#gordopickett

[gordopickett]

WIP Wednesday!

Thanks for the tag, @youreorangeyoumoron 💙

I'm actually getting to this on a Wednesday for once! 😆

So far I have 29 chapters up on Ao3 of my For All Mankind post-season 2 fix-it fic called And If It's Not Okay... This is an excerpt from chapter 36, wherein Gordo & Ed have made plans to hang out one evening, but Ed doesn't show.

Gordo arrived at the Shamrock ten minutes before seven. He walked through the warm, inviting lobby with its muted green floor and walls of mahogany paneling and travertine. He found the Pine Grill where he was supposed to meet Ed, and he slid into a booth. A waitress came over immediately and took his drink order – a club soda. Gordo hadn’t cut out alcohol from his life entirely. But he had cut back significantly, ever since he had gotten serious about his training for Jamestown 91. He was sure that that – along with getting back into a workout routine – was what had helped him lose so much weight before his launch. He hadn’t been particularly set on losing weight, per se, but he had wanted to get back in shape. He always felt better when he kept his body strong and moving. The weight loss had just been a byproduct of that. But ever since his return from Jamestown, Gordo hadn’t felt strong. His injuries had kept him immobile for days and then fairly sedentary for nearly three weeks. Now that he had been cleared by the NASA flight surgeon to start exercising again, he looked forward to getting back to it. He knew he would have to start out slowly, however. He had lost a few more pounds and a lot of muscle mass over the past three weeks, and he felt much weaker than he was used to. Getting back in shape would be a process, but Gordo was up for the challenge. And he didn’t have a launch deadline to meet, so he knew he could do it at a slow, healthy pace. Gordo sipped his club soda, waiting for Ed to arrive. He checked his watch again, noting that it was now ten minutes past seven. He wondered why Ed was late. It wasn’t like he had to drive across town. He was staying right upstairs in the hotel. Gordo waited a few more minutes. He was beginning to wonder if Ed had forgotten about their plan when the bartender shouted, “Gordo Stevens?” Gordo looked over. “Yeah?” The bartender looked at him, lifting up the phone receiver he held in his hand. “You’ve got a phone call.” Gordo furrowed his brow curiously and got to his feet. He walked over to the bar, and the bartender handed him the phone. He held it to his ear. “This is Gordo Stevens.” “Mr. Stevens?” a female voice said timidly in his ear. He didn’t immediately recognize it. “Yes?” “This is Kelly,” she said. “Baldwin. I, uh, tried calling your house, but Jimmy said you were at the Pine Grill.” “Yeah. I’m supposed to be meeting your dad here. Is everything okay?” “I didn’t know who else to call.” “What’s going on?” “I don’t know. Something’s wrong. We’re up in our room. Dad’s been drinking, and he’s just—He seems really upset.” She paused. “I’m worried about him.” “What’s the room number?” Gordo asked. When she told him, he said, “I’ll be right up.”

I wanted this scene to be a sort of parallel to Karen calling Ed to come get Gordo at The Outpost in episode 2x02. But instead of Ed helping Gordo when he's drunk & spiraling, this time it's Gordo helping Ed who's going through something similar.

Tagging @benwvatt @lacontroller1991 @rachg82 @onekisstotakewithme @roughroadhaley

@kayhi808 @marvmerchant @margospiano @violetmuses @castalyne

@cicada-circuitry @nadia-el-mansours @flamingo24 @tavners @allatariel & anyone else who wants to play!

Feel free to share anything you're working on, writing or not, but no pressure either way! 😊

[allatariel]

WIP Wednesday!

@gordopickett tagged me earlier this week—thank you <3—and I planned to do it today and then of course forgot until the evening. I should have just done it and scheduled it to post today, but I had hoped to work more on Love at the Drafting Table and post that. Alas—I talk about a project and then life conspires to keep me from working on it!

Instead, below is an older, very rough snippet from another languishing, unfinished WIP, The Calculus of Grief, written at the end of April.

Tagging: @madamairlock, @littlelindentree, @caitylove, @shu-of-the-wind, @fireandsoup

More tags (split to work around broken tumblr tagging): @imsfire2, @cryscal, @air-mechanical, @youreorangeyoumoron, @wanderleave

And anyone else who might want to <3

Though the school year had barely just begun, it was actually still a month out from the second anniversary of Sergei’s first day teaching at Spiro T. Agnew High School. October 1, 1995 felt like a lifetime ago. To be honest, he tried to think about the time before as little as possible. But today was a different anniversary: September 4. Today it was harder than most days to ignore the gaping hole in the center of his life. Two years ago today he and his family had landed in Germany. After an hour of debriefing and setting the wheels in motion, of letting hope run wild and selecting a name to bear during their transition, he had called Margo from his hotel room. He had been overjoyed to see her, and when he hung up, his mother had joined him from the adjoining room where his father slept, with his sisters and their families resting safely down the hall. She had asked him about this woman who had saved him, who so clearly held the heart of her firstborn, her only son. So, Sergei had told her their story. For the first time in his life, he was free to tell his mother about the woman he had been in love with for well over ten years. Hours later, when the news reached them, she had pulled him sobbing into her arms as she had when he was small, before the births of his sisters. That was the only time he had given into the despair of losing her. He was trying to live, to stay safe as she had told him. To keep his family safe. And the only way he could manage to do that, to go on, was to leave it all behind. But then just last night he had seen on the news that the Sojourner 1 astronauts and Mars-94 cosmonauts had finally returned to Earth. After their nearly two year ordeal, the world joined in their joy and relief as the survivors were reunited with their loved ones. Sergei had watched Rolan Baranov, the cosmonaut turned astronaut—a defector like himself—be reunited with his American wife and son. His wife who had survived the bombing of JSC. Unlike Margo. Sergei honestly wasn’t sure how he’d made it into work at all. “Mr. Bezukhov?” Principal Alice Nikolsky—not Nikolskaya—called as she knocked on the door of the classroom. “We have a new student for your homeroom. She’s just transferred up from Huntsville, Alabama.” A young girl stepped into the doorway, her pale orange hair falling around wire rim glasses and shadowing her pale freckled face. She looked up, her blue eyes so like his mother’s, his own catching him already off guard as Alice introduced her, “Madison Morgan.”  Seryozha, if you do not let yourself mourn her, she will haunt you forever. His mother’s plea rose in his mind as he took in this child, bouncing nervously on balls of her feet. In another life they could have had a daughter who looked like this girl.

[youreorangeyoumoron]

✨ WIP Wednesday ✨

I was tagged by @allatariel last week! thank you :)

So I have a couple Margo x Sergei WIPs in store. None of them are particularly polished, though there's always the Brazil one but atm I find it so cringe that I can't bear to look at it.

But! I chose a few paragraphs from this AU that I've been cooking up (letting it stew would be more accurate) about Margo and Sergei babysitting baby Javi.

Now Javi was born in 1988, 89, give or take, which places this fic after Margo and Sergei discuss sushi, and before Sergei successfully goes for the Hand Touch ™. I was curious to write a Margo who's gained a lot of confidence since S2 but still remains a little awkward at times, there's potential for a lot of fun, and for her to reflect on her relationship with Sergei with her newfound confidence. Just what exactly happens in those twelve months in between elevator rides that makes her ready to accept more intimacy with him? Let's rotate her thought process for a bit.

(his divorce helps, lbr, but I'm looking for her "...oh". moment. Which knowing her may take several moments and a severe barrelling through her mental defenses but that's what fanfic is for)

Javi stared intently at the new guy, clenching Margo’s jacket in his little fist. Sergei removed his own jacket and hung it on the hook by the door. His tie came off next, leaving him in his white shirt. He pointed at Javi’s fist. “It’s a very nice jacket. Kids are messy.” Margo glanced down at the kid, saw the death grip he had on her lapel – and a small drool stain from earlier. She sighed. It was a very nice jacket. “Yeah, I should change, I brought a change of clothes. Can you…” She handed Javi to Sergei with fumbling gestures; he pulled the kid into a much more assured embrace, which reassured her. She slowly backtracked into the hallway. Suddenly held by unfamiliar arms, Javi began to whine. Margo winced, gestured towards the kid. “Or he could go on his playmat. Do you want me to…” “No, no, it’s alright.” Sergei began to rock Javi, with a lot more ease than she had. His entire attention was captivated by the baby in his arms. As the whines turned into full-blown cries, Sergei caught the pacifier just in time and set it on the side table. “It’s okay, Tia Margo will be in the next room for a few minutes,” he told Javi in a singsong voice that she could never muster. It shouldn’t surprise her. After all, he was the man who had her playing pretend with him in the Apollo-Soyuz docking module prototype. (For a while this experience had embarrassed her; as of late it had become a fond memory.) Seemed like he had everything under control, Margo mused as she picked up her overnight bag and escaped to Aleida’s room, where she changed out of her work clothes and into the NASA-branded T-shirt and sweatpants that she kept in her office just in case. She had made the right choice calling him over; she loved Javi, but she could use his expertise. When she made her way back to the living room, she was surprised to hear, well… nothing. She found them settled on the couch, Javi held in Sergei’s arms, clutching his bunny with one hand and intently exploring Sergei’s beard with the other. She took a minute to bask in the curious sight of Sergei sharing a special moment with an infant, smiling, sleeves rolled up, slightly dishevelled. Seeing him outside of engineering and in a domestic setting was strange, but also interesting; it was a whole other side of him, that she would otherwise have never gotten to witness. For a reason she couldn’t explain, she found herself unable to look away. Sergei eventually noticed her, and grinned up at her. “He likes the beard.” She nodded. “Me, too.” The phone ringing in the kitchen gave her the perfect opportunity to flee after this slightly too spontaneous compliment. Christ. What was she thinking?

I wish to tag @sparkleplatypuswriter @gabolange @tiltedsyllogism @gordopickett @katesofheaven @caffeinatedcrab

and anybody who would like to do it (if you're reading this but you don't watch FAM it includes you! Join the fun!) (if you do watch FAM consider yourself tagged to the moon and BACK)

[kayhi808]

WIP Wednesday

I was tagged a couple weeks ago by @gordopickett and I kept missing my Wednesday, but TODAY i remembered & set aside time after work to do this. HAHA! Thank you so much for tagging me by the way!

I've got a couple WIP so, I'll add just a lil bit from each.

Now & Then

***Bucky and Steve lost someone very close to them during WWII which may have instigated the need to enlist for both men. Flash Forward to Pre-Sokovia Accords. Steve is on the search for Bucky after getting pulled out of the river by him. He thinks he may have found him...***

They found heat signatures for a small group in what they thought was an abandoned HYRDA facility. No more than 8 people. A walk in the park for 3 skilled Avengers! Iron Man blasts through the doors, making an entry for Steve & Natasha. Quickly they notice that its a small lab mainly consisting of researchers & 2 Hydra Agents.

They were expecting a fight and was taken aback by the Agents gunning down the staff. Once the Hydra agents realized the lab had been compromised, they started tying up loose ends. Getting rid of the evidence. Because of that small pause Tony and his team were only able to save one technician, before killing the Agents.

As Natasha zip-tied the techs wrists behind her back, "You have to get the Asset."

Steve's head whips around, "What did you say?!"

"In the other room, there's cryo-chambers. Everyone is gone, no one will tend to the asset."

Did Hydra get Bucky back? Was that why him & Sam haven't been able to locate him? Did he go back to them?? "Where is he?!!"

"Through those doors..." Steve and Tony rush to the connecting room. Along the farthest wall, there are 3 cryo-chambers, but only one is filled.

Pretty

***You had a quick situationship with Billy Russo while in Grad School & he was horrible to you. Years later you're a part of the team to assign government contracts. Russo's Anvil are one of the companies up for assignment.***

Dressed in a winter white pant suit, you wanted to make an impression but still be professional. The last thing you wanted to do was blend in with the men in their dark suits or be mistaken for someone's wife/girlfriend. A plus one. You grabbed your chardonnay when you see your boss waving you over again. You internally groan but paste a smile on your face & walk over.

"Bill, I'd like you to meet Y/N, our Lead Analyst." The world seemed to come to a halt as he turns, extending his hand to you in greeting. "Bill. Bill Russo. " His large, callused hands enveloped your soft smaller one. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You as well." He looks the same, yet so different from the young marine you used to know. His bespoke suit fitted him to a T. Beard perfectly lined, not a hair out of place. Dark eyes you got lost in so many times before. You have to remind yourself that his charming smile & pretty face hides a cruel heart.

Stays in Vegas

***You had a one night stand with the handsome security guard at a private poker tournament your were working. The morning after.***

Billy slowly drifts back into consciousness. He stretches his arm across the bed to pull your warm body closer, but all his fingers find is cool bedsheets. Popping his head up & scanning the room, he finds himself alone in his hotel room. That minx! Did she fucking leave him? How'd she leave without him waking up? Normally, a light sleeper due to his line of work, he rolls over to grab his phone from the nightstand. 3pm. Shit! He didn't realize he slept so long. You did wear him out. The things you did with your mouth set his blood on fire.

[benwvatt]

seven sentence sunday

tagged by the wonderful @tailsbeth-writes and @thesleepyskipper !

enjoy 7 sentences of my RBB fic, which is a college AU in which firstprince run a podcast together. on god's blood, i swear I will finish this story even though it is turning out much harder than I originally thought.

Alex grins, golden in the dying light the sunset affords him. Henry adores him it and feels a crack of bone widen in his chest, in this poorly-put-together ribcage. There’s a chip on Henry's shoulder and it’s been widening, winding its way down for years. Sometimes, he wonders if he’s getting weaker, worse with age. Sure, Henry’s life’s improved in some ways ー he’s left the UK behind, come out, met Alex, started school and the podcast ー but in other ways he was so much brighter as a boy. Before shadows crept across Henry’s windows and whispered in his ears, and before he’d realised just how bitter his grandparents were capable of being, he’d been happier. Alex’s voice trails down, across, over makeshift moors and paragraphs and radio waves.

tagging @siobhanbooks @doctorkepner @likehercules @beachy--head @useragarfield

@thoughtthedormouse @gordopickett @onekisstotakewithme @ladyknightellen @thedramasummer and anyone else interested in participating!

[h4t08]

Music Tag Game

Thanks for the tag @gordopickett 💕

Put your music on shuffle and listen to the first 10 songs + tag 10 people. I have Apple Music, so I’m gonna go to my ‘radio station’ to pull the music from.

1.) Positions - Ariana Grande

2.) Don’t Bring me Down - ELO

3.) Ease my Mind (Come Over) - Nija

4.) Body Touching Body - Buju Benton

5.) How Can I Help You to Say Goodbye - Patty Lovelace

6.) Time After Time - Eva Cassidy

7.) Just my Imagination - The Temptations

8.) Whiskey Lullaby - Brad Paisley with Alison Krauss

9.) Fillin’ My Cup - Hailey Whitters

10.) Paranoid - Black Sabbath

Tagging: @miss-ute @xmagicalmoonx @holy-ships-x-red-lips @gabolange @aimee-jessica @burneddownthegym @mandalamarigold @marymcmagic-hair @bluetrekker12 @a-tardis-at-downton @margospiano

And anyone else who wants to play! 💕

[sparkleplatypuswriter]

10 characters from 10 fandoms

I was tagged by @gordopickett. Thanks friend! Bold of you to assume I have 10 fandoms and am not just hyper-fixated on one 😅 1. Margo Maddison - For All Mankind (I mean - was there any contest for the top spot?) 2. Kathryn Janeway - Voyager 3. Alexis Rose - Schitt's Creek 4. Fleabag - Fleabag 5. Wednesday Addams - Wednesday 6. Charlie Spring - Heartstopper (muffin!!!) 7. Sabrina Spellman - The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina 8. Kira Neyrs - Star Trek Deep Space Nine 9. Worf, Son of Mogh - Star Trek The Next Generation (oh god, I love him so much and, like Margo, need him to stop having All the Traumas; I am also cheating because he was in TNG and DS9) 10. Ellie - The Last of Us

Tagging: anyone who wants to play!

[moocowmoocow]

I was tagged by @gordopickett and I have a hard time resisting this one.

The aim is to put your music on shuffle and list the first 10 songs + tag 10 people.

The Last Song - Rihanna

I Will See You Soon - The School

Legendary Flows - Flau’jae

The Mountain - PJ Harvey

Comeback Kid - Sleigh Bells

New Love - Dua Lipa

B.O.B. - OutKast

God Won’t Get You - Dolly Parton

Sailor Song - First Aid Kit

Margo and Sergei - Jeff Russo & Paul Doucette

I tag @cannibalspicnic @pottsisstarksheart @notmoreflippingelves @notabuddhist @gabolange

@sparkleplatypuswriter @thiswildernessismyhome @winged-mammal @overkill-max

[tiltedsyllogism]

10 Characters from 10 Fandoms

Thanks for the tag @gordopickett ! ...I think. I always tie myself into knots trying to parse out the criteria for these sorts of things. But here is one version of this list:

Toby Ziegler, The West Wing

Emily Prentiss, Criminal Minds

Dr. Elizabeth Macmillan, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries

John Watson, BBC Sherlock

Carol Peletier, The Walking Dead

President Laura Roslin, Battlestar Galactica

Captain James Flint, Black Sails

Father Paul Hill, Midnight Mass

Deborah Vance, Hacks

Margo Madison, For All Mankind

I am tagging (in two batches, so the tags work):

@masked-alias, @urbanhymnal , @fireandsoup , @havingbeenbreathedout, @isalabells ,

@naturaliseme , @orciny , @destinationtoast , @mercurialkitty and @jennamacaroni

[onekisstotakewithme]

WIP Wednesday (but make it Sunday)

Tagged by the lovely @gordopickett (someday bud, someday I'll join you Properly in FAM fic land).

"Danny. Hi... it's CJ." "Hi." To her relief, he doesn't sound annoyed... or even really all that surprised that she's calling him. "Listen, I uh... I sort of ran out on you last night." "I noticed." She smiles, grateful he can't see her. "I wouldn't have-." "Didn't take it personally. Figured it had to be important." "Yeah, you're right, it... it doesn’t really matter why, does it?” “I may have an inkling of why.” “Still… Think I could make it up to you?" "I'm all ears."

[roughroadhaley]

10 characters from 10 fandoms!

tagged by: @gordopickett

In no particular order:

1.) Annabeth Chase (PJO)

2.) Shiv Roy (Succession)

3.) Carrie Bradshaw (SATC)

4.) Jamie Tartt (Ted Lasso)

5.) Gordo Stevens (For all Mankind)

6.) Fleabag (fleabag)

7.) Noho Hank (Barry)

8.) Sokka (ATLA)

9.) Aimee Gibbs (Sex Education)

10.) Claire (Derry Girls)

tagging - no pressure lol

@jamietxrtt @samwpmarleau @sighonaraa @lunar-years @jamietarttsnorthernattitude

[gordopickett]

And If It’s Not Okay... (For All Mankind post-s2 fix-it fic)

*** Chapter 31 is up! ***

Chapter Title: Astronaut’s Wife

Chapter Summary: Ed goes back home to have a conversation with Karen about their marriage, but it doesn't go as smoothly as he had hoped.

And for anyone who wants to read the chapter here on Tumblr...

*******

Chapter 31: Astronaut’s Wife

Ed drove back home from Ellington in his two-tone Stingray. He and Gordo had taken the T-38s up again. Ed had been a little concerned at first about Gordo getting back up into the air after what had just happened. A “panic attack,” Gordo had called it.

Ed had listened to Gordo take a few deep, calming breaths before their second takeoff, but after that, Gordo had seemed fine. In the air, they had joked and laughed like normal, giving each other a hard time. They had agreed to a best-of-three in their second round of dogfighting. Gordo kicked Ed’s ass twice in a row.

Gordo had always been an amazing pilot – probably the best pilot Ed knew – but Gordo seemed more confident in the air lately than he had in years. Since before their first mission to Jamestown. Gordo’s renewed confidence reminded Ed of how he had been ten or fifteen years earlier. He was an even better pilot nowadays. He wasn’t arrogant like he had been back then, but he had faith in his skills as a pilot.

Despite the panic attacks, despite everything he had been through, Gordo still came alive when he was in a cockpit. And Ed was proud of him for doing that. He was proud of Gordo for immediately facing his fear and getting back into the cockpit at Ellington. Ed could tell that Gordo had changed tremendously over the past few months. He still had his demons. He still had his fears. But he wasn’t letting those things hold him back any longer. Ed was glad to see it.

And even more than that, Ed felt inspired by it.

He had been afraid to talk to Karen. Afraid of what might happen. Afraid she would tell him that their marriage was over. That she wanted out.

But Ed was ready to talk now. He wanted to make things work. He wanted to stay married and fix whatever had broken between them. He was ready to let Karen know how he felt.

After climbing out of the T-38s, Ed and Gordo had made plans to meet up at the Pine Grill at the Shamrock the next evening. In the meantime, Ed was going back home to talk to Karen.

Ed rolled up in the driveway and went into the house. He found Karen at the kitchen table, balancing the checkbook. There were papers scattered over the surface of the table, but Ed didn’t look at them.

“Hey,” he said, stopping in the doorway to the kitchen.

Karen looked up, a small smile playing on her lips as she looked him over. He was still wearing his flight suit, but he had removed his parachute pack and left it in the car with his flight bag.

“Hi,” Karen said, looking at him curiously. “Where are you headed?”

“Nowhere,” he said. “I just got back from Ellington. Gordo and I took up a couple of jets.”

“Oh,” she said, setting down the checkbook. “Everybody okay? Nobody had to be rescued from the Gulf this time?”

“No.” Ed smiled sheepishly. “No, everyone is fine.”

“That’s good.” She paused briefly. “How are you?” she asked. “How’s Kelly?”

“We’re...okay,” he said. “You?”

“I’m okay.”

He nodded slowly, letting his gaze wander around the kitchen, not looking at anything in particular.

“What’s going on, Ed?” she asked finally.

He scratched at the back of his neck, and as he lowered his hand, he said, “I was hoping we could talk.” He paused. “About us.”

“Okay,” she said. “Are you sure?”

He looked at her. He thought he was sure. He had been sure on the drive over. But now, looking at Karen sitting in their kitchen, he wasn’t so sure. His fear about the future of their marriage was returning. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, thinking about Gordo getting back in the T-38 after his panic attack. If he could do that, Ed could surely have a conversation with his wife.

Finally, Ed nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

“All right,” Karen said, setting the checkbook down on the table. “Would you like to start?”

Ed hesitated. He didn’t know how to begin. He didn’t know what Karen was thinking or what she wanted for their relationship.

Ed thought about what he wanted. He took a deep breath and said, “I don’t want to get divorced.”

Karen nodded slowly but said nothing.

Unable to read how she was feeling or what she was thinking, he said, “I don’t know what happened.” He hesitated, stammering a bit as he continued. “With—with us. I don’t—I don’t know what went wrong.” He paused, trying to gather his thoughts. “I want to fix it, though. I want…” He trailed off and sighed softly. “I want us to be okay.”

Karen studied him for a long time. Ed still couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

“Thank you,” she said finally. “For wanting to talk about us.”

He nodded and slowly walked towards the table where she sat. “What, um—How are you...feeling about it? About us?”

Karen took a deep breath. She looked down at the table where the papers were scattered about. He glanced down as well, noting, among other things, a pamphlet for William and Mary.

“I’m glad you want to fix things,” she said, looking up at him again. “I do too.”

Ed exhaled a relieved sigh. “Good.”

“But we have a lot of work to do, Ed.”

“Okay,” he said, taking a seat to her left at the table. “You said you think we need counseling.”

“I do.”

He nodded. “If that’s what it takes to fix things, we can do that.”

“Yeah,” she said softly, almost in a whisper. She looked down at the table again, absently fingering the corner of the William and Mary pamphlet.

He glanced down at it. He knew Kelly had been considering William and Mary, but he was pretty sure that she had since decided on the Naval Academy. Ed wondered why Karen had the pamphlet out.

“That’s not all, though,” Karen said.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re an astronaut, Ed,” she began. He didn’t know where she was going with it, so he waited for her to continue. “Your whole life has been about the Navy and NASA. Which means that my whole life has been about those things too.”

She looked at him, and Ed wondered if he was supposed to understand what she was getting at. He didn’t.

“After Shane, I stopped caring so much about being the dutiful astronaut’s wife. And when I bought The Outpost, I thought I was carving my own path.”

Ed nodded his agreement.

“But that’s not true,” Karen said.

Ed furrowed his brow in confusion.

“Sure, I owned a bar. But it’s an astronaut bar. The astronauts still hang out there. Other people come in, hoping to get a glimpse of an astronaut and to buy astronaut trinkets and baubles.” She went quiet for a moment.

“I—I don’t understand.”

“My whole life still revolves around the space program. Around your career.” She paused. “I love you, Ed. And I support you. I do.”

“Okay,” he said, dragging out the word. “But?”

“But I need something just for me, Ed. I’ve never had that.”

Ed shook his head, confused. “What are you saying?”

She searched his eyes for a long moment before saying, “I’m thinking about going to business school.”

Ed opened his mouth to speak but didn’t know what to say. He would support her – of course he would – but he didn’t understand why she seemed hesitant to tell him.

“I need to be able to do something for myself. I want that, Ed.”

“Okay,” he said, still confused. “I think that’s great, Karen. You should do something for yourself.”

She glanced down at the table again. Ed followed her gaze, eyeing the William and Mary pamphlet again. His stomach knotted.

“Wait,” he uttered. “Are you…”

She looked up at him, and he could tell that she was bracing for his reaction.

“No,” he said. “You’re—You’re wanting to go to William and Mary?”

“I’m thinking about it,” she said, holding his gaze.

He got up from his seat. He paced for a few seconds and then stopped, looking at Karen who remained at the table. “You want to go to school halfway across the country?”

“Like I said, Ed, I’m thinking about it.”

“How are we supposed to work on our marriage when you’re in Virginia?”

“This semester has already begun, so the earliest I could start would be the spring semester. We would still have months before I would need to leave.”

“‘Leave,’” Ed muttered with a wry chuckle. “You want to leave?”

“What’s the big deal, Ed? You leave all the time. And space – hell, the moon – is a hell of a lot farther than the east coast.”

“That’s…” Ed trailed off, not sure what to say. She had a point. He hated that she had a point, but she did.

“Don’t say ‘that’s different,’ Ed. It’s not. Your entire career – our entire marriage – has been based on you leaving. Going to war. Going to space.”

“Yeah, but…” Ed waved a hand, unsure how to continue. It felt different to him, but he couldn’t figure out why.

“But what, Ed? Is it because it’s me leaving this time? It’s okay as long as you are the one who gets to leave, but it’s not okay if it’s me. Is that it?”

“I…” That was part of it, but Ed didn’t want to admit it. He knew that would only anger Karen. “I thought you wanted to work on our marriage.”

“I do, Ed. It doesn’t have to be either-or. We can do both.”

“How?” he demanded, raising his voice. “You’ll be gone for months at a time.”

“You were on the moon for months, Ed,” she said plainly.

“Yeah, but—But we still talked. We had the video comms.”

“We can still do that,” Karen said. “I’ll get a comm for my apartment in Virginia.”

“Your…” Ed shook his head in disbelief. “Your apartment?”

“Yeah, I don’t imagine I’ll stay in the dorms.”

“I don’t—You’ve already decided this, haven’t you?”

“I haven’t,” she said. “Not for sure. But it is something I’m seriously considering, Ed.”

“I…” Ed trailed off, shaking his head again. He didn’t understand what was happening. “I came here to talk about us,” he said, his voice strained with emotion. “And now you’re telling me you want to leave. You want to go halfway across the country instead of staying here to work on our marriage.”

“Not ‘instead of,’” Karen said.

“I don’t—I can’t listen to this right now.” Eyes stinging, Ed turned and headed for the door.

“Ed,” Karen said from behind him.

Something screamed at him to stop. To turn around and go back. To finish talking with Karen and figure things out. But he didn’t listen. He stormed out the front door, hopped in his Corvette, and sped towards the Shamrock.

[allatariel]

Seven Sentence Sunday

Thank you to @gordopickett who tagged me two Sundays ago <3 I am so slow!!

Tagging: @madamairlock @brynnmclean, @callioope, @toodeeplyinvested, @tiltedsyllogism

Tagging more (because tumblr is broken): @spectral-musette, @narilwrites, @sparkleplatypuswriter, @moocowmoocow, @melyzard

And anyone else who would like to <3

So, this is a brand new season 4 standard issue fix-it, because I have no focus and am going with the flow—when it decides to actually flow. The idea came to me while I was writing some tags on an imagine your OTP style post on Friday night and then proceeded to stay up way too late writing this as a path to that. And going back to check my memory of Graciana this morning, I think I misremembered her as 4–5 instead of 5–6 years old, something to fix later! This may pull in the other season 4 snippets I've already posted, not sure yet. But definitely leads to Brazil! Currently calling it We Are Fortunate Ones I Swear. Also, I can't seem to limit myself to sharing seven sentences, so here's an additional twelve with it!

“Mamá!” Graciana exclaimed again, with even more gusto and a touch of sass, and Aleida’s attention snapped to her. Her daughter’s attention was fixed on something outside her window and her face lit up as she pointed. “I see tío!” Aleida’s brow furrowed as she followed the line of her pointing hand to see a familiar man holding a black umbrella stepping off the curb to cross the street in front of them. They’d only met a few times and Graciana was already calling him “tío”? Before Aleida could even begin to process that thought, Graciana had jabbed the button to roll down her window and called to him at top volume. “Tío Sergei!” Sergei looked startled and then smiled warmly when he recognized them. “Miss Graciana! Hello!” he called and she giggled as he hurried over to her and bent down some, holding his umbrella over the open window. “You’re getting rain in your mother’s lovely car,” he chided her gently before giving Aleida a nod and waving. “Hello Aleida.” Graciana shyly leaned back towards Aleida, her prior boldness gone but her smile remained bright. Aleida smirked at her daughter’s sudden shift and addressed Sergei. “What are you doing walking in this mess?” “Oh, it’s not so bad, only a little drizzle. My hotel is right there”—he pointed behind him and then at the McDonald’s across the street—”and I’m just getting some dinner.” “We’re having ice cream bars!” Graciana found her voice again and Sergei chuckled as Aleida grinned and wrapped her arm around her. “After dinner, there may be ice cream,” Aleida corrected Graciana without any heat and then looked up at Sergei smiling at them a little distantly. “Would you like to join us?” she asked without really thinking of anything but the fondness she’d seen between him and Margo at dinner only a few nights ago.

[ddagent]

Music Tag Game

Thank you for the tag @gordopickett!

The aim is to put your music on shuffle and list the first 10 songs + tag 10 people. My music is organised by genre and vibes, so I've decided not to include any film scores (of which there is a lot), podcasts, audio dramas, or Christmas songs.

Trouble (Rizzle Kicks)

The Boys of Summer (Don Henley)

Lights (Journey)

C'est La Vie (B*witched)

Always On Your Side (Sheryl Crow and Sting)

Every Night (Imagine Dragons)

Truly (Lionel Richie)

Prelude 12/21 (AFI)

In Pieces (Linkin Park)

Misery (Maroon 5)

Tagging anyone who wants to have a play!

[flamingo24]

10 characters from 10 fandoms

Thank you for the tag @gordopickett !

1. Sergei Nikulov (For All Mankind)

2. Chrisjen Avasarala (The Expanse)

3. Nacho Varga (Better Call Saul)

4. Remus Lupin (Harry Potter)

5. Murphy Cooper (Interstellar)

6. Arya Stark (Game of Thrