the time, but has a huge heart deep down and really deeply cares about his team. he thinks lily is the worst person he's ever met. he's desperately in love with her.

julia ono serves as the team's technical support, which is a nice way of saying she's a hacker. one of the best in the world, in fact. she's from australia, but was in france for a job when interpol finally nabbed her. she was immediately broken out of jail by adrian. van houden, whom you'll meet below, was NOT pleased about the whole affair. the team's condition on breaking her out was that she work with them on a job, but she liked them, though she thought they were the weirdest people she'd ever met, so she stuck around for the next job. and the next. and, well, here she still is. julia has a very sarcastic sense of humor, which is why she gets along so well with adrian, even if she may call him "bitch-ass white boy" to his face in a very strong aussie accent. the youngest member of the team, she is fashionable and unapologetic, though she struggles to overcome internalized stereotypes, and a lesbian with a massive crush on yvette.

la famille archambault, aka The Mob(TM):

elise archambault is in charge of la famille archambault, an organized crime syndicate operating out of paris. she knows exactly what she is capable of and won't let anyone else forget it. as a woman, she has had to work twice as hard to get to where she is. she won't let any transgressions go lightly, so when a ragtag gang of crooks robs her own sister-in-law, she takes it upon herself to wipe them out. they've made their living conning tourists and the wealthy. she, by contrast, is elise goddamn archambault. they pose no threat to her. right?

lucas archambault is elise's older cousin who serves as her lieutenant and advisor. "arwen," you might ask, "what's lucas' deal?" the truth is i still have no idea. this man currently has no personality and no backstory. unfortunately, i can't cut him because he's essential to the plot. *sighs in writer*

olivier archambault is elise's younger brother who might resent his sister's power and DEFINITELY resents lucas' power. shouldn't he be the second-in-command? sure, he gets to be in the field much more, but he doesn't like being told what to do. isn't he the one who knows what's best for lfa? shouldn't he be in charge?

catherine archambault is olivier's wife who kind of didn't know what she was marrying into until it was too late. she loves olivier enough to make it work, though, and with her head for numbers, she all but runs the business side of lfa. unfortunately, that doesn't mean she's impervious to getting swindled out of a sizable chunk of cash by adrian and julia...

friends, foes, and other irritations:

mickey spence is lily's kind-hearted older brother who is the only member of her family she is still in touch with. in direct contrast to his sister's less-than-legal pursuits, he's a respectable businessman working out of marseille. he loves lily more than anything but is a bit concerned about what she and her friends are doing. mickey is my favorite character. my emotional support himbo, if you will. i adore him

marya van houden is a dutch interpol agent working out of paris who has been keeping an eye on lfa and subsequently crosses paths with the team. van houden is very good at her job, so the team should really end up in jail. except... she used to work with karim, and she hates lfa just as much as they do. if it means bringing down the most dangerous crime syndicate in the city, she might just be willing to play ball with the lesser evil

denis gascoigne is another petty thief who has been adrian's biggest rival for years. but in a friendly way, you know? they're frenemies. gascoigne wouldn't do anything like turn the team over to lfa, the police, or interpol, but he'll definitely mildly inconvenience them if he gets the chance. on extremely rare occasions, he might even lend them a hand

madeleine benoit and jacques timonier are the paris police detectives in hot pursuit of the team. they're not exactly BAD to the degree that elise's crew is, but they're just really fucking annoying. and unfortunately really determined. benoit is up for a promotion and by god she's going to get it. you know anne from santa clarita diet? they're like anne, but not as easily swayed into thinking the team are actually messengers of god

tania featherswaite unfortunately might end up getting cut because she features prominently in the season 3 storyline that is teetering on the line between "revolutionary and keeps the show fresh" and "unmitigated disaster." she was lily's first girlfriend- you know, the one lily's parents saw her kissing and threw her out over- but her parents were much more supportive than the spences, so she's still in the uk. she's much quieter than lily but has a genuine and elegant strength, as well as what is possibly the only moral compass on this show. her major story arc is kind of a spoiler, but she basically gets to do a lot of badass spy-esque stuff with lily and mickey that i am REALLY hoping stays in. we'll see.

[ravens-words]

What an episode!!! More Valenti family drama I see, AND Sanders is back and sharp as ever! I love him sooo much! What was your favorite part?

What an episode indeed. It was honestly amazing.

Poor Kyle, finding out for the second time he had a secret family member 😂

I can't pick just ONE, so here are my top 5 scenes:

1. The Alex and Liz talk. These two are my favorite characters on the show, and the fact that this is only their second one on one scene is a crime. The easy familiarity between them, Alex once again, helping Liz by nudging her onto the right path, them just laughing, talking about Kyle and being the friends we always knew they could be- it was so satisfying.

2. Alex and Eduardo. Alex just being so cool, calm and collected was just top tier content.

3. Sanders and Michael. First of all, he thinks they're together, then, he calms Michael and helps and is kinda like the father Michael deserves.

4. Isobel and Rosa scenes. I love them together because Amber and Lily have such great chemistry, and they're both so damn funny and just- they were perfect.

5. Jones. Damn, it was fun to see him try to act like Max when he had no clue what was going on.

[roswelldetails]

Episode 2x04 - What if God Was One of Us

EPISODE SUMMARY:

AN ACT OF GOD — On the verge of a breakthrough in her quest to save Max (Nathan Dean), Liz (Jeanine Mason) turns to Kyle (Michael Trevino) for one last favor that could potentially land him in hot water. Meanwhile, Michael (Michael Vlamis) and Alex’s (Tyler Blackburn) investigation into Nora (guest star Kayla Ewell) leads them to a farm, where they meet a historian named Forrest (guest star Christian Antidormi). Elsewhere, Cameron (guest star Riley Voelkel) confronts Jesse Manes (Trevor St. John) about her sister’s whereabouts, and Isobel (Lily Cowles) uses her powers for good. Amber Midthunder also stars. Shiri Appleby directed the episode written by Steve Stringer & Christopher Hollier (#204). Original airdate 4/6/2020.

DETAILS:

Roy said that he took veterinary training, which is how he was able to help with Louise and Nora's injuries.

"How come it feels like you don't know what I'm saying, but you know what I'm thinking?"

Roy moved the truck (with the pods in it?) to the livery.

"Boss's wife won't let him blame the drought on God so that honor goes to his foreman -- that's me."

Kyle on The Science:

"You're telling me that Michael Guerin used pinball parts and a car battery to cause cutaneous perfusion?

(Cutaneous perfusion...i think it is circulation of fluid/blood through tissue, but it's a bit above my head)

The device Liz needs is a "Personal Genome Machine". She ordered it when she still worked at the hospital.

Before entering the Crashdown, Graham Green tapes a Missing sign on the door for Hank Gibbons (who Noah killed in 1x13).  Apparently someone covered it up.

The sign is HARD to read, but I think it says:

"All viable leads reported to Graham Green's UFO Emporium will receive a free keychain.  Make certain you subscribe to the Weekly Probe as we dive deeper into the untold stories of Roswell and answer the question on everyone's mind.  ARE YOU NEXT?"

Graham Green references that he's the "creator of last week's 39th most downloaded true crime podcast." (Assuming that this is the Weekly Probe, referenced on the poster).

Graham Green is opening a 1947 themed malt shop at the UFO Emporium

U.F. Doughs (the Crashdown's new donuts).

Isobel's been coming to the Crashdown every day for weeks.  (Note that this episode is the first one that really doesn't have a clear time context).

"Feliz cumpleanos, mama!" Happy birthday in Spanish, of course, but note Kyle's choice term of endearment for fic purposes!  And she responds in kind "Gracias, mijo!" (Mijo = male version. Arturo calls Liz mija = female version)

"A wild Michael Guerin finally emerges from his weeks-long hibernation in a lab and a library."

