#i have a lot of feelings about baby Malex

[andrea-lyn]

Roswell New Mexico - Master Fic Rec Post

See under the cut for thirty-four total recs, predominantly Malex. There's also 10 additional in the "Recs Less Travelled" project here.

a few drinks and some conversation by @christchex

Michael Guerin makes a friend who isn’t his sibling, an ex, or a sibling’s ex.

Astriferous Sea by hrhbrittany, Sismyn

Alex has always been the baby among the sirens in the Dead Sea. Michael is performing beard services for his sister. Communication is a little wishy-washy.

This AU came out of nowhere and smacked me right with the ‘I’ve always wanted this and I just never knew’. It has sirens and rescues and bad guys and false relationships and real marriages and rings and drama and romance. It honestly reminds me (in the best way) of an exciting romance novel and I’m so jazzed there’s still one part left to it.

The Bachelor by Sweetgirl2019

After the events of high school, Michael, Isobel & Max moved to California while Liz, Maria & Kyle stayed in Roswell and Alex went to war overseas. Once his enlistment period ends, Alex gets thrown into something that brings him and Michael back together again.

So I think this might be my favourite to see updated right now. It should be a run-of-the-mill fluffy AU, yet the author threw this incredible curveball by using the alien background in a canon divergence to turn The Bachelor into both a romantic dramedy for the boys, but also keeping the looming threat of people finding out about aliens in the background. Also, I think this is top tier pining that you will actively feel in your own chest, that’s how good it is. 

blink back to let me know by haloud - Roswell New Mexico

Alex doesn’t have important conversations over the phone when he can avoid them. It feels too much like going in blind. But in some ways, the phone makes it easier–it’s easier to break when no one’s looking.

It’s Mylex and the 5th in a series, and every part is worth reading, but I definitely re-read parts 4 and 5 a lot. It’s so well written and the dynamic is mwah and I love how Kyle fits into this. One of my favourite pieces in this is how Kyle reacts to his father in relation to Michael & Caulfield and it’s an amazing read.

built this house on memories by @villanellve

He wakes up eight years in the future, and everything is strange, but Alex is there.

YOU GUYS. If you were to write a list of tropes I adore, this would be way up there at the top because of how much I love it. I am a sucker for a character having to be removed from their situation to learn (whether it’s an alternate universe or the future or the past), but this one is so achingly painful and perfect and hopeful. I love the callout that the situation is almost too hard for Alex, I love the resolution at the end on Michael’s part, and you could just soak in the happiness and comfort of their future lives if you let yourself.

Can’t Get No by one_flying_ace

“They’re on round two already,” he says, tilting his head towards the truck again, “or maybe three.” Guerin grimaces, and that’s fair; it’s his brother, after all. “You know how they’re feeling. Could I handle it, if you stopped-” being in control, he doesn’t say, but Guerin shudders. “I’m good, Alex. Just keep the hell away.” (Or: alien sex rocks don’t make them do it, but they sure do help.)

Sex pollen/sex-or-die fics are pretty much a requirement, but this is my absolute favourite and I have re-read it more times than I can tell you (let’s put it at six or seven?) The restraint that Michael has in this is amazing, but the mental images of it are incredible as well. I loved Max and Liz’s secondary presence as well and how each character was tonally perfect down to the little things (like Max not noticing Michael’s sex marks). What a good. What a hot. What amazing.

Constant as the Northern Star by celzmccelz

Michael stares at Kyle. “But I’m a guy! How can I be pregnant?” Kyle looks embarrassed. “Well, you appear to have a fully functioning set of female reproductive organs—or, I mean, like, the kind of reproductive organs that are associated with a double X-chromosome in humans, so I’d assume that you probably became pregnant when semen was introduced into your reproductive tract—” “Jesus Christ, Kyle!” says Michael. He could have happily lived the rest of his life without ever hearing Kyle Valenti say the words “semen” and “reproductive tract.” Kyle’s eyes widen. “Have you been having unprotected sex?” “Oh my God, I am not having this conversation with you!”

Yes, going in, there are some warnings to be cognizant of. It’s mpreg, there’s a lot of medical stuff to go through, but I think this is my absolute favourite of the mpregs I’ve read and it actually comes down to Michael’s support system outside of Alex, namely in Kyle. There’s no sudden BFF bracelets being given, but that morality that makes Kyle Valenti who he is, that’s right there. Also, given that this is an mpreg fic, it delves into family and plot in a way that I haven’t often seen. Plus, you get the ‘getting back together’ Malex that I so deeply crave.

Contigo me encontré by beautifulcheat (Katalyst), ladynox

The Lockhart House was once a home, although it was never a happy one. Steeped in tragedy, it still stands today, in the heart of Old Town Roswell, attracting ghost hunters and those seeking to catch a peak of something from beyond the veil.

Contrary to popular myth, it wasn’t currently haunted (except by one paranormally talented docent). It was Michael’s favorite job and the best part of his summer home from UNM. Or at least was until Alex Manes was hired to man the gift shop, complicating an otherwise fun and easy job.

everywhere on earth you go - @evepolastried

Across the room, he can still see how Michael Guerin is looking at him. And that’s something different, something new, something so very familiar. The thrill of nerves, of guilt, of want. Alex smiles, and he starts to sing. (OR: Alex Manes grabs his guitar and gets the hell out of Roswell in 2008, and he leaves behind a letter. Here’s what happens ten years later)

I love this. This one has something incredible, and it’s something I called out, but it has this amazing work with pace. There’s a frantic moment at the bar and it’s chaos, and you feel it. It’s rushed and wild and crazy, but then everything slows down and it gets perfect. There’s Michael, there’s Alex, there’s music, and it’s such a great ride.

Family Matters by @bestillmyslashyheart

Isobel is telepathic. Most of the time she ignores it. She used to pick up on other’s people’s emotions but she’s long since learned to tune that out. Until one night she can’t. Someone, somewhere is in such a state that it’s spilling over and she’s left to deal with the brunt of it. Or, Michael keeps things close to the vest until he can’t. The night after Alex leaves him at the drive-in, everything he’s feeling bubbles up inside until it spills over onto Isobel. Suddenly he’s left with no other choice but to open up.

This is an early fandom piece, but I still think it’s held up to an immensely amazing rate. Not only that, but I love how it delves into powers, Michael and Isobel’s relationship, and the incredible idea of spillover, which I still actively wish would become canon because of this fic. I think it’s so IC, especially with Michael’s active wish not to talk about it that he screws himself over in his sleep and seriously, it’s such a good read for both Isobel & Michael stuff, but also Michael & Alex.

the first who ever did - nostaljinks

Five times Michael saves Alex + 1 time Alex saves Michael back.

I feel like there aren’t enough words that I can heap onto this of praise. This fic is well-written, well-plotted, well-thought out, well-everything. It’s a beautiful emotional roller coaster and will make you ACHE, but in a great way. It also is the right amount of long that you want more, but you also get it, and it’s just as quality as the rest. ABSOLUTE must read.

fish bowl by @sabrinachill

Alex makes a series of phone calls and bad choices that lead him directly here — an Airstream on the edge of a junkyard with a distractingly attractive mechanic showing him how the dining table converts into a bed that he can sleep on for just $75 a week. It is, of course, completely absurd. But there’s something cozy about the fuzzy yellow blanket on the bed/table and the sparkling sunlight streaming through the mostly-clean windows, in the smell of leather and motor oil and aftershave and summer storms, in the hopeful half-smile on Michael’s face. That’s his name — Michael. Alex’s potential new roommate and landlord. (AKA An AU About Quarantined Roommates Who Fall in Love)

I highly recommend anything by @sabrinachill, but this fic is a really clear argument about why. It’s an AU that involves quarantine, and you might think ‘oh, I’ve read that before’, but then it will take you down the unexpected road that you didn’t expect to go down, but as soon as you take that twist, you instantly realize how much better it is that way. Hats off to the clever plotting not just in Fish Bowl, but other fics! 

Funny How Things Never Change - @waroftheposes​

“What can I do for you?” Michael asks, turning to face Alex. Alex can tell the moment that Michael’s mind registers who he’s addressing, because the polite smile drops from his face and the hat falls from his hand. He stands there, eyes wide and unbelieving, looking at Alex. Alex takes a deep breath, willing his racing heart to settle. “Well,” he begins and is his voice shaking? “For starters you can get your stubborn ass over here and give me a divorce.” – (A Sweet Home Alabama AU)

Yooooo, guess who was bereft when she thought she lost this link. It was absolutely me. This AU makes me happy in so many ways, especially the storms in the desert motif that keeps coming back around, and also that it’s messy. I like that it’s not cut and dry, that it goes right up until the wedding, and that it takes some real talk for them to get back together. I love fics where they all get to be human and this one is just so good. 

I Know Nothing Stays The Same by aewriting

“Alex doesn’t believe in miracles until one happens to him. His father has a hammer in one hand and Alex’s throat in the other. As Alex’s consciousness fades, he’s dimly aware of movement. His father’s about to swing the hammer, and this is how Alex will die.” When an unexplainable force puts a stop to Jesse’s attack in the shed, Alex and Michael are forced to go on the run. Leaving Roswell is an easy decision, but navigating the consequences of that choice months and even years later proves to be much more complicated.

I think this one became a must read very early on, but then it’s continued to deliver. There’s been a few stories that delve into the characters getting therapy, but there’s a whole chapter here where it genuinely feels cathartic as we go through the process with Alex. This fic also is an excellent and long version of an AU I think that we’ve all wondered, about what would happen if they ran away, and it’s so well written and so real that I know I will be re-reading this a ton. Like many of the others, why I love it is because it’s not perfection, but it’s the kind of real where I want to wrap myself up in it. 

i won’t go, i can’t do it on my own by @queersirius

alex tries to let go by giving back the pieces of michael he’s kept

Millie has a bunch of AMAZING AUs (guys, the 10 Things I Hate About You is something I never thought I’d get, especially from a favourite author), but i think this one is actually my favourite, especially when it comes to the ship piece that Alex has. Again, when I talk about ‘fics that make me want to be better’, this one was one. The writing is engaging, the characterization is fabulous, and the emotions are so honest and real. Then there’s this line, like a gut punch:  “Because it’s the last thing I have of you,” he admits. “The last piece of you I have to let go of.” which I love because it’s still Alex’s journey, an honest attempt to offer closure (if closure is wanted). 

in some other life - @spaceskam​

michael tries to build a time machine, but ends up in a different reality all together

There are a lot of these that have been written and they are all quality, but I love this one especially because of how we get into Alex in the other universe, get the glimpse of this unknown Michael, but also the scene that strikes this one out for me is that Alex doesn’t want to let him go. I love that Alex gets to be selfish, that he begs for him to stay, and that we don’t get the automatic happy ending in that, but there’s still the hope for it. Also, Alex the Angel, unf. 

intimate encounters of the third kind by @alexmanes

Three years after Antar and its people take Earth under their wings, Roswell becomes the epicenter for human-alien relations between both planets. It doesn’t take very long for Alex Manes to find himself embroiled in a scandal that threatens this intergalactic partnership, all thanks to a beautiful man named Michael Guerin who is not nearly as human as he claims to be.

Okay, so, if you like No Love Like Your Love, the truth is that you have this fic to thank. This was my first introduction in RNM fandom as to what a really amazing fic could be that incorporated the royalty elements into the pairing. Once 1x12 aired and we met Michael’s mother, it was pretty much a done deal that I wanted to do something that played with that, but this is the actual inspiration. It’s well plotted, it has a great ensemble cast, and plays with the kind of care that it takes to know your plot inside and out, but also to leave breadcrumbs that guide the reader along. It’s very methodical in the sense that nothing is by accident and it has you on the edge of your seat.

It’s a long road back to you by @magsthemagical

Michael finds out that Alex is dating Forrest and he’s okay with it, until he’s not. Maria suggests a double date to show they can all hang out as friends. But they can’t… not really. [OR the one where Michael & Alex realize that they belong together and so they say goodbye to their respective relationships and start anew]

Honest truth time - in terms of ‘ships, while I always love people to ship and let ship, my personal preference for both Michael and Alex is one another, so both Maria/Michael and Forrest/Alex aren’t things that I usually seek out when trawling Ao3. This fic is so good to all parties involved. No one is a villain and I appreciate that they get to talk about things like Alex’s reticence to do certain things in public, but also being aware that Alex deserves to have something new as much as Michael.

Last Stop: This Town by @ubiestcaelum

Someone asked what it would have been like if Michael had gone home with the Evan’s and I couldn’t let it go.

Am I cheating because I requested this? idk, maybe, because another one I requested will end up here too. I am addicted to the idea of Michael getting the support system he needs, but THIS FIC takes it to the most impossibly amazing level and fleshes out the Evans parents in such an incredible way. I love that it’s not super sunshine and rainbows, but it’s an honest telling of raising kids (and maybe too many kids versus what you expected). I know this is only in progress (several today will be), but even as it is, it’s worth reading multiple times, because I know I have.

let me count the ways by @queersirius

liz ortecho isn’t allowed to date until her snarky, determined-not-to-date brother, alex ortecho, does. luckily, one of her suitors has a plan. well, max goes to isobel for a plan, which involves getting their brother, michael, to woo alex. or, the 10 things i hate about you AU

Obviously this needs to be here as I desperately pleaded for it to exist, but it’s so beyond what it might be as a mini tumblr ficlet and has become a whole world. It’s not just a great Malex story, it’s an amazing story for all the characters and really fleshes out a world, but weaves in the RNM characters perfectly, but also gives me a dynamic I want more of, in Alex being an Ortecho. It’s not quite finished yet, but Millie has never steered us wrong and I can’t wait for more.

Loathly by @aewriting

When King Manes and his sons are caught illegally hunting on Antarian lands, King Noah gives King Manes a choice - correctly answer a riddle or accept death. A year-long search for the correct answer ensues, leading the youngest son of the king, Alex, to strike a bargain with a mysterious woman who claims to know the answer. This is an AU of the Arthurian legend “Sir Gawain and the Dame Ragnell.”

Love at First Sass - @daffietjuh

Taking a class of 30 high school kids on a school trip to an Air Force base was about as exhausting as it sounds, luckily, the Captain giving them the tour is perfectly capable of handling a group of rowdy teenagers. Michael may be slightly in love Okay, so first of all, if you haven’t read any of the author’s other work, you should. The AUs are fantastic and the hockey one is still one of my favourites ever, but this one also just was exactly what I needed. It was sexy and flirty and fun, but also fit their personalities perfectly!

Everything in the Michael Sanders AU, by prouvaireafterdark which is a fantastic series that gives us what we all wanted, which is Walt Sanders giving Michael the home he deserved (and getting one right back).

My love is a life taker by @jocarthage

By the time he turned 15, Captain Alex Manes had been to every war zone and unofficial conflict the United States of America was involved in. It wasn’t regular practice, or even heard of, for a Colonel to bring his son along on combat missions; the exception was if the child had been identified as Time Aware, able to travel in time along their own timeline using stolen alien technology. So here Alex Manes was, 28, and ducking bombs, killing who he’s told to. On his way back from a mission, Alex slips into another timestream. It should be impossible. But he can hear a child crying and he heads towards the sound. This is the story of how Alex saved Michael and Michael saved Alex, with lots of time travel shenanigans and angst.

This story is incredible for so many reasons and one of them I continue to praise is the balance. It’s an Alex driven story, but you can break his life down into friends, mission, family, and Michael, and often those elements combine, but there’s never any update that doesn’t give you enough (imo). It’s excellent writing with engaging OCs and wonderful plot, and the most incredible love story.

not in this world (or the next) by @hannah-writes

It isn’t until he realises he can’t find the keys for his fucking truck anywhere and that there’s mail on the table addressed to Mr M Evans that Noah called him ‘Evans’, too. He fumbles inside the wallet that he’d managed to locate and pulls out a New Mexico licence with his picture on it; he doesn’t have a black eye and a split lip in this one, his hair’s tamed and he doesn’t look like he’s gone three days without showering. His date of birth is stamped, clear and correct, but then where his name should read ‘Michael Guerin’, it reads “Michael Evans’ and the address registered on the license is that of Max and Isobel’s childhood home. Noah had also said ‘your mom’s’. Not ‘Mrs Evans’. It feels like a bucket of ice water’s dumped over his head as he finally accepts that something is very, very wrong. (aka, the fic spawned from a tumblr prompt about Michael waking up in a parallel reality.)

This one, guys. This is an absolute beast of angst and love and a really well plotted story, but also is really amazing for how it creates Mikey, but also creates motive behind what drives both Michael and Mikey in ways that are the same, but also different. Genuinely, this fic is a great read because you get so much attention to the characters while also driving along the relationships, and who they are. 

nursery sharks by christchex

Six firsts in the Sanders household and a second.

Otherwise Engaged by JustAsSweet

Alex Manes was perfectly happy with his job at Colden Records but when his visa is rejected and deportation looms, marrying his assistant Michael Evans is his only option. And when they make a trip to Alaska to see Michael’s family, everything becomes a lot more complicated.

AKA: The Proposal AU that no one asked for but I wrote anyway.

Shadow Work - @myrmidryad

After his discharge from the Air Force, Alex Manes is working as a shade - a professional ghost hunter - when Michael Guerin tracks him down. Alex left Roswell thirteen years ago and never went back, but overnight Michael’s family has vanished and the supernatural activity in Roswell has exploded, and he wants Alex’s help. Featuring: ghosts, more ghosts, metaphorical ghosts, and a lot of sex without talking about feelings. Also missing family members, government conspiracies, and gratuitous worldbuilding.

No, YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND. I can’t rec this enough. Literally, this is a novel-type rec. If this were a book on a shelf, I would be shouting that you need to go read it, because it is literally good enough to be a published work on a best-selling list. It’s so fucking good. Every time you think it can’t get better, it does. It has nuance and plot and world-building and it is So. Fucking. Good. I could sit here and sing praises all day and it still wouldn’t be enough. Please give yourself a holiday treat and read it.

The World Forgetting, By The World Forgot by Anonymous

Michael and Alex erase each other from their memories. It does not go according to plan. [Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Roswell style]

I mean, I could rec anything by Anonymous and it would be worth your read. They’re so good and so in character,  but this one is my favourite. It’s angsty as fuck, don’t get me wrong, but it plays with the movie plot in such a Roswell-specific way that makes sense that I honestly never even compared or contrasted it to the movie past the first few beats. The pain is visceral, and the memory loss segment is incredible, but also delivers on a positive ending. 

To Trust Love by @laughsalot3412 

The prisoner’s voice sounded like home. He could have been raised in Roswell, the way his accent stretched his vowels. He definitely hadn’t been. Alex would have remembered eyes like those. (AU where Alex Manes goes on an undercover rescue mission in Caulfield Prison and forms a bond with one of the prisoners in the process.)

I don’t have enough words in the English language to praise this one. Honestly, I don’t. For one, the pace and the length is perfect. That we got the parts as quickly as we did was honestly such a treat, but then every part was just as high quality as the last. There are chapters in this one that made me go, “holy shit, this would’ve been a novel I read”, and then there are little emotional impacts where the tone shifts, but it works so well. It’s SO HOT, and the AU is so perfect, and also helped inspire the one that I wrote last night with the “genie”. 

Unwind Me - delgay

“Think you can manage that? Sitting next to me, without picking a fight?” Michael challenged. “Can you?” Alex returned. “No idea,” Michael admitted with a sideways grin that never failed to make Alex’s stomach turn over, “But I’m eager to find out.” Alex is avoiding everyone, but he can’t seem to escape Michael.

This whole fic is intensely amazing, but it got on my rec list for the absolutely electric scene with the dancing that was absolutely beyond incredible. You also get Michael courting Alex, which is something he utterly deserves and I love the way Michael goes about it. 

we feel so american by thepredatorywasp

“Papa’s on the spaceship again?” River asks, his bright green eyes welling with tears and his face growing red. “Comin’ back?” “Of course he is,” Alex says, smoothing down the son’s hair and adjusting the Mickey ears atop his head. “Always.” There is no easy way to explain to your three year-old that not only is he an alien, but his Papa is an alien and that apparently, Michael loves leaning hard into irony because he has gone on Space Mountain approximately ten times over the course of four days.

LOOK. I LOVE A SWEET KID FIC. The next rec will prove this, but this one will melt your fucking heart. I love it because it’s not perfect and easy. There’s difficulties, there are issues, but it’s Michael and Alex and their baby boy in Disney and if you do not come away feeling warmer from this, then I just don’t know. 

We’re Waking Up Slow by myrmyriad

“I think need a little time to process all of this. Um. Storm’s getting closer and I don’t really wanna get snowed in here, so…let’s just talk later, okay?” What if the storm that blew in during S01E10 came in a lot faster and heavier, and Alex was snowed in at the junkyard?

Again, fic that makes me wish that I could write as well as this. This one makes you feel it all. You’ll feel the cold, the wet, the storm, the pain, the hope, the healing. You feel the connection between Michael and Alex, and you’ll be left wishing at the end that this had been how canon went, but also that it’s justifiably not that far off from how it could have, had they taken a different tack, because of how well it’s written. 

What’s Up, Pregnant? by Marie_L

Michael Guerin is broke, practically homeless, and a knocked up secret alien. What now?

Speaking of kid fics, this mpreg is one that I really like, because if nothing else, it introduced the concept of mpreg using pods to me in the fandom, and I kind of went, “YES, of course”. I love that it’s got everyone rallying, but I mostly love the psychic connection between Michael and his baby, and the softness of loving sugar and Alex. 

With Love Overflowing by Nestra

"We both agree that this is not the place we belong, right? Please say yes."

Michael tossed his hat on the coffee table and dropped onto the couch. "If you mean that your dad's been dead since CrashCon and some kind of crazy shit is going on, then yeah, I agree."

(This one was for me for Secret Santa, it is just THAT GOOD that I want everyone in the world to read it)

x marks the spot (where we fell apart) by catching_paper_moons, preciousthings

“Don’t write it off,” Alex says, and Liz is so relieved someone is coming to her defense, even if it’s someone who already knew beforehand. “Liz and Kyle have ideas, and there are people in this room with literal superpowers. It’s pretty much our only option.” “Our only option?” Isobel scoffs. “What are we, Ocean’s Eleven?”

[pastelwitchling]

Hi

Thanks for all the amazing Malex stories.

Could you possibly write about Michael and Kyle being worried about that Alex is taking too many painkillers? Thanks.

This prompt actually inspired me to do a two-parter, so that's what I'm going to do 🫣

Part 1/2

***

“I don’t how comfortable I am with this,” Michael said, arms crossed and shoulder leaning against the archway into the kitchen.

Alex had his back to him as he fixed up the plate of snacks for movie night, but Michael could hear the amusement in his voice when he said, “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

His shoulders fell. “I’m serious, Alex. This is our movie night, why does Valenti have to be here?”

“Uh, technically,” Kyle called from the living room, “Alex and I were doing movie night way before you guys got together, so you’re the only trespasser here, Guerin!”

Michael pointed into the hallway, eyes narrowed at Alex. “In my own home.”

“Oh, brother,” Alex chuckled, glancing at Michael over his shoulder. “Baby, why don’t you go pick the movie, okay? It could be whatever you want.”

“You’re just trying to get rid of me, aren’t you?”

“Never,” he said easily with a shrug. “You’re my heart and soul. My lifeline.”

“Okay –”

“My never-ending fairytale.”

“I get it,” he said, trying not to smile.

“My hunky alien hubby.”

“I’m going!”

Alex was still calling adoring nicknames after him as he entered the living room, shaking his head and fighting his own laugh, when he saw Kyle sorting through the DVDs, and he sighed, all joy in the world gone.

“Alex said I can pick what movie we’re watching.”

“Oh?” Kyle said without turning around. “Is that what it took to get you to stop moping?”

Michael mimicked him with a much whinier voice, and Kyle slowly looked over his shoulder at him. “Real mature there, cowboy.”

Michael mimicked that too, and snatched the DVDs out of Kyle’s hands.

“We should watch A New Hope,” Kyle said.

“Should we?” Michael said innocently. “Too bad I’m picking then, huh?”

Kyle shook his head, eyes shut like he was making a gallant effort not to throttle his best friend’s husband. “You know Alex’s leg has been killing him lately, and Star Wars makes him feel better.”

Michael softened. He hated when Kyle was right, he hated when Alex was in pain, but most of all, he hated that Kyle had brought it up at all when it should’ve been Michael who’d suggested it first.

“I was going to choose Star Wars anyway,” he sulked, and Kyle looked like he was counting to ten. Now that he was thinking of Alex’s leg though . . . “I’m going to give him his medication. It’s around that time anyway.”

“I can grab ‘em,” Kyle offered, “you get the movie started. Where are his painkillers?”

“How ‘bout I get my husband his painkillers, and you start the movie?”

“Just tell me where they are, Michael!”

Michael took his time setting the DVD player down and waltzing over to the little drawer beside the couch. He heard Kyle stand behind him, heard him sigh as he stretched, and then –

“What the hell are those?”

Michael raised a brow. “Alex’s painkillers?”

Kyle nudged Michael aside, picking up orange bottle after orange bottle. To Michael’s surprise, he was frowning.

“Why are there so many?”

Michael’s brows furrowed. “Because he’s in pain a lot?” When Kyle didn’t respond, instead checking every bottle and its expiration date, he faltered. “What’s wrong?”

“There shouldn’t be this many,” he murmured. “He doesn’t need more than one or two, I’m counting six here.” He shook his head, and Michael had the feeling he was talking to himself when he said, “What the hell’s he doing, taking all of these?”

“C’mon,” Michael chuckled, uncertain. “They’re probably all for different things –”

“Michael, I’m a doctor,” he reminded him. The fact that he was using Michael’s first name was a little more than concerning. “These are all the same prescriptions. He shouldn’t have this many.” He bit his lower lip as he examined the bottles again. “And we have a bigger problem.”

“Which is what?” Michael scanned the bottles again, trying to see what Kyle was seeing.

“They’ve all been opened,” he said grimly. “So –”

“He’s been taking all this medication at once,” Michael finished, and slumped to the ground. He picked up a bottle, examining it. He’d handed Alex these pills himself, and often. He’d never given the number of bottles a second thought. “What the hell?”

“Okay,” a voice sounded inside, and Alex came walking out with a tray of popcorn, pretzels, sandwiches, and chips. “What’re we watching?”

Michael had half a mind to hold up Alex’s bottle and demand an explanation, but Kyle was already shutting the drawer and pushing himself to his feet.

“A New Hope,” he cleared his throat, and smiled. “Your husband knows you better than I thought he did.”

“Really?” Alex smiled, excited. “Not gonna lie, I was hoping for Star Wars. Thanks, baby,” he kissed the top of Michael’s head. “I’m so lucky to have you.” He faltered at the look on Michael’s face. “Michael? What’s wrong?”

Michael opened his mouth to tell Alex what was wrong, to beg to know why he hadn’t told him how many pills he’d been taking, to look him up and down for injuries and make sure that medication hadn’t been leaving a permanent mark on him. But Kyle was standing right behind Alex, subtly shaking his head, and damn it all, he knew more about this stuff than Michael did. Something was clearly wrong with Alex, how could he not listen?

“I get to sit between you guys,” he finally said. “You’re not cuddling up to anybody else.”

Alex chuckled, relieved. “You got it, baby, I’ll cuddle up to you all night. Let me just get the drinks, and we can start the movie.”

He set the tray down on the coffee table and went inside. The second he was out of earshot, Michael demanded, “Why’d you stop me?”

“I’ve seen this before, okay?” Kyle said in a rushed whisper. “The second you confront someone about abusing their medication, they get defensive and start to lie. We have to know what’s really going on here, Guerin, we can’t risk Alex shutting us out, not on this.”

Michael swallowed, starting to get nervous. If Alex had a problem with pills, and he hadn’t noticed this whole time . . . if Alex had been slowly killing himself, and Michael had willingly put the damn things in his hands . . .

“Hey, hey,” Kyle put a hand on his shoulder, eyes intent. “It’s going to be okay, okay? Alex is the strongest person I know, I’m sure there’s more to this story. But whatever it is, we have to approach it carefully. For Alex.”

“For Alex,” he repeated, hands balled into fists and trying not to panic. Not until Alex was back in the living room with three bottles of beer, not until he was in Michael’s line of sight and smiling and seemingly fine did the knot of tension in Michael’s stomach loosen. He sat on the couch while Kyle took the armchair, and held out his arms.

“C’mere,” he said, and Alex complied easily, taking off his prosthetic and wincing despite himself.

Michael shouldn’t have said it, but he wanted to see how Alex would react. “You need your pills?”

Alex looked like he was going to say he did, but he glanced at Kyle and plastered a smile and shook his head. “N-No, I’m okay, I already had them,” and he curled up on Michael’s chest, hugging his waist tightly.

Michael looked to Kyle who met his eyes. See? Alex had known Kyle would spot the number of bottles and start asking questions, and he’d decided to hide the truth. Michael’s arms tightened around him.

“Baby?” Alex looked up with concern, his breath warm against Michael’s collarbone. “You’re shaking.”

Michael forced a chuckle. “I’m a little cold.”

“Oh, well just tell me,” Alex smiled and unfolded the blanket they usually kept on the couch, covering them both. He tucked Michael in and snuggled in close to keep him as warm as possible. “Is that better?”

He nodded, kissing Alex’s brow. “Better. Thanks, baby.”

Satisfied, Alex settled and went back to watching the movie. As the opening credits rolled in, Michael shared another look with Kyle. Kyle seemed to think it was a good thing that Alex wasn’t looking for excuses to take more pills, and made a calming gesture with his hand to Michael.

Relax, he seemed to tell him. He has us here, I’m not going anywhere, just relax.

Michael swallowed and nodded, settling into the couch, his grip on Alex tight. He would relax for now, he would take it calmly, he would stay strong because Alex needed him. For Alex, he thought over and over, whenever dark thoughts threatened to take him away. For Alex.

***

Happy Malex Monday ❤️

[poisonintopositivity]

J'ai publié 5 136 fois en 2022

C'est 2 624 billets de plus qu'en 2021 !

5 131 billets reblogués (100%)

Les blogs que j'ai le plus reblogués :

@chamblerstara

@gaylittlepirates

@blakbonnet

@manesalex

@edwardteachonthebeach

J'ai étiqueté 4 562 billets en 2022

Seulement 11% de mes billets ne comportaient pas de tag

#our flag means death - 2 333 billets

#stede bonnet - 1 000 billets

#blackbonnet - 984 billets

#ofmd fanart - 934 billets

#gentlebeard - 788 billets

#blackstede - 785 billets

#ed teach - 660 billets

#edward teach - 565 billets

#taika waititi - 265 billets

#star wars - 262 billets

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#this is so me. i hate this show but i watch it out of anger and rage and bitterness at this point but also malex even tho it’s non existent

Mes billets vedette en 2022 :

n°5

🌸 If you get this, answer with 3 random facts about yourself and send it to the last 7 blogs in your notifications, anonymously or not 🌸

Thank you for this ask my dear!

So, 3 randoms facts about myself.... Okay!

Here we go:

1 - My favorite color is purple

2 - I'm very allergic to cats and shellfish

3 - I find thunderstorms relaxing

n°4

Okay, that last part is like a lot, so feel free to just answer - let's spread some happiness around! --

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the ask box of the last 10 people that reblogged from you!

Thanks for the ask @anna-hawk!

5 things that make me happy? Okay! It's gonna be the 5 things that make me happy at the moment then.

Here we go!

1 : Reading Dinluke fanfictions. They are kinda (A LOT!) my latest obsession, so reading endlessly about these two falling in love in space while raising a little green jedi baby makes me VERY HAPPY on a daily basis.

2 : My dog, Sherlock. He's the love of my life, always.

3 : The weather. At the moment, it's perfect for my state of mind, right now, for example, there's a little rain, but the kind of rain you get in summer when you know the sun will soon be there and the birds are singing and it smells like nature is waking up.

4 : Star Wars in general. I'm rewatching all the movies and TV Shows and animated series and I love it all! I just started "Rebels" and only finished "Clone Wars" a few weeks ago and I LIVE! I

5 : Pedro Pascal. Just because that man is amazing and everything.

2 notes - publié le 16 mai 2022

n°3

Okay, for the pickign a character, Obi wan or that Mandalorian guy?

Thanks for the ask, darling.

It's a very hard pick!

Obi-Wan is my fav from the prequel trilogy and I love him even more after seeing Clone Wars... And the new Obi-Wan Kenobi show will make me even more addicted to this character, I just know it. And I just love Ewan McGregor since I was a teen. And CodyWan in just an amazing ship...

BUT...

I'm literally in love with Din Djarin and The Mandalorian is the show that made me appreciate Star Wars all over again after all this time. It’s because of The Mandalorian that I’ve watched Clone Wars and Rebels for the 1st time and the OG and Prequel trilogies all over again. It's this THE show that pushed me to really understand all the Star Wars lore. It's THE show that brought DinLuke into my life.

So… After long and hard deliberation, I’ll have to choose that Mandalorian guy ☻. My Mando. My Din. This is the Way.

Ps: And... Pedro Pascal, that's all I have to say.

3 notes - publié le 18 mai 2022

n°2

1, 13, 20

Thanks for the ask darling !

1 : show you watch religiously, can’t miss an episode?

To be honest, there are quite a few I just CAN'T miss. But, I'll just do a Top 3, cause I'm unable to choose just one.

The Mandalorian, obviously, cause it's my favorite show.

Stangers Things, just because it has a little bit of everything I love in a TVShow and the characters are just so endearing ! I love them all to death !

Our Flag Means Death, of course ! I've watched it on a loop for a few weeks now and I just can't get enough of it. It really is the greatest show on Earth (and Sea). When S2 will drop, it'll probably be the death of me (in the best way possible.)

13 : show you watch for a ship?

Honestly? Roswell New Mexico. If it wasn't for Malex I would I've dropped the show a long time ago. I mean... I love the prospect of Kybel also, but Echo is exhausting and all the unnecessary drama make me roll my eyes so hard... But I still watch it, even if the plot is full of holes and very bad sometimes. I must be a masochist, but I'm still too addicted and attached to Malex (and Kybel) to drop the show.

20 : show you think should’ve ended sooner?

SO MANY SHOWS! I mean look at Grey's Anatomy for exemple ? Will it ever end? But I've stopped watching the show like 10 seasons ago so if I really had to choose one, it'd be The Flash.

I don't know why I still watch it because it's very bad. It must end! Please, let it end!

3 notes - publié le 8 juin 2022

Mon billet n°1 en 2022

OFMD FAVE GAME

I’ve been tagged by @sherlockig, thank you, it looks fun!

So here we go !

Fave Ed Gif: I just love this gif. He looks so cute here! And I just love how Ed is so instantly himself with Stede form the very first minutes.

Fave Stede Gif: I think he looks so freaking beautiful in this scene! I get why Ed wanted to kiss the shit out of him.

Voir l'intégralité du billet

5 notes - publié le 12 septembre 2022

Obtenez votre année 2022 en revue sur Tumblr →

[lovecolibri]

SaL anon here bestie, wondering wgen fall became so busy?? Seriously, i feel like I have no time for anything, and that's before we turn the clock in a few days (after which I will be officially useless without candles, a warm drink, and constant blankets 24/7). Anyway I was going hold back on my Buck song thoughts until more of his storyline played out, but honestly the season has been so meh so far (6 episodes in and I feel like barely anything has happened) that i might be waiting till 6b at

this rate so let's do this now!! And I know I'm going to hit you hard when I suggest that to me, Buck's theme this season, maybe even for longer now, is Mercury. Just, that idea of not feeling seen, seeking what makes him happy, always looking for it in the wrong places is very Buck. And most importantly, the eerie, haunting repeat of "I'll go anywhere you want me" just hits so hard in general for him but especially at the beginning thus season. So enjoy the feels trip friend!

Hello my friend! I’m sorry you’ll be struggling with the time change but as a very much not morning person, I am THRIVING today at the sun being up when my alarm goes off 🤣 I’ve got a wedding to addend in a few weeks for my brother and then all the holiday stuff hits after that so I’m expecting to be pretty busy as well. 

I agree that this season, while being soooo much improved from last season still doesn’t have a lot going on and we’re still missing important things. I would have killed to see Madney couples therapy and a better resolution to that painful separation arc! So I have been beyond ready for a good Buck song and then here you come swinging for the feels with Mercury! That’s the thing I’m sensitive about! 😭 I was SO excited to see this ask pop up and I’m sorry it took me until today to get to it but I have been *vibrating* with excitement the whole time and I can’t wait to talk about it again since last time we did was early on and for Malex. So lets get into the Buck feels!

rows of houses, sound asleep. only street lights notice me.

i am desperate, if nothing else, in a holding pattern to find myself.

Oof of oof, this is so Buck Begins it hurts. I just think of him haunting that house with his parents, especially after Maddie left, with no one to notice him wondering around like a lost soul. Then, Buck moving from place to place, just trying to find a home, and a purpose for his life. “I’m going to be something” 😭😭😭 But, this is also what we’re seeing for Buck again right now! He got rid of the couch that was never right for him or his space, but it’s been months and he’s in a holding pattern because he doesn’t want to make the same mistakes again, also all tied in with feeling “at ease”. Then we see Buck losing someone on a call and questioning his life, and how to find happiness. With the sperm donor thing it also feels like he’s trying to find himself in the same old places-using his body for parts to help someone else. Buck, baby, we are literally begging you to go back to therapy!

i talk in circles, i talk in circles, i watch for signals, for a clue.

how to feel different. how to feel new. like science fiction bending truth.

This part really has me thinking about Buck’s conversations this season and end of last season. Buck asking Hen if she’s at ease, talking to Lev about the key to happiness, talking with Bobby about how to be ready to move up at work, talking with Maddie about what love really is, and talking with Eddie about couches and mistakes. All these cyclical discussions about (ironically) moving forward, all these clues and signs Buck is looking for from the universe to give him the answers, bending what everyone is tilling him to fit the truth he *thinks* he knows: that he’s good for parts and not much else. He’s good throwing himself down cliffs and into burning buildings and in front of speeding cars, but not good enough for interim captain over someone who is completely new to the team. That he’s good enough for sex but not a true partnership built on trust and respect and being put first. That he can be a donor but not a dad. All the while missing that he’s had the answer in front of him the whole time. “You don’t find it son, you make it”. He’s looking for new signs, a bolt of lightning from the universe, but the “God has spoken”, the universe has spoken, and he already has built the life he wants with Eddie, they both just need to take that final step! 

no one can unring this bell, unsound this alarm, unbreak my heart new. God knows, i am dissonance waiting to be swiftly pulled into tune.

i’ll go anywhere you want, anywhere you want, anywhere you want me

i’ll go anywhere you want, anywhere you want, anywhere you want me

i’ll go anywhere you want, anywhere you want, anywhere you want me

i’ll go anywhere you want, anywhere you want me

As much as this during the post-season 4 hiatus would have been a Buck feelings realization line, with the shooting being the bell and alarm, the wake-up call about their feelings that both Buck and Eddie cannot go back to NOT knowing, now with everything that’s happened it’s got me thinking about his talk with Bobby about being interim captain. Bobby told him he wasn’t ready and Buck cannot stop thinking about it. Hen taking over may have been more palatable than the other option, but Hen was also planning on resigning as soon as finals were over. So despite her expertise, her being picked over Buck was a blow he’s still recovering from in the form of doing research and life evaluation, hoping he can just go the extra mile on shift, and study his way into being ready. But as Bobby said, being a captain and running a team is about more than just who is good at what. You get the wrong people in there and everything falls apart no matter how good they are individually at the job. Buck feeling dissonant and apart from everyone, and trying so desperately to get in sync and be where he thinks he should be has been such a painful undercurrent for his character for so long! 

You’re soooo right about “I’ll go anywhere you want me” being a theme for him because he is so ready and willing to just go wherever anyone asks him to, hoping it will be enough. Enough to make people stay, to be considered ready and worthy, to be needed like he needs others, to be useful and therefore necessary and not able to be discarded. And he’s so wrapped up in thinking he has to be all these things for people to love and accept him, that he misses all the family that DO love him for exactly who he is and not what he can do for them, because he’s not used to it being that way! 

i know the further i go, the harder i try, only keeps my eyes closed. and somehow i’ve fallen in love with this middle ground at the cost of my soul.

Okay so we are firmly in the sperm donor arc feels with this bit here. Because Buck is purposefully NOT talking to Maddie and Eddie about this decision and I think it’s because he knows they would be the ones able to talk him out of it. He trusts Hen to give him a grounded and realistic outlook on the situation as well as having some knowledge about the process as well as wanting another child and struggling when it doesn’t work out, though I think he was unprepared (or maybe not considering they both broke out the booze for the conversation) for her getting to the heart of what would the struggle for him. Not just having DNA in common, but seeing a baby that looks like him, watching a child that carries his genetics growing up and having little to no contact and certainly no say in the child’s life, IF the couple even includes him that much, with zero communication being far more likely given they hadn’t really been close in years and that it’s unlikely they would want to risk any kind of interference with their family from an outside source.

Buck is firmly keeping his eyes closed about all the red flags in this situation because he doesn’t WANT to face the reality that he’s spiraling. I love that line “somehow i’ve fallen in love/with this middle ground at the cost of my soul” because it’s so perfect for Buck right now and SUCH a gut punch of a line. It’s about being willing to settle into something uncomfortable that doesn’t fit even at the cost of losing yourself because facing the truth can be hard, and scary. And whooo boy if that it’s Evan “the settler” Buckley all over! We saw it for the entirety of last season with his gf and Buck allowing himself to stay in a relationship that made him miserable, giving and giving and getting nothing back, never having a foundation of trust, all because he didn’t want to fail at another thing, and didn’t want to lose something that may not have been good for him or what he wanted, but was at least stable and he knew what he was getting, when everything else was falling apart. We’re seeing it again now with him being willing to give pieces of himself away, even if it’s hurting him, because he doesn’t know yet how to trust what he already has, and what he’s already built with the people that love him. Again, baby. Go to therapy!!

yet i know, if i stepped aside, released the controls, you would open my eyes. that somehow, all of this mess is just an attempt to know the worth of my life…

…made of precious metals, precious metals, precious metals inside.

I love the hopeful ending to this song because THIS is what is waiting for Buck when he stops trying to push down his feelings. The people in his true family already know that Buck is so much more than his physical strength and what he can do for them. He is loved because of who he is on the inside and while he’s far from perfect, he’s still precious and worthy and loved. All this mess he has created, all the messes he as created before, are all just his attempts to know his place and worth. To know he has a place to belong no matter what happens. And I have a feeling things are going to get worse for Buck before they get better (injured/coma Buck theory my absolute most beloved), but ultimately we are going to see him finding and accepting that he IS loved, he IS worthy, and he DOESN’T need to break off pieces of himself to keep people around. He has a family (and a husband and child) that love him and want to GIVE to him instead of just taking all the time. And I can’t wait to see it!

Oh man, this WAS a feels trip! That’s for another (as always) on point song suggestion and for giving me an excuse to wallow in Buck feels today. Someone (Eddie) get that man a long hug! Here’s to hoping the rest of the season can find the spark we got in 6x06 and fingers crossed for a big mid-season opener to make up for the lack-luster season opening. Cheers my friend! here’s to hoping tomorrow’s episode starts pulling the show and storylines back on track!

[sunflowerdigs]

Little Malex Thing

In general, I think Tyler more often hits the little, almost unconsciously cute beats of Malex that I relate to as a fellow gay. His body language and the places on Michael's body where his eyes snag and the eagerness - I just see it more. But. I have to say. My favorite subtle Malex moment is the one right after Michael kisses Alex for the first time.

(Gif by @capmanes)

Michael just looks so fuckin' proud of himself for actually going through with it. And I love it, because that smile tells you that he spent all night and all day thinking about Alex and hyping himself up to make a move after freezing up the night before (the whole scene tells you that, actually, it's a beautiful character study of Michael himself). And he's been tense and nervous and afraid, so much so that it takes him a second to register - oh, yeah, I just did the thing and it went AWESOME.

This is the moment, honestly, that the show recognizes that there's more to Michael than the shiftless, angry drunk who wouldn't know a lifelong goal if it bit him in the ass. That Michael is clearly afraid of something, and that fear isn't letting him move forward. But this Michael, the one who kisses Alex, faces his fear head on and goes out on a limb for something he wants really badly. And for once, life doesn't totally blow up in his face and HE GETS THE THING. And he's so proud of himself for taking the risk. It's glorious, honestly.

Additionally...Michael's expression here is also a little shy and nakedly overwhelmed and I LOVE THAT almost more because Michael doesn't easily give up control. He tries so hard to maintain a poker face no matter what. But he can't really help it when it's Alex, he WANTS to give up that control, and he wants Alex to know that he wants to. It wouldn't have been easy to pull out of that kiss stonefaced but Michael could have tried. But he didn't. And not only did he not try, he deliberately faced Alex head on, paused, and smiled right in his face in a way that he had to know was goofy and a bit wobbly.

(Listen, listen..., speaking of wobbles...when they reunite and have that next first kiss, I have a MIGHTY NEED for Michael's knees to actually go weak, and for Alex to catch him, and for Michael to be visibly delighted by that like the big puppy he secretly is)

But also, ALSO (how much can I read into one look?), it's a very pleased smile. This goes back to the pride thing but it's like you can see there isn't any shame. Kissing Alex is cool, it is, without a doubt, everything that Michael had hoped it would be and more (as well as hyping himself up, obviously Michael also dreamed all night about what kissing Alex would be like). There's no sadness or fear or anger or disappointment or attempt to dominate or anything toxic like that, just...this is where I want to be because obviously it's where everyone should want to be but they can't be here because I got here first.

Idk. I just love this moment a lot. Gay first kisses in fiction can go a lot of different ways - they can end in violence, tears, or just silent shame a lot of the time. So, it was nice that this one was so normal. Delightfully so.

[ohokaylie]

en·am·or

/iˈnamər,eˈnamər/

Learn to pronounce

verb

past participle: enamored

be filled with a feeling of love for.

[gra-sonas]

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Was the year time jump because of the pandemic? To sidestep making that too central to the plot, or was that always the plan?

JEANINE MASON: That was always our intention and it was just sort of a saving grace in that way. We also don't acknowledge the pandemic in real-time on our show. There are no masks and that was just so wonderful just to get work in that way and have that time where it was a little more normal. Also, that's just our show — we want you to come to us the way you always do, which is for nineties nostalgia, sexy Cowboys, brilliant scientists, you know? CHRIS HOLLIER: So we wanted to drop our characters in a year later, let them stew in their individual decisions that were made last season. We want everyone to root for our poster couple but we want to honor what happens in real life, which is sometimes you step away from that person, even if you are entwined with them in a very particular way. So we wanted it to be a real enough time and distance so that they could live a little life on their own.

With showrunner Carina Adly MacKenzie departing at the end of season 2, has much changed? Or are you still working with ideas she had in place?'

HOLLIER: It's a little bit of both. There are things that Carina and I built that live all the way through and then once the story got up on its feet, discoveries were made with our new crop of people that we were like, "Oh, we're going to bend it this other way."

Jeanine, how is Liz doing in her new life in L.A. when we pick up this season?

MASON: Well, it's been a year and at this point, her life is actually pretty great. She just hasn't taken a second to acknowledge that. She's doing what she does best, which is just full head in her work and trying to figure out what she could use of her discoveries and her brilliance to save Maria. She has a great job, a really nice place, and an awesome partner at work who is a good time and a real match for her in terms of intellect and ambition. He begins to ask her to recognize that and to maybe give something a chance that she's been reluctant to because of how drawn she is to Roswell and to Max. It's a fun first episode. It's sexy. It's fun to find opportunities for her. She's our hero so she's got a lot on her shoulders and anytime where we can find levity for her is always a real treat for the writers and for me.

And no Crashdown waitress uniform must be nice?

MASON: Honestly, I miss it quite a lot right now. I have a note in my notes with Chris, I'm like, "I gotta tell him we gotta find him more opportunities for it."

Should Liz and Max shippers be worried about them finding their way back to one another after he destroyed her work and didn't follow her to L.A.? Should we resign ourselves to a season apart?

MASON: This season really is about these characters having themselves mirrored to each other. Max and Liz need some growing and ultimately they can't do anything but be orbiting each other. We found so many opportunities to have such a beautiful language around the cosmic element of their connection. They're asking, "Is this our decision, or are we just acting off of a decision that the cosmos made for us?" It was so fun to navigate that. I always have such a good time with Chris Hollier and with Nathan Dean, just finding the little tiny notches, a tiny bit of movement towards where they're going next. I really loved following them. It's my favorite Max and Liz season to date.

HOLLIER: It's not a season apart. I'll tease that they, in an unexpected way, end up in front of each other relatively soon. But it's really about when am I ready? And what does it mean to talk to my ex? When someone makes such a big influence in your life, when do you know it's over and when do you know you should fight again? We tried to give them real grown-up lives.

Steven Krueger (The Originals) also joined the cast as Heath this season. What can you tease about his character?

HOLLIER: He's just an awesome human being. I know him from The Originals and we were like, "If we're going to have to be stuck with people in the desert, who do we want?" You want to be stuck with a handsome and lovely and charming Steven Krueger. So really this was looking at, "Well, what did Liz want and what does it look like when you start to give Liz versions of what she wants?" Heath is somebody that is beyond being just a lovely person, he is smart and wants to advance science and that's appealing to Liz. It becomes, "What does it look like when the man that I hang around with all day is also into the same things that I am?" MASON: I love him. Heath is just such a fun, whip-smart, fantastic character. His humor was so fun. We've been having a good time with kicking the humor up really through season two and in season three, we just took it up another notch. There are some moments that are like, "Is this a drama or is it a sitcom?" Looking back on it, he was such a fun partner to spar with. They're both such intellectual characters and I love that there's a real meeting of the minds. It makes it competitive and sexy. I know a lot of fans are so excited because they know him from The Originals and he's going to be a great addition.

Technically, Mr. Jones is a new character too. Can you tell us anything at all about him?

HOLLIER: I'd say he's a new character — and a fully-fleshed interesting new character. Mr. Jones has an awesome beard. At some point, he might lose that beard. A lot of people are asking me, "Is Jones good or bad?" And what I would argue is that's a perspective based upon who you are in the conversation that you're having with him. He knows a lot about our heroes' story and he knows a lot about home. He'll be able to answer questions for them. This season our heroes will get to learn why they ended up here on earth. One of the things I think that people will love is that they're going to get to see that home planet this year. We asked ourselves a lot about this whole season, "What have we set up for the past two?" We look at these first three seasons almost like a trilogy so a lot of things are going to be paid off.

Has Nathan enjoyed pulling double duty this season? Or is he just exhausted?

MASON: He's exhausted, but he's such a champ. That really is the beginning of this mirroring thing that starts with Max and Jones with him actually getting to look at himself to a degree and those questions that come up. The self-analysis that it provokes in him is really the beginning of what is happening to all of our characters this year; everybody's being confronted with themselves. I loved that the Max/Jones of it was also a real sci-fi element.

Did he really grow that beard or was that not possible if he had to go between the two characters?

MASON: That was a prosthetic beard and our makeup team killed it. He was not accustomed to early mornings, which, of course, all of us babes are. It was a lot of extra time in the chair for him.

Can Jones dupe Liz into thinking he's actually Max since she doesn't know he exists?

MASON: You're totally on to something. It's a real and pressing threat. I mean, she's totally in the dark and he looks like her cosmic lover!

HOLLIER: What I will say is that, Liz — beyond her being number one on the call sheet — is integral to this story in a way that she and none of our characters are going to perceive when they start episode one. We're bringing [the characters] to a new crossroads moment in their lives and they're getting, through Jones, a mirror into their own lives to decide what they're going to become next.

How's Rosa (Amber Midthunder) doing this season?

MASON: By the end of season two, Rosa really makes the decision to start taking care of herself. She really becomes an incredible asset to the Scooby-Doo gang. It's something that Liz is in constant adjustment to. As much as she's the younger sister, she feels very protective of her sister and Liz has had to make adjustments in her trust and faith in Rosa. I loved it because it just felt like a real personal, authentic thing that sisters would go through, but also that Hispanic sisters would go through. I think we sometimes, culturally, have a tendency to baby our women — maybe that's the wrong word — but just to underestimate their physical ability and what they might take on, and sort of 'queen' our women in a way where we treat them tenderly. I hate that. I'm a tough bitch and so is Rosa. So Liz has to confront that and go, "I'm an idiot to underestimate you. You've done nothing but prove me wrong."

What about Maria and her visions?

HOLLIER: This year I think Maria has the most complete arc of any season, as she recognizes things about herself that cause more questions about who she is, who her family is, how she's linked to this story. We dive into it in the present-day and we dive deliciously back in time too.

In the exclusive clip above we see her have a vision of a funeral, can you tease anything about who potentially might be about to die?

HOLLIER: Maria is front and center in driving the first half of the mystery for us. She's burdened with trying to figure out whose death she is seeing. It takes a few episodes to unravel and we use it to ask, is this linked to our supernatural stories or real-world stories that are going on politically? Is it bad luck? Is it herself? There's a whole gambit at play. We joke that we solved a past murder, now we're going to try to stop one.

Can Malex (Michael and Alex) shippers have hope that this might finally be their time?

HOLLIER: What I would say is that I think that Malex fans are really going to dig this journey. We, as writers, put them at the same level of importance as Max and Liz. So we wanted to really honor the next step in what they may or may not be. How did they grow up and how did they have those hard conversations just like Liz and Max are going to have?

Is Isobel going to continue to date women this season?

HOLLIER: Isobel is going to go on a more personal journey. You got to love yourself before you can love someone else. We lean into those possibilities by the end of who she might love. It's not something that is dropped all season — it is something that you'll see. We play some romantic comedy stuff with her character this year and with Maria that I think fans are gonna dig. There's a lot going on in the world and wanted to pump some humor and hope into it.

Will see more of Liz fighting to challenge the perception of the Latinx community?

MASON: I think that just by nature of it being one of such few shows that are led by a Latin woman, it's always going to be, to an extent, a protest or an assertion of the space that I get to fill and that Liz Ortecho gets to fill on network TV. I was really excited to just have Chris as a collaborator. Over our hiatus, before the season started, I was doing a lot of reading. I chronicled the books that play into Liz every season on my Instagram. I was reading some Sonia Sotomayor. Her book is just incredible. I was texting him screenshots of pages of the book with things underlined. Ten episodes deep into season 3, he's like, "Remember that page you sent me?" He's a real dream collaborator. I loved him for that. A pressing struggle for people of color is going through the ranks in these big corporations and then sometimes coming to find out that those corporations are purporting to support marginalized groups but actually aren't following through. So how do you, as someone who's having your success, your dreams become reality, navigate supporting the company and giving so much of your intelligence and your work — that they often legally own, especially with science — to a company that isn't going to be for your people?

Roswell, New Mexico returns Monday at 8 p.m. on The CW.

[arielana]

RNM Create 2021 - Day 1

It’s so nice to have this event back! I discovered lots of new favourites, and was reminded of old ones, during last year’s event and I’m really looking forward to doing the same this year ❤️.

Since I listed all my older favourites last year, this time I’m only including works that were published after the last event, so from September 2020 - August 2021. 

Character

This list ended up being not so much about fics that focus on one particular character, but more about fics with excellent characterization. People who write characters I love in a way that I love. (Today is very Malex focused, it will be a bit more mixed later in the week.)

Get You Wild, Make You Leave by @foramomentonly

Sure, it’s a cheating fic (see the tags), with excellent smut (as all of foramomentonly‘s smut, seriously 🔥 ) but it’s also so much more. The story is told with such lovely emotional depth, and understanding and care for the characters. It feels very true to both Michael and Alex, and beautifully deals with all their issues and coping mechanisms.

two-body problem by @haloud

The amount of times I find myself just scrolling through haloud’s page on AO3, especially whenever I want to read about Michael being good (he is), are too many to count, so trying to pick out a favourite was hard. In the end, what made me go for this fic was the line “But Michael was entirely a tomcat who didn’t know what to do with a bird once he caught it” which I can’t stop thinking about. This is about Michael trying to get Alex’s attention, and getting it 😏.

pieces want to be together (ch 8) by @sabrinachill

This is a collection of ficlets that are all worth a read of course, but the link goes specifically to chapter 8 which is Malex hugging. They’re friends, on their way to something more maybe, but not yet. It’s a description of a hug, from Michael’s POV, that’s all, and it’s absolutely beautiful.

Playing strangers by @jocarthage

As the title says, Michael and Alex ”play strangers” one night in a bar, which allows them to open up, address some things from the past and understand each other better. They get to see themselves through the other person's eyes and the conversation is so good!

Benediction by ALovelyLitwit / @litwitlady

Litwitlady is amazing at writing Malex talking. Whenever the show isn’t delivering when it comes to people using their words (so often) I can always go to one of her fics instead. This however, is not so much talking, very few words are spoken at all actually, as Isobel walks in on Alex and Michael in bed (check the tags first). I love the intensity of Alex in this fic; staking a claim, letting himself go and deciding not to be ashamed.

I'm just like my mother, we both love to run by takemetoyourpizza (lje) / @meneatyoghurt

I definitely have a soft spot for stories about baby Alex and his relationship with his mom. This has that, as well as glimpses into Alex’s life growing up and as an adult and it is really well written and, for me, feels very true to Alex and who he is.

stuck in gravity, clawing for some bravery by @lambourngb

This fic has so many of my favourite things when it comes to Malex - working on their friendship (and really becoming good friends) but secretly pining, wanting what’s best for the other even if it hurts, both thinking the other has moved on when he hasn’t, misunderstandings (due to an “alien sex thing” that is an amazing idea and funny as well as angsty, it’s them after all), walking away (of course) but then deciding to stay and talk it out instead. Oh, and a handprint as well ☺️. It checks every box for me and L’s characterization is always (always!) spot on. Each new fic makes me squeal with delight!

[spaceskam]

8 for Malex? Thanks!

*hiding because this took an embarrassing amount of time I'm sorry*

tags: high school au, slight mental health stuff goin’ on, bed sharing

8. bedtime stories [ao3]

Alex never claimed to be subtle.

He watched Michael openly, his thumb between his teeth as he eyed the way he pulled his shirt over his head. He knew this was probably inappropriate. However, Michael was hot and had yet to tell him to stop staring. Sometimes it seemed like he deliberately did things to make Alex stare. So Alex kept on and hoped that, if he was only doing this to make fun of Alex, at least he got something nice to look at.

“Hey, Alex,” Michael called, tossing his sweaty shirt into his bag and grabbing a dry one, “Do you think your brother would mind if I stayed over tonight? I don’t feel like going home.”

Alex swallowed and sat up straight. He looked around at the other guys in the locker room. He was sure one of them would say something. Magically, they didn’t. 

“Clay won’t care,” Alex said, trying to seem nonchalant. Michael closed his locker and looked at him with a massive grin as he pulled his shirt down. His hair was still damp with sweat and it stuck to his forehead. Both of those things together were too much for Alex’s sanity.

“Cool. Meet you after school at my truck?”

“Okay. Yeah.”

Michael leaned close into Alex’s face and gave a mocking, “Okay, yeah,” before he laughed and walked around Alex. He twisted on the bench and followed him with his eyes as he went to the other side of the locker room where his other friends were. They instantly started talking about the game next Friday and how they were playing Carlsbad and how their team’s cheerleaders were hot. Michael didn’t deny it and Alex tried not to feel weird about it.

Instead, he grabbed his back and quickly headed out of the locker room. He hated gym and had put it off until his senior year, but now he was stuck doing it with basically no one to talk to except sophomore loners who seemed content to fail the class. He felt that.

The only highlight of it was Michael Guerin who he got to watch work up a sweat for 45 minutes every single day of the week. He got to watch him play dodgeball with too much enthusiasm and run the mile at the fastest in the class and play put-out with his friends. Alex had, somehow, befriended him when they were freshmen and both the youngest in their math class, so they stuck together. Then sophomore year they had Spanish together, junior year they had chemistry, this year they had gym. It wasn’t much but it was enough to spark an unlikely class-only friendship that turned into a school-only friendship that turned into an actual one.

He was Alex’s favorite person in the world.

The next two classes passed by relatively quickly, solely relying on the fact that Alex wasn’t paying attention and instead doodling aimlessly in his notes. Science was boring, math was easy.

Alex let himself into Michael’s truck because he was a dumbass who never locked it and sat in the passenger seat. His notebook stayed in his lap and he kept shading in the boat he was working on as the parking lot filled with other people going to their cars and people going to their buses. Michael always talked to his fellow football players before he left considering they couldn’t leave until the buses did anyway, so Alex wasn’t in a rush.

When Michael did climb in, he raised his head to get a good look at him. Because he always wanted to get a good look at him. Today, just like most days, he looked gorgeous and lit up from the inside and he was already staring at Alex.

“What’cha drawing?” he asked, scooting to the middle to look at Alex’s book. He pressed up against his side and eyed it, nodding his head. “Nice. I’m gonna get one of those tattooed on me one day.”

“What? A boat?”

“No, one of your pieces,” Michael laughed, shaking his head as he moved back to the driver’s seat. He turned the ignition and Alex stared at the side of his face. “Whichever one you think I should. Think about it.”

And Alex would think about it. It wasn’t even the first time he thought about it. Michael had spoken of getting one of his drawings on him before and the thought was quite possibly the most erotic thing Alex could think of which was ridiculous. There was nothing sexy about that in reality. But… Michael shirtless and having something Alex created permanently on his skin was just so good.

He went back to the drawing before he could entertain putting his tongue on it.

Michael turned up the radio before backing out of his spot and then they were on their way to Alex’s house. He put his drawing down in favor of watching out the window as Michael badly sang along to Nirvana and Beck.

Junior year was the first time Michael had come over to his house and it had felt weird to acknowledge that the person he’d spoken to nearly every day for over two years knew approximately nothing about his home life. Alex had half-assed an explanation about how his mother left and his dad was in jail, so Alex only lived with his brothers. Michael hadn’t judged him, only loudly made it clear he thought Clay was badass for stepping up when he was freshly 18 to make sure the rest of them didn’t get too screwed.

It was a few more after school hangouts after that that Michael confided that he’d been in the foster care system since he was a baby and had been in a group home for the last few years. Teenage boys were a hard sell to foster parents, apparently.

Clay had no problem giving his number to the group home to call for check-ins whenever Michael started staying over. 

“Please tell me he got spicy Doritos because I‒hell yeah,” Michael said, letting himself roam freely around the kitchen. He pulled the bag of spicy nacho Doritos labeled Michael out of the pantry and ripped them open, a grin on his face. Alex could watch it all day.

“Can I steal the bar mix that you haven’t touched in, like, a month?” Flint asked, his gaze stuck on his computer where he was doing homework. His eyebrows were pulled into an angry glare at it.

“Yeah, sure, if it’s still good,” Michael answered, falling onto the couch right beside Alex and holding out the bag to him. Alex shook his head. Michael often got food obsessions and would go a month where that was all he wanted, but during bad days it was the only thing he could eat that didn’t make him lose his appetite. 

Despite the fact that he was all smiles, Alex had memorized the warning signs and knew he wouldn’t be eating dinner.

“Sweet,” Flint said, sliding to the pantry to grab the remnants of Michael’s last food obsession.

One of the warning signs that Michael wasn’t doing great, despite the fact that he’d asked to come over at all and hadn’t just invited himself, was the fact that he had taken any excuse all day to be tactile Alex. He’d spent all lunch and gym with him instead of with his football buddies, he’d wanted to sit closer in the truck, he immediately sat practically on top of him on the couch.

Later that night, he sat beside him at dinner and picked at it, only eating the crunchy asparagus and the edges of the tortilla part of his quesadilla. Alex ate what he didn’t.

Michael took a shower and wore Alex’s clothes and made himself at home in Alex’s bed, all cozy and on his phone with his thumb in his mouth when Alex got out of the shower. When they’d first started spending the night together, Michael slept on the couch or on the floor. One night they’d fallen asleep in Alex’s bed during a movie and now that’s where he went each night.

Alex didn’t mind.

He shut off the lights and jumped into bed, putting on Netflix on the TV and starting up where they’d left off in their third watch-through of The Good Place. Michael scooted closer until they were touching in some way, his eyes still partially on his phone and partially on the TV.

It should’ve bothered Alex. It should’ve felt like taunting. Occasionally he did feel the need to shake him and ask him if he really wasn’t seeing how much Alex was into him. Was the staring not enough? Was the way he got a bit dizzy whenever he realized Michael was beginning to smell like Alex’s shampoo not enough? Was Alex’s eyes tracing every bead of sweat that rolled across his face like he hadn’t had water in weeks not enough? Was every single one of Michael’s other friends mentioning that they acted “kinda gay” not enough?

But mostly Alex was fine with it. Michael was safe here and comfortable and Alex wasn’t going to ruin that by wanting something more. So he would keep his hands to himself. He wouldn’t be subtle, but he wouldn’t be overbearing. He would just be Alex and hope that was alright.

“Alex,” Michael whispered, moving until his head was on Alex’s shoulder. Alex hummed in response. “Can you tell me a bedtime story about your boat?”

Alex smiled and shifted, his fingers slipping into Michael’s hair. Michael tilted his head up until they locked eyes. They were so close, just like every time Michael requested a bedtime story, as if that was the only acceptable time to be less than an inch away from each other’s face. Alex very quietly thought that their entire friendship felt like one.

“Once upon a time, there was a very loud pirate captain,” Alex started, watching as Michael’s thumb slowly started gravitating towards his mouth again, “He was old and held very strict beliefs. If you disagreed, he’d throw you overboard.”

“What a dick.”

“Mm, yeah, very. Anyway, he was always angry and his crew were like ‘shit, what if he’s lonely’ and decided they needed to get him a friend.”

“Oh no, poor lonely pirate man,” Michael said around his thumb.

“Poor lonely pirate man indeed,” Alex agreed, nodding solemnly, “So they searched high and low for anyone to be his companion. Not someone on the crew, but someone who would be his equal and separate from his employees. It was a very complicated task. They would find people who seemed good, but then the pirate captain wouldn’t like them and kick them out. It happened so many times they almost gave up. But eventually, they found an astronaut who seemed like a good fit because he was very smart and very happy.”

Michael pulled his thumb from his mouth with a loud pop, “So they really searched high, huh?”

Alex huffed a laugh and nodded, combing back his hair. His heart thudded in his chest as he stared at him, at his interested and tired eyes. God, he was so into him. Every single bit of him. Even when he needed moments like these.

“Yeah, really high. And they brought him back to the boat to meet the captain and they really, really thought he would hate him. But you know what? He didn’t. They actually got on quite well. And the captain started becoming a lot less angry,” Alex said. Michael shifted, pressing closer.

“And did the astronaut change?”

“Mhm. He got to relax too. He didn’t feel like he had to be super smart and happy to make everyone else happy anymore, he could just be himself. He could even be sad sometimes and that was okay because he had someone who liked him no matter what,” Alex explained, “He even would stop at islands to get his favorite foods.”

“Were they just best friends or were they in love?” Michael asked. Alex swallowed carefully and scanned his eyes over his face, trying to gauge what would be a better answer.

“They started as just best friends,” Alex decided, “But they fell in love. They were both. Somewhere in between.”

“Somewhere in between?”

“Yeah, like, not quite just best friends and not quite together romantically. Something different. Something special,” Alex tried. Michael watched him closely. In the background, Eleanor watched herself fall in love with Chidi for one of the hundreds of times they fell in love and Alex tried not to be too poetic about it.

“Alex,” Michael said, his hand dropping between them, “Are we somewhere in between? It feels like we are”

The question was honestly innocent but Alex stopped breathing, not knowing how to answer. He had a football player cuddling up to him in his bed. He should say no. He should save his own ass. He should keep it to himself.

But Michael was comfortable enough to cuddle him, to be babied when he needed it, to be raw and open.

So why couldn’t Alex?

“Do you wanna be?” Alex asked. Michael blinked. “Or… like… do you wanna be somewhere… not in between?”

“Like, on the other side? The romantic side?” Michael clarified. Alex nodded slowly, unsure. “Does it mean I get goodnight kisses?”

Alex let out a slow breath and laughed cautiously, “If you want them.”

“I want them,” Michael said assuredly. Alex couldn’t fucking think straight and he was just smiling stupidly at him. “Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Goodnight kisses, right here,” Michael said, tapping his lips delicately.

“Right. Okay.”

Alex moved his head just a little to give him a soft kiss, barely lasting a few seconds. He didn’t want to be too presumptuous. And, still, it was probably the best kiss he’d ever had in his life. His heart was trying to escape his chest.

He was really doing this. This was really happening.

“Did they live happily ever after, Alex?” Michael asked against his lips. Alex breathed and nodded.

“Yeah. They did.”

[aliciam72]

Just a quick Malex one shot before I go back to my Alien Baby WIP

A little warning that this isn’t exactly Forrest friendly even if it starts out as Forlex...

BULL RIDING FOR DUMMIES      

“Are you sure that thing is safe, DeLuca?” Michael asked after the rental company left the bar.

“Of course it’s safe. Why do you want to try it to make sure?” Maria teased, bringing a smile to his face.

Things between Michael and Maria had softened over the months since their breakup, much to Michael’s relief. “Nah, mechanical bulls ain’t my style. I’d much prefer the real thing.”

Maria scoffed. “You’ve ridden a real live bull?”

Michael nodded. “I tried my hand at it a few times. It was fun but not something I’d do for a living.” He leaned close and whispered. “Especially if I wasn’t a telekinetic alien.”

Maria threw her head back and laughed. “You couldn’t do it on your own, huh?”

Michael laughed with her. “Not a chance in hell. I did think about it for a hot minute though. Those boys make good money on the rodeo circuit, but even with the powers it was hard as hell. What made you rent one of these?”

“I heard it draws a crowd. This town has tons of macho cowboys trying to impress the ladies.” Maria joked.

“Well, I ain’t getting on it. I’ve got no one to impress.” 

“That’s too bad. I hear Alex is planning to be here.” Maria said over her shoulder on her way to the stockroom.

Michael followed her. “And why would that make a difference? He’s still with Forrest isn’t he?” Michael knew damn well that Alex was still dating Forrest, the whole damn town knew it but maybe something had happened since he saw Alex last. Very doubtful since he just saw him two days ago, but he could hope, right?

“Yes, he is still with Forrest but I don’t think it’s as serious as you make it out to be. Why don’t you come and see for yourself?”

“Nah, I don’t want to make things weird for him. I want him to be happy.” Michael wanted nothing more than to always be where Alex was, but he was trying to be a good friend and let him enjoy his relationship with Forrest. God knows he deserved some happiness after the events of the last year. 

“C’mon, Guerin, everyone is going to be here. And I know for a fact Alex would never want you to stay away just because of him and Forrest.” Maria handed him a case of whiskey and nodded to the bar. “Could you put that out there for me?”

She picked up a case of tequila and followed him out of the stockroom. He set the box behind the bar and leaned back. “You really think he won’t mind if I’m there?”

“He will not mind. He’s still your friend even if he’s dating someone else. Please come.” Maria assured him.

Michael nodded. “Okay, I’ll be here. It’s always a good laugh when some idiot thinks he can ride that thing on the red level.”

@@@

Watching people trying to impress their dates by riding the mechanical bull was pure entertainment gold. Michael sat with his friends and laughed and cheered along with everyone else. He had to admit he was having a good time, even if it seemed like Forrest was glued to Alex’s side, constantly giving him little kisses on his cheek and holding his hand on the table. 

Alex allowed it most of the evening but got annoyed when Forrest nuzzled into his neck more than once. He turned to Forrest and whispered low so no one else could hear. “Can you dial it back a bit. It’s making me uncomfortable.”

Forrest glanced across the table to Michael, who for once wasn’t staring at them before looking back to Alex. “You’re uncomfortable or he is?”

“Forrest, that’s not fair. We’re all having a good time tonight, can you not ruin it?” 

“How is showing you I care ruining it?” Forrest feigned innocence.

Alex sighed. “Never mind.” He watched the latest rider fall to the ground to a chorus of groans.

Forrest took a long swallow of beer and stood up. “You know what? I think I’m gonna give it a try. After you do love a hot cowboy, right?”

Alex groaned. “Forrest! You don’t have to prove anything to me.”

Forrest pretended he didn’t hear him and walked up to the guy controlling the bull. After a few moments, he climbed on and signaled he was ready. Everyone at the table watched in amazement at Forrest not only made it through the green level, but the yellow and red as well. 

The whole bar was cheering when he jumped off. Alex watched him eat up the praise of those around him. He glanced to Michael and noticed sweat on his brow and the slight tremor in the hand resting on the table. Sighing, he reached into his backpack and pulled out his flask. 

Wordlessly, he walked over to Michael and handed it to him. “You didn’t have to do that, but thank you. Drink before you puke.”

Michael eyed him and lifted the flask to his nose. He gave Alex a wry smile when he smelled the acetone. He shook his head in amusement and took a long sip before handing it back. 

Forrest made his was back to the table. “How was that for some bull riding?”

Alex’s smiled at him. “That was definitely some fancy stuff. I never knew you could ride like that.”

“Yeah, well, not all us cowboys show off.” Forrest threw Michael a smug smile before pulling Alex into a quick hug. 

Michael stood and for a moment Alex thought he might do something stupid but he just slapped Forrest on the back. “Great job, man. You made it look so easy I think I’ll give it a try too.”

Michael lasted all of ten seconds before he was thrown to the floor. He groaned as he stood and sheepishly made his way back to the table. “Guess it’s a lot harder than it looks.”

Alex rolled his eyes and took a long drink from his beer. Isobel and Max teased Michael for a few minutes about having to give up his hat to the Cowboy gods. Even Kyle and Maria got a few good natured digs in. Through it all Michael smiled and laughed it off as the loving teasing it was. 

That is until Forrest gave him a slow clap. “That was amazing. I thought someone with such macho cowboy swagger would be able to handle a fake bull for more than ten seconds.”

Michael continued to smile. “Yeah, guess I’m out of practice.”

“Or maybe it’s all for show and you’re just a crappy cowboy. Maybe you should give up your hat. I mean you did lose to a history nerd.” Forrest pulled Alex closer and kissed his cheek again. 

The table went quiet, Isobel shaking her head every so slightly at Michael. He swallowed and took his hat off his head to set it on the chair next to him. Glancing around the table at the worried faces of his friends, made his stomach churn. They all thought he was going to cause a scene and lash out at Forrest. Instead he just stood and headed out of the bar. He could hear Isobel and Liz calling after him but he didn’t stop until he was in his truck heading back to the airstream. 

@@@

Alex pushed Forrest’s arm off his shoulder. “What the hell was that?”

“Oh come on, Alex, I was just having some fun.” Forrest replied, kissing him again.

“I told you to stop doing that. It makes me uncomfortable.” 

Forrest held up his hands. “Sorry, I was just joking. I didn’t mean anything.”

“No, you weren’t joking. You were intentionally rude to him. What the fuck is wrong with you?” Alex stood and grabbed Michael’s hat off the chair.

“Where are you going?” Forrest called when he headed to the door. 

“To apologize for my asshole ex-boyfriend.” Alex snapped.

Forrest chuckled. “He didn’t do anything you have to apologize for.” 

Alex stopped and turned to stare at Forrest. He opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it and continued to the exit.

He could hear Rosa as he reached for the door. “He wasn’t talking about Michael, asshole.”

@@@

Alex could see the fire pit glowing when he pulled into the junkyard. He slowed his car, grabbed Michael’s hat and got out. “You forgot something.”

Michael took a long swallow from his beer. “You keep it. Looks better on you.”

Alex laughed. “So dramatic.”

“What are you doing here, Alex?”

“You didn’t have to do that you know.”

Michael shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Alex sat down next to Michael. “You are still a miserable liar. Thank you for tonight. It was great to be out with everyone and not have it feel weird.”

“I’m glad you had a good time. Did you really come here just to return my hat?” Michael asked.

“Not just to return the hat. I also came to apologize for my asshole ex-boyfriend.” 

Alex said it so casually that Michael leaned forward, sure he misheard. “Come again?”

“Yeah, it seemed to confuse Forrest too, though I think Rosa took a little too much pleasure in explaining it to him. I broke up with him.”

Michael’s brow furrowed. “Why?”

Alex smirked and leaned close, his lips almost touching Michael’s. “Seems history nerds aren’t type.”

Michael shifted in his seat. “Oh yeah? And what is your type?”

“Science nerd with a bit of macho cowboy thrown in.” 

Michael gave an indignant squawk that was silenced by Alex’s lips on his. 

When he pulled away, Alex smiled softly. “Will you come home with me, cowboy?”

Michael grinned. “Let me grab my hat.”

[evanoracronwell]

Sunrise

Malex Cupid 2021 by @malex-cupid​

Day 3: “Do you know what today is?”

Also on ao3

__________________________________________________________

It is the sound of the phone ringing that awakens him.

With a grunt, he rolls over the bed until he reaches the nightstand and picks up the device, when he sees the notification on the screen the smile opens on his lips, and any irritation at being woken up disappears.

I'm already on my way home.

I can't wait to see you.

Love you.

Alex.

Alex, his beautiful and irresistible boyfriend.

And fuck if Michael would ever get tired of that word.

Smiling like a teenager, Michael answered the message, and as soon as he pressed to send he heard the growl coming from his feet on the bed. Wrinkling his nose, he looked at the beagle spread on the bed with his face completely mashed from sleeping.

"What is it, girl? It's not that early, it was almost time to get up anyway. We have a lot of things to take care of today"

With an excitement that made Buffy snort indignantly, Michael got out of bed and goes straight to the bathroom to take a quick shower and finish waking up.

Today was a very important day.

It was the first Valentine's Day that he and Alex would spend together, as a couple.

And well, honestly speaking, it was the first Valentine's Day that Michael would celebrate at all. He had no idea how to make it work. But it had to be perfect.

Because Alex deserved nothing but perfection.

So he changed his clothes and get ready to start the day.

He took Buffy for a walk even though the dog was clearly outraged about getting out of bed so early on Sunday morning.

He cleaned the whole cabin, feeling extremely proud of the home he built with Alex.

Now completely renovated, the cabin barely resembled that house that Alex had inherited from old Jim.

The couple's bedroom had been painted a light color, the bed replaced by a king bed, the wardrobe custom-made by Michael himself. The chair in the corner where Buffy always took refuge to sleep when she wasn't in bed with them.

The bathroom had been enlarged and adapted to Alex's needs, the treat they had done to themselves by buying a hot tub, and that they spent hours and hours in the water relaxing after a tiring day.

The living room now has a huge and comfortable sofa, armchairs and a television.

The kitchen had been renovated and modernized.

Everything was so perfect, so ... theirs.

The photos were scattered around the rooms. Showing captured moments of happiness between him, Alex, and the whole gang.

After so many years, Michael finally had a home to call his own.

And most importantly, a home with Alex. What made it even more special

With the house clean it was Buffy's turn to face the terrible shower, and the cowboy could only laugh while the dog whimpered as if she were suffering the worst torture at the hand of one of her fathers. But there she was, bathed and smelling the baby scent of the products they bought at the pet store, and with a pretty red bow that Isobel had made to buy for the dog.

And that was exactly why today had to be just perfect.

Because after eight months of living together, he would finally ask the hand of that beautiful man in marriage.

"Okay girl, now you behave yourself because Dad needs to go out and buy things to make dinner. Your daddy will be here tonight." He smiled when he saw how Buffy immediately reacted to Alex's mention. "That's right, girl, he'll be back today."

Michael had also changed a lot, months ago he had opened his own mechanical garage after old Sander decided to retire, the place had undergone a major renovation and was nowhere near the old Junkyard. Michael even had employees working with him, well ... just two kids that Michael was still training and teaching everything. But they were good kids and above all, hardworking, and after all, Michael never even imagined that he would have his own business.

As he drove to the market downtown, Michael found himself thinking about how much life had changed.

After Alex finally left the air force, he got a job at a private security company in Washington, but luckily he could work remotely, they paid extremely well and it made the job too perfect for Alex to turn down, so now taking the few trips he took to personally attend a few customers, Alex was always at home.

When parking the truck in front of the market, the cowboy smiled when he saw his sister standing at the front door waiting for him.

"You know when I said I was coming to the market when you called me, it wasn't an invitation for you to join me." Michael grunted, rolling his eyes as he grabbed a shopping cart and Isobel joined him in the aisles.

"Please, as if you could keep me away. Now tell me, how are the preparations for the big night?"

"I already cleaned the whole cabin and bathed Buffy and yes, I put on the bow you brought her yesterday."

"Great, my niece has to be beautiful. The candles?"

"I have already spread some of those aromatic candles around the house, I will light them as soon as I hear his car pull over. The delivery man left the flowers for me just before I left the house, they are already in the water and I will finish fixing them when I return home."

"Your clothes?"

"Washed and ironed."

"The ring?"

"On my nightstand."

"Your heart?"

"Coming out from my mouth."

Isobel laughed out loud at her brother's terrified look and hugged him around the waist, laying her head on his shoulder as she watched Michael go putting all the items in the cart.

"Michael, he loves you. Nothing is going to go wrong tonight, trust me. He will say yes. There is no couple in the world more perfect for each other than the two of you."

"We really are perfect together, aren't we?"

Isobel laughed again at her brother's silly passionate look, but she still agreed, because in fact there was no couple more in love and more perfect for each other than Michael and Alex.

"So, what's the menu going to be?"

The small box in his trouser pocket seemed to weigh a ton, making Michael's nervousness increase by the second.

Well, it turns out that cooking seems a lot easier in the videos he had seen on the internet than in practice. Not that Michael was not a good cook, he was, but he understood a lot more about cooking typical daily foods, yet he couldn't deny that he did an excellent job.

A few hours later and he had a perfect gorgonzola risotto, a rare grilled steak with a sauce of herbs and vegetables sautéed in butter. The table was already prepared with candles and a flower arrangement, beautiful, but small so that it wouldn't disturb them to look each other in the eye.

With a shower already taken and perfumed Michael looked in the mirror, that was not the kind of clothes he used to wear, dark gray trousers and a light blue shirt, but it was worth it, especially when he knew how turned on gets seeing him like that.

Perfect.

Tonight had to be perfect.

When Alex parked in front of the cabin all he could think about was how much he missed Michael, after four days away, all he wanted to hug his boyfriend and get into the hot tub for hours.

Upon opening the door, however, Alex felt his heart skip a beat.

"Do you know what today is?”

The room was lit only by two lamps that barely gave any light, leaving the rest of the lighting responsible for some candles. And flowers, white roses because Michael knew it was Alex's favorite, scattered as buds and petals everywhere. And right there, in the middle of the room, the most beautiful of all men.

Michael looked at him with a smile on his lips and his eyes were already watering.

"Michael ...?" Alex asked confused but thrilled as he dropped his backpack at the entrance to the cabin and took a step closer to Michael.

"It's Valentine's Day Alex, our first Valentine's Day together. And I've spent a lifetime wishing for this day, but never really believing that it could truly happen. Thirteen years ago you gave me a place to spend the cold nights, a guitar, and one of the most beautiful smiles I've ever seen in my life. " Michael started talking, staring at Alex, who was still a little confused, walking towards his boyfriend until he stopped in front of him. "You showed me that there was good in people and that there was a place for me here, on Roswell. On this planet. You gave me hope, Alex, hope that I could be happy, hope that there was more to people than just cruelty and second intentions. You taught me what it is to love and be loved in such a pure and intense way that it stayed with me, saved in my heart for more than a decade. Nurturing and comforting me every time I felt alone and lost. "

The cowboy smiled and touched Alex's face, who was looking at him so beautifully, his eyes already wet and shedding silent tears, both of them barely moving in fear of breaking that moment so sublime. Michael, speaking in a whisper as if he was afraid to wake up from that dream he felt he was living.

"There hasn't been a single day in my life that I haven't missed you, that I haven't thought of you, and most of all, that I haven't loved you. I'm yours, Alex, totally and completely yours, body, soul, and heart. I am yours to do anything you want. I always have been and will continue to be until my last breath, and beyond that too. I waited more than a decade to finally have you in my arms, and here we are living a life that I never even dared to dream of being possible. But we're here, celebrating our first Valentine's Day together. But I want more. "

With a beautiful smile, Michael took the box out of his pocket and saw how Alex immediately choked and sobbed as Michael went down on one knee showing him a beautiful and delicate silver band.

"I want to celebrate every Valentine's day with you, I want to start a family and see kids running around in our backyard, I want to adopt more dogs, I want to grow old by your side Alex. So please, could you make me the happiest man in the world and accept being my husband?"

Feeling completely overwhelmed with all the emotions he felt at that moment, Alex felt unable to even breathe for a few seconds while looking at Michael.

The beautiful and irresistible, Michael.

The eternal love of his life, Michael.

Kneeling at his feet asking Alex to be his forever.

"There is nothing in this world that I want more than to be your husband."

It was Buffy's bark that woke him, the small, plump beagle was lying on the sofa and Alex laughed when he saw her adorned with a red bow with the words "be my valentine" in white. Looking back at the man kneeling in front of him, Alex smiled so delighted and in love that Michael didn't even dare to blink for fear of losing that vision.

Alex never thought it possible to love that man more than he already did, but here was Michael proving him wrong.

Alex answered in a hoarse and choked voice and then threw himself into Michael's arms causing them to fall on the carpet in the middle of the room, between tears and laughter they kissed in love while Buffy barked and mumbled as if she were also celebrating the news.

"I love you, Michael." Alex murmured against Michael's already red and swollen lips after exchanging long, passionate kisses.

"I love you, too, Alex."

When the next day dawned, Michael grunted when he felt the light coming through the window waking him up. But the sigh coming from the man between his arms made him open his eyes and smile.

Last night had been perfect, much more than he had imagined.

Alex had accepted his proposal, they had eaten dinner while talking and listening to the soft melody that Michael had selected to play, and then they had spent a long time immersed in the hot tub where Michael sank into Alex's body, loving every bit of skin that he could touch. Only later, they went to bed and it was the cowboy's turn to ride Alex passionately, taking all the beautiful moans out of that mouth that he loved to kiss.

Now, holding the most important person in his life in his arms, Michael sighed contentedly as he brought his body closer to Alex, wrapping him tighter in his arms, and then smiled seeing the ring adorning that beautiful man's finger.

Alex, his fiance.

Alex, his future husband.

Yes, Michael smiled feeling his heart overflowing with love and happiness.

He smiled feeling the warmth of a new sunrise touching his skin and bringing all the promise of a long and happy life with Alex

Life couldn't be more perfect.

[andrea-lyn]

fic list for accountability and to stop my brain from being whiny about something it has no right to be whiny about (you’re not even in that fandom anymore, of course no one knows you anymore):

- TOG canon-divergent au! It’s 12k words, it’s clicking along, I’ve been jumping to the future scenes, I’m also tempted to start posting it WIP and I need to not do that because no, bad - Pynch Inception AU, which got a lot of work done (who would’ve thunk putting on the Inception soundtrack would do something). That one hit 7k yesterday, so woo - Pynch baby future divergent thing hit 6k today and is mostly Gansey and Declan and Calla taking turns being disappointed with Ronan. This one is super self-indulgent, so I’m not in a rush - Malex baby fic (hey, let’s keep up the theme). This is a fic I had formerly abandoned that I unearthed, but I’m completely revamping the style, so I’ve been going through to shorten/tighten up scenes. It’s technically the third in the No Love Like Your Love ‘verse - Ted Lasso remix - I picked the fic! I have almost 1k! It’s going to be Rebecca gen, and I’m excited because I haven’t written enough Rebecca stuff - New Ted Lasso fic idea, which will be a Roy centric thing, around 1x08 and dealing with Keeley feels, which I’m hoping to finish before S2, but we’ll see  - Cowrite - Where I present it to @christchex with puppy-dog eyes and hope inspiration comes along 

[pastelwitchling]

So a thing I'd like to point out

The flashback episode (1x06)

Not only does Alex make a joke to max (the "I'll take high school cliches for 500 Mr trebeck" joke)

THEY WALK OFF TOGETHER

They were freaking friends!!! Or at least semi friends

Freaking obviously they'd get along now

And Alex the emo kid and max the tortured freaking poet

Poor Michael

There will be no peace

@brittz-2123

I was inspired 😂

***

“Baby?” Michael called from where he was lying on his stomach on his and Alex’s bed.

“Yeah?” Alex peeked his head in from the bathroom, and Michael held his phone up.

“Why’s my brother texting you?”

Alex snickered and went back inside, and Michael heard him splashing more water on his face as he said, “Because we’re hanging out today?”

“Yeah?” Michael sat up, idly scratching his naked chest as that thought settled. His lips pinched. “You and Max?”

Alex must’ve heard something in his voice because he stepped back into the bedroom with a small towel in hand, his brow raised, a smirk tugging at his lips. “What’s that?”

“What’s what?”

“That tone.”

“What tone?”

He laughed and came to sit on the bed in front of Michael, his leg folded underneath him. “That tone. You’re not actually . . . jealous that I’m hanging out with him for the day, are you?”

“No, I just”—he gaped—“the day? As in, the whole day?”

Alex’s smile widened. “You know I married you, right?”

“I know,” he said, and winced at how defensive and possessive it sounded. Alex shook his head, eyes sparkling.

“So,” he tilted his head, “you’re okay that I’m friends with him?”

Michael swallowed, and too late, he said, “Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “I mean, yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

Alex pressed his lips together like he was barely refraining another laugh. “I know Max and I have a lot in common—”

“Do you? I never noticed.”

“And I know it must be kind of weird for your husband and your brother to be so close.”

“Close? How close? Since when are you close?”

Alex gave Michael a second to calm down, the fingers of one hand gently brushing Michael’s jaw and the other running up and down his arm soothingly.

After a minute, he murmured, “Feel better?”

“I’m great,” he grumbled.

“It’s just two friends hanging out, okay?”

“I know.”

“It’s going to be fine.”

“I know that!”

Alex smiled at him then like he was the cutest thing in the world, and the inexplicable knot in Michael’s chest loosened. Except it wasn’t inexplicable at all. Logically, he knew Alex wouldn’t leave him for some unrequited feelings for Max. It was just that, try as he might to deny it, Alex and Max were so alike. More than he and Alex could ever hope to be. And while Michael didn’t think Alex was about to file for divorce any time soon, the idea that he could find more camaraderie in Max than him felt almost just as unsettling.

As if he could hear his thoughts, Alex brushed Michael’s nose with his thumb, and said, “Pretty cowboy?”

“Hm?” Michael instinctively caught Alex’s hand and interlocked their fingers, still staring at the blanket and caught in his thoughts, until Alex gently tilted his chin up and pecked his lips. That fully got Michael’s attention.

“You know you’re my best friend, right?”

That did it. Michael smiled then like every fiber of his body was beaming, and he kissed Alex’s fingers. Against his knuckles, his own cheeks burning, he murmured, “Wouldn’t kill you to say it every once in a while.”

Alex laughed fully at that and lunged at Michael, crashing their lips together and toppling them both backwards.

***

Happy Malex Monday ❤

Yikes. Looks like ao3 is down for a bit today. I'll try to post there again tonight, but it all depends on when they can get it fixed. It's still malex monday over there, just in our hearts.

[ravens-words]

💫 a rec to listen to William by Graveyard Club and think about the Buddie feels

🥀 shamelessly trolling for love 💙

🎀 even shooting stars must fall never fails to make me cry! 😭 I was so hoping we would get something like that for season 3 but, here we are. Season 4 maybe?

👀 I'm almost positive I followed you for RNM fic and I'm delighted that you also love 911/Lone Star because I get so much good content in one place! 💙

🌀 Buddie, Tarlos, or Malex?

THANK YOU, LOVE 🧡

💫 Ahhhhhhh this is-

It's always a mystery to love and be loved

I can bury these feelings they keep rising up

Tell me, why is a lifetime not enough?

William, what am I so afraid of?

EXCUSE ME?? This is Eddie, 100%. The yearning!!!

🥀- Your latest, If Time Is Money, I'll Spend It All For You- is so soft and heartwarming- also, Malex with kids 😭

🎀 even shooting stars must fall

Thank you so much 😭 it really means a lot that you liked this. Season 4 better deliver on one of them getting hurt and the other losing it. No more 3x13 treatment.

👀 I love that we share all these ships and fandoms. Thank you for sticking around. Mwah 💜

🌀 Now why would you do this to me? Why do you want to hurt me? It's like asking someone to choose a favorite child.

If (when) Buddie become Canon, then they come first, and that's because I'm a SUCKER for slow burn and found family and the DEVELOPMENT THEY HAVE!!

If they end up as another ship that got away, then Malex.

BUT- I also LOVE Tarlos, they're my babies, they're the ones that inspired me to go back to writing at a time I NEEDED it. And just- they make everything better 😭

[lovecolibri]

SaL anon here friend with a special request!! Since the hiatus is loooong and the holidays are coming up (which my job has interpreted to mean it's time to pile on the assignments which is the reason I've been scarce) it's the perfect time for reading fanfic! I already know my Malex comfort stories/authors (that nonnie_the_individualist is pretty good 😘) but I'm a bit lost in the much more extensive Buddie fic realm. I'd love to hear your recommendations (stories or authors)!! TBC

In return I will of course be revisiting all the best angsty/hopeful SaL songs (good thing we've had practice with another couple who have communication issues and unresolved trauma) and and giving you my episode reviews once I tell my job to fuck off till next year (right now I'm on 3x04 and holy shit there are somethings to talk about at the start of s3). Can't wait to see what you come up with!!

*siiiiiigh* Bestie, I had the highest hopes and best intentions to do this before the holidays but between family, travel, cleaning/reorganizing my disaster pit of a bedroom, and having a brain that's bad (that I'm trying to get back on track but not having much luck with), this sat in my inbox taunting me for....a very long time. I feel awful that I didn't get you some good recs before the holiday break but I hope you still have some time soon to read some of these recs. Also, on the bright side, I found some really good ones between when you sent this and now, so yay? Lets go with yay.

Now, I'm not as deep into the 911 fic like I was with RNM back in season 1 and that first hiatus before I had to start aggressively screening everyone and everything (and now it's been ages since I've been able to find motivation to keep up with even fic writers I love 😭) but I HAVE learned how to use and gotten better at remembering the bookmark button on Ao3, so you can check out some additional recs there. But here are a few of my favorites!

Even the Darkest Night (Can't Outshine the Stars) by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels

Eddie and Christopher Diaz have had a tough year. So when Chris sees a star fall, Eddie promises to fetch it for his ninth birthday. Just one problem: The star is a person, his name is Buck, and everyone in the damn kingdom is after him.

This is a Stardust AU that I just read and it's an absolute delight! Stardust is one of my all time favorite movies so seeing characters we know and love being pretty seamlessly woven into this story was so much fun. Definitely a fun time. Great Buddie, bonus Madney, and a Very Tired Athena who has put up with enough nonsense.

must be some kind of twist, I could get used to this by soyxunxperdedor

This is the Accidental Marriage trope at it's best. The will comes in to play, Buck and Eddie are fully clowning at all times, and it has a soft, sweet ending. Lots of fun, and some good firefam moments too.

I am offering not one, but TWO fake/pretend relationship fics that also have the "going home for Christmas" trope, and some grade A clownery on all sides.

baby, won't you take me home for christmas by wafflesofdoom

eddie didn't think lying to his parents about still dating ana would backfire so badly - but suddenly, it was christmas, and his parents were begging him to bring his girlfriend home. so, eddie did what any logical person would do - he pretended he was dating his best friend, buck. buck, who he might be secretly in love with. buck, who agrees to come to texas for a week and fake a relationship with eddie. what could go wrong, right? (lots, apparently.)

To Build a Home We Deconstruct Our Rituals by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels

After the shooting, Eddie realizes he needs to put some things in place. Like who will get his assets if he dies. Who will speak for him if he ends up in a coma. What might happen if his family contests Buck's guardianship. Luckily, he's got a simple easy-peasy solution that won't result in insanity, catastrophe, or heartbreak: Marry Buck.

somebody come get him by elisela

“Chris, no one on Tik Tok wants to watch me play the cello,” he says—again—tiredly, rubbing a hand over his face. A pile-up near Dodger Stadium kept him over his shift for five hours thanks to some dumbass onlooker flicking a lit cigarette at a gas station, and big surprise, that didn’t end well for anything except Eddie’s bank account. “Dad,” Chris says, dragging out the word to Eddie’s chagrin. “People do a lot on Tik Tok. There’s cooking, too, you should really watch those. They can teach you a lot.” Or: firefighter-and-cellist!Eddie meets violinist!Buck.

This is a very niche AU but it's SO GOOD. Very soft, soothing vibes.

I have a couple of smuttier recs under the cut, but I would be absolutely remiss if I didn't rec some of my favorite more angsty fics (but with happy endings and soft hurt/comfort moments because I absolutely don't have the brain to deal with pure angst.)

Don't Take the Money and Leave the Light On (I'll Be Coming Home) by HMSLusitania (or like literally anything they write. Seriously. You want author recs this is a great place to start)

I know everyone loves Leave the Light On which is a presumed dead Eddie fic where Buck is fighting to keep Christopher. It has all the angst of the will ramifications in the event of Eddie's death, all while knowing he's alive and trying to make it home which makes the angst delicious instead of depressing.

But Don't Take The Money is....whooo boy. It's Groundhog day dialed up to 11. Post lawsuit arc time loop and it is...dark, but it's so, so good!

(Oh! Also, Close My Eyes and Stumble (Right Into Your Love) which is new to LA Dispatcher Eddie and it is *chef's kiss*)

to be found by ZainClaw

This fic man....It's a WIP but is nearly complete and GOD it's SO GOOD. It is a werewolf AU with injured/skittish Buck being taken in by Certified Soft Dad Eddie. The family vibes are impeccable, and we get a bonus of dealing with canon emotional issues like Eddie's repression of self via his werewolf nature he tries to push down, and Buck's feelings of worthlessness via a toxic, cult-like environment he escaped from. Also, werewolf pup Chris! I adore this fic SO MUCH.

Falling Slowly; Sing Your Melody (I’ll Sing It Loud) by Princessfbi

After a traumatizing home invasion, Bobby Nash decides to hire a bodyguard for his lead singer. Musician!Buck Bodyguard!Eddie

This is another fic where the 911 crew seamlessly folds into new roles. This story is beautiful and one of my favorites.

Okay, smut with feelings down below!

Leading with the Left and (Love Is) The Second Oldest Profession by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels

Leading with the Left: When Buck said he was a "bartender" in "South America" what he actually meant was "stripper" in "Mexico." And when Eddie said, "What's your problem?" what he actually meant was, "Is this about the time you gave me a lap dance?" In other words, there's a few things the 118 doesn't know about Buck. Or Eddie. Or Buck and Eddie's relationship.

This is almost 85k of stripper/post-stripper Buck and it is smutty and hot, but it is also so soft? And there is so much love and pining? Seriously, this one is so, so good.

(Love Is) The Second Oldest Profession: When Buck sees Eddie Diaz, new studio recruit, he thinks he's found the answer to his post-breakup slump. When Eddie meets Buck, he thinks he's found the ticket to a job that'll help him take care of his son. Neither of them think about feelings. This ends up being a miscalculation.

Look. This kind of AU has no business having this many feels and soft moments! It's sexy, but also so much fun and seeing the firefam in this kind of setting is hilarious, but also works so well?! A delight. Also, letmetellyouaboutmyfeels is on this list....several times so definitely another author to look out for!

[roswellnmsource]

Jeanine Mason and Roswell, New Mexico showrunner preview season 3 of the extraterrestrial drama

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Was the year time jump because of the pandemic? To sidestep making that too central to the plot, or was that always the plan?

JEANINE MASON: That was always our intention and it was just sort of a saving grace in that way. We also don't acknowledge the pandemic in real-time on our show. There are no masks and that was just so wonderful just to get work in that way and have that time where it was a little more normal. Also, that's just our show — we want you to come to us the way you always do, which is for nineties nostalgia, sexy Cowboys, brilliant scientists, you know?

CHRIS HOLLIER: So we wanted to drop our characters in a year later, let them stew in their individual decisions that were made last season. We want everyone to root for our poster couple but we want to honor what happens in real life, which is sometimes you step away from that person, even if you are entwined with them in a very particular way. So we wanted it to be a real enough time and distance so that they could live a little life on their own.

With showrunner Carina Adly MacKenzie departing at the end of season 2, has much changed? Or are you still working with ideas she had in place?'

HOLLIER: It's a little bit of both. There are things that Carina and I built that live all the way through and then once the story got up on its feet, discoveries were made with our new crop of people that we were like, "Oh, we're going to bend it this other way."

Jeanine, how is Liz doing in her new life in L.A. when we pick up this season?

MASON: Well, it's been a year and at this point, her life is actually pretty great. She just hasn't taken a second to acknowledge that. She's doing what she does best, which is just full head in her work and trying to figure out what she could use of her discoveries and her brilliance to save Maria. She has a great job, a really nice place, and an awesome partner at work who is a good time and a real match for her in terms of intellect and ambition. He begins to ask her to recognize that and to maybe give something a chance that she's been reluctant to because of how drawn she is to Roswell and to Max. It's a fun first episode. It's sexy. It's fun to find opportunities for her. She's our hero so she's got a lot on her shoulders and anytime where we can find levity for her is always a real treat for the writers and for me.

And no Crashdown waitress uniform must be nice?

MASON: Honestly, I miss it quite a lot right now. I have a note in my notes with Chris, I'm like, "I gotta tell him we gotta find him more opportunities for it."

Should Liz and Max shippers be worried about them finding their way back to one another after he destroyed her work and didn't follow her to L.A.? Should we resign ourselves to a season apart?

MASON: This season really is about these characters having themselves mirrored to each other. Max and Liz need some growing and ultimately they can't do anything but be orbiting each other. We found so many opportunities to have such a beautiful language around the cosmic element of their connection. They're asking, "Is this our decision, or are we just acting off of a decision that the cosmos made for us?" It was so fun to navigate that. I always have such a good time with Chris Hollier and with Nathan Dean, just finding the little tiny notches, a tiny bit of movement towards where they're going next. I really loved following them. It's my favorite Max and Liz season to date.

HOLLIER: It's not a season apart. I'll tease that they, in an unexpected way, end up in front of each other relatively soon. But it's really about when am I ready? And what does it mean to talk to my ex? When someone makes such a big influence in your life, when do you know it's over and when do you know you should fight again? We tried to give them real grown-up lives.

Steven Krueger (The Originals) also joined the cast as Heath this season. What can you tease about his character?

HOLLIER: He's just an awesome human being. I know him from The Originals and we were like, "If we're going to have to be stuck with people in the desert, who do we want?" You want to be stuck with a handsome and lovely and charming Steven Krueger. So really this was looking at, "Well, what did Liz want and what does it look like when you start to give Liz versions of what she wants?" Heath is somebody that is beyond being just a lovely person, he is smart and wants to advance science and that's appealing to Liz. It becomes, "What does it look like when the man that I hang around with all day is also into the same things that I am?"

MASON: I love him. Heath is just such a fun, whip-smart, fantastic character. His humor was so fun. We've been having a good time with kicking the humor up really through season two and in season three, we just took it up another notch. There are some moments that are like, "Is this a drama or is it a sitcom?" Looking back on it, he was such a fun partner to spar with. They're both such intellectual characters and I love that there's a real meeting of the minds. It makes it competitive and sexy. I know a lot of fans are so excited because they know him from The Originals and he's going to be a great addition.

Technically, Mr. Jones is a new character too. Can you tell us anything at all about him?

HOLLIER: I'd say he's a new character — and a fully-fleshed interesting new character. Mr. Jones has an awesome beard. At some point, he might lose that beard. A lot of people are asking me, "Is Jones good or bad?" And what I would argue is that's a perspective based upon who you are in the conversation that you're having with him. He knows a lot about our heroes' story and he knows a lot about home. He'll be able to answer questions for them. This season our heroes will get to learn why they ended up here on earth. One of the things I think that people will love is that they're going to get to see that home planet this year. We asked ourselves a lot about this whole season, "What have we set up for the past two?" We look at these first three seasons almost like a trilogy so a lot of things are going to be paid off.

Has Nathan enjoyed pulling double duty this season? Or is he just exhausted?

MASON: He's exhausted, but he's such a champ. That really is the beginning of this mirroring thing that starts with Max and Jones with him actually getting to look at himself to a degree and those questions that come up. The self-analysis that it provokes in him is really the beginning of what is happening to all of our characters this year; everybody's being confronted with themselves. I loved that the Max/Jones of it was also a real sci-fi element.

Did he really grow that beard or was that not possible if he had to go between the two characters?

MASON: That was a prosthetic beard and our makeup team killed it. He was not accustomed to early mornings, which, of course, all of us babes are. It was a lot of extra time in the chair for him.

Can Jones dupe Liz into thinking he's actually Max since she doesn't know he exists?

MASON: You're totally on to something. It's a real and pressing threat. I mean, she's totally in the dark and he looks like her cosmic lover!

HOLLIER: What I will say is that, Liz — beyond her being number one on the call sheet — is integral to this story in a way that she and none of our characters are going to perceive when they start episode one. We're bringing [the characters] to a new crossroads moment in their lives and they're getting, through Jones, a mirror into their own lives to decide what they're going to become next.

How's Rosa (Amber Midthunder) doing this season?

MASON: By the end of season two, Rosa really makes the decision to start taking care of herself. She really becomes an incredible asset to the Scooby-Doo gang. It's something that Liz is in constant adjustment to. As much as she's the younger sister, she feels very protective of her sister and Liz has had to make adjustments in her trust and faith in Rosa. I loved it because it just felt like a real personal, authentic thing that sisters would go through, but also that Hispanic sisters would go through. I think we sometimes, culturally, have a tendency to baby our women — maybe that's the wrong word — but just to underestimate their physical ability and what they might take on, and sort of 'queen' our women in a way where we treat them tenderly. I hate that. I'm a tough bitch and so is Rosa. So Liz has to confront that and go, "I'm an idiot to underestimate you. You've done nothing but prove me wrong."

What about Maria and her visions?

HOLLIER: This year I think Maria has the most complete arc of any season, as she recognizes things about herself that cause more questions about who she is, who her family is, how she's linked to this story. We dive into it in the present-day and we dive deliciously back in time too.

In the exclusive clip above we see her have a vision of a funeral, can you tease anything about who potentially might be about to die?

HOLLIER: Maria is front and center in driving the first half of the mystery for us. She's burdened with trying to figure out whose death she is seeing. It takes a few episodes to unravel and we use it to ask, is this linked to our supernatural stories or real-world stories that are going on politically? Is it bad luck? Is it herself? There's a whole gambit at play. We joke that we solved a past murder, now we're going to try to stop one.

Can Malex (Michael and Alex) shippers have hope that this might finally be their time?

HOLLIER: What I would say is that I think that Malex fans are really going to dig this journey. We, as writers, put them at the same level of importance as Max and Liz. So we wanted to really honor the next step in what they may or may not be. How did they grow up and how did they have those hard conversations just like Liz and Max are going to have?

Is Isobel going to continue to date women this season?

HOLLIER: Isobel is going to go on a more personal journey. You got to love yourself before you can love someone else. We lean into those possibilities by the end of who she might love. It's not something that is dropped all season — it is something that you'll see. We play some romantic comedy stuff with her character this year and with Maria that I think fans are gonna dig. There's a lot going on in the world and wanted to pump some humor and hope into it.

Will see more of Liz fighting to challenge the perception of the Latinx community?

MASON: I think that just by nature of it being one of such few shows that are led by a Latin woman, it's always going to be, to an extent, a protest or an assertion of the space that I get to fill and that Liz Ortecho gets to fill on network TV. I was really excited to just have Chris as a collaborator. Over our hiatus, before the season started, I was doing a lot of reading. I chronicled the books that play into Liz every season on my Instagram. I was reading some Sonia Sotomayor. Her book is just incredible. I was texting him screenshots of pages of the book with things underlined. Ten episodes deep into season 3, he's like, "Remember that page you sent me?" He's a real dream collaborator. I loved him for that. A pressing struggle for people of color is going through the ranks in these big corporations and then sometimes coming to find out that those corporations are purporting to support marginalized groups but actually aren't following through. So how do you, as someone who's having your success, your dreams become reality, navigate supporting the company and giving so much of your intelligence and your work — that they often legally own, especially with science — to a company that isn't going to be for your people?