Again, non-specific time frame.

"When every other farm was struggling, the Longs experienced record-breaking crops.  Summer of '47. No one could explain it…till October '48. The day after that photo ran in the paper, the farm was devastated by a massive fire.  Foreman, entire staff killed. Whole place burned down."

"What caused the fire?"

"Well the paper called it an act of God.  Said it was a freak storm. Bolt of lightning strikes the barn the same night that my mom's caught and locked up in Caulfield."

Wyatt Long's horses are named "Diamond" and "Silk".

Jesse Manes' beer of choice is "Polestaff".

Cam's postcard from Charlie (Likely the reason she came back to Roswell) says:

"See you back in Roswell --Charlotte"

Top left corner says "Greetings from Roswell, NM".

It was mailed to Jenna at the Green Hill Motel in Dayton, Ohio.

Jenna says it's not Charlie's handwriting.

Isobel in the mindwarp: "And what's your dream, Arturo? What would be your miracle? What do you pray for?"

Arturo & Rosa's fight… 

"Did that fool give you drugs? I'll kill him!"

"Ow! You're hurting me! That's child abuse!"

"Everything I do I do to hold you up and you see it as abuse. I don't know what to do anymore!"

"Yeah right." Rosa falls down and laughs.

"This isn't funny! Sheriff Valenti won't give you any more chances."

"You should be happy. You wanted me to be on the field hockey team, remember? You said I should make friends and have good American fun."

"Who sold you the pills?"

"I stole them."

"Was it Frederico?"

"You wouldn't believe me."

"Tell me the truth!"

"It was Mom! She's either too high to notice that they're missing, or she knows and she doesn't care."

"You're lying to me. I don't know how to help you."

"So stop trying then. I'm beyond hope anyway, right? That's what everyone else in this town thinks."

"Maybe you're right. I'm going for a drive."

Arturo tried to register with Instagram as PancakePapi!! He ended up with PancakePapi58!

Scene with Steph and her dad...FIRST MENTION OF SOPAPILLAS ON THE SHOW!!! 🤤🤤🤤🤤 (They're the best...in New Mexican restaurants they're like, both an appetizer and a dessert.  They're like hollow fried bread that you eat with honey. Delicious.)  See here:

Plus it gave the show another opportunity to be authentically New Mexican through food references.  (Last season it was in episode 2 when Arturo asked,"red or green?" And Liz replied "Christmas!". In New Mexico that means half red half green chile smothering her plate.) Like so: 

1948...unclear how much time has passed, but Louise says months.

The kid's name is Walt.  (Walt Long?? Some other last name?).

Nora says that under the tarp is the "pumpkin launcher" and it's a surprise.

Nora says it's not safe for Michael here, "but soon."

"Hey do you smell that? It smells like rain.  It's what you smell like under all the grease and bourbon.  It's what your workshop smells like. Something alien happened here. Not that I can still smell it 70 years later."

"This is the best evidence I've seen that Max and Isobel's mother survived the initial firefight. This is something that you do with family."

"Nora's my mother. If she was here at the same time as Louise…"

Note - when did they confirm who Louise was or that she was Max & Isobel's mom? This has not happened narratively yet.

Since Walt was a young kid, Alex thinks there's a chance he's still alive (though at the end Nora definitely thought he died when the barn blew up. I suspect that Walt survived and is the key to the story...not fact, just speculation.)

Forrest: "The foreman, Roy Bronson, was definitely hiding something.  But it wasn't Little Green Men. It was Nazi spies."

"This is like Junior Year eraser room, getting caught by Coach Wiggins."

OG callback to the eraser room being the high school makeout spot. OG, "the eraser room takes our innocence." 

Rosa in Spanish "¿En serio?" Basically "are you serious!?!" Or "really?" When the blender shorts out (awfully similar to her first Noah nightmare in 2x01)

"...when Charlie told me she had stole classified documents, I reported her.  I thought I was doing the right thing and the military put her in prison."

"Right. Where she was safe."

"No. I… I didn't know who she really was when I turned her in. I didn't know what prison would do to her."

"She wanted you to turn her in, Jenna. She set you up to do so. She knew that as long as she was in government custody no one could get to her."

"Charlie fought in two wars.  Who was she afraid of?"

"A private securities firm, most likely.  You know that I met her? She was working on this genetic sequencing project that had the potential to save lives, but also destroy them. And there were some people out there who saw applications for her research that went beyond her intentions."

"She was doing research that could help save lives, and people wanted to use it to create a bioweapon."

"Well yeah, she created this pathogen that could seek out and dismantle specific sequences. Just think about it -- a smart bomb that could be detonated in the middle of a crowded city, only harm it's intended target. Think about the innocent civilian lives saved while you take out leaders of terrorist organizations."

"Or commit genocide. If her work fell into the wrong hands, it could quietly wipe out entire groups of people because they share a certain genetic code, while their neighbors go about living their lives.  Why do you know so much about this? What's your interest in my sister?"

"I believed that I had a use for her pathogen, at one time. But my fight is over now."

A few notes about this exchange.

Clearly Charlie's pathogen is the key ingredient in the smart bomb that Flint was developing, as discussed in 1x12.

Liz's "personal genome machine" can break down the alien genetics and give Project Shepherd what they need to use a smart bomb on the aliens. 

Don't forget, her lab is protected by Air Force security set up by "Alex's team". (Badbadbadbad!)

Rosa describing her bipolarism. 

"I get these mood swings sometimes. Like, I can be happy and singing one minute, and then, all of a sudden, this darkness just closes in over me, and I have all these voices telling me that I'm worthless."

Jesse gives Cam the name of the security firm looking for Charlie.  We don't see the name of it. He warns her to be careful. "I may be hobbled but they are not."

"Now, you were hunting aliens, and I gave you Max's name. Why didn't you lock him up in Caulfield with the rest?"

"I don't know.  I guess I feel like there's a story unfolding in Roswell. Has been for more than 50 years.  You can't blame me for wanting to see how it ends."

Catherine Zeta-Jones in a laser maze -- Liz is referencing the 1999 movie Entrapment.

Liz trying to science-intrigue Kyle….

"Interesting historical footnote. There was an internment camp in Roswell. Nazi POWs built half this city.  Hence the iron crosses. My great-great grandfather BoDean's foreman got busted for hiding a couple of women here. According to him 'A couple Nazi spies escaped and strudeled their schnitzel for room and board right here on this very farm.  See, I was never really as into shooting squirrels as Wyatt is, so, when I came out here for summers as a kid, my cousin Kate and I -- we'd prowl the property for artifacts."

"You know, what we're doing you and me -- it doesn't only have to be for Max...once Max is healthy, we could use this genome machine to Target cellular apoptosis.  I mean, we could craft polymerase sequencing in human DNA. We don't have to stop. We have no boards, no restrictions…"

Apoptosis is also sometimes referred to as "cellular suicide" or "spontaneous single cell death".

Polymerase is like the building blocks of DNA.

In other words, Liz is really, really smart.

FORREST LONG!!!!!! 😂😂😂. 

Alex on the bullet shells: "These match the M1917s the airmen used in '48.

"They were scattered all over the property. Legend has it the Nazis we're building some kind of bomb in the barn. Then one night the Air Force showed up."

"The night of the fire."

"The blaze burned so hot it turned sand to stone. Papers say that lightning struck the barn and everyone died in the flames, but...that's bull.  See I think the Air Force covered up the massacre that happened when they discovered that weapon.

A few things on this scene… 

Forrest mentions his cousin Kate...Wyatt's sister who was murdered by Noah in 2008.  So Forrest is Wyatt Long's cousin. 

Substitute Nazi for alien and it's probably all based somewhat based in truth.  In the 1940s that definitely would have been a reasonably obvious way to cover it up, especially given the history that Forrest cites and the military culture in Roswell.

Note: POW = prisoner of war

The iron crosses Forrest references…

Article on the German POWs in the Roswell Daily Record…

Walt was hiding in the barn when Tripp made it explode.  Explosion looked shimmery, like the alien ship & tech. 

Also, more info than you ever wanted to know about the Roswell Army Air Field/Walker Air Force Base/Roswell International Air Center...including some info on the POWs.

Sheriff Valenti's theory on Noah's death:

"I think Max Evans poisoned Noah and left him in the desert the night of the lightning storm, and I think Isobel Evans was in on it."

Kyle says it would take gallons of acetone to poison someone.

Tripp was Alex's great uncle

Nora was working on a ship to take the pods home.

TRIPP MANES!!!  Full name is Eugene Manes III.

Alex finally gives Michael the piece of alien ship he's had.  He doesn't want to be another Manes man standing in Michael's way.

Cam's voicemail to Liz.

"Got a lead on my sister.  Give me a call when you get that tin-star-wearing E.T. awake, so I can curse him out for worrying us all. Good luck Liz. Bring Max home."

Arturo's Spanish to Liz and Rosa.

"Das gracias a Dios.  Gracias todos los dias."

Translates generally to "Thank God.  Thanks every day."

Isobel's monologue at the end:

"The idea of God always freaked me out. Like, apparently he made people in his own image, which, first of all, get over yourself. And also, does that apply to us? Does every planet have its own God? Let's say that we're all clones of the big guy in the sky. Well then, doesn't it stand to reason that we're all capable of slinging light? Well I guess by that same token we're all capable of tremendous wrath. We're walking contradictions. A never-ending mercurial rise and fall. Darkness and light. I guess the real miracle is choosing the light. Despite the ever-present darkness. Look at us. You're in the middle of a downright biblical desert, galaxies from where we started. I mean, our very existence is a miracle. I'm capable of so much more than I thought I was, Max. I really think that maybe I could do great things. I need you to come back, okay? I need you to be the thing that I can believe in. That doesn't let me down. I just need this one little miracle, and I promise I won't ever ask for anything ever again."

MUSIC:

1. LEN "Steal My Sunshine"

2. Spacehog "In The Meantime"

3. Duke Ellington "Take It Easy"

4. Maná "Como Te Deseo"

5. Oasis "Don't Look Back In Anger"

6. Ben Harper "Waiting On An Angel"

[jackoshadows]

I loved all the Maria, Michael and Kyle we got tonight.

We finally got some background on Maria. It only took like 19 episodes! Mimi Deluca’s neurodegenerative disease is because of experimentation by Project Shepherd. Though it looks like plain ol’ genetic manipulation or maybe alien DNA inserted into hers. Not sure how Kyle can conclusively say Maria is not alien just because she does not have that one protein they discovered.

So now project shepherd is responsible for both families being messed up - The Pod Squad’s and Maria’s.

Maria sees her abilities as a superpower and wants to save people. Michael sees it as an illness considering what happened to Mimi at a young age. I sense possible conflicts between them regarding this. Drama and angst!

Kyle being genuinely worried for Maria. The first reference we got to them being long time friends. Digging up old medical records on the Deluca ladies and connecting the dots. Kyle Valenti is like the smartest character on the show.

So Maria knows everything? Dear Carina, please don’t have all of Maria’s important conversations happen off screen. I would have loved to see her discuss the Pod Squad, Alien Superpowers, Caulfied prison, Michael’s mom etc. with Michael.

On that note, Kyle said ‘Pod Squad’.

Michael’s protective instincts kicking in with Maria. Saving her as now become his reason to stay. If it wasn’t clear before Michael loves Maria.

This episode made me want more of Kyle, Maria and Michael investigating stuff and solving crime. Give it to me show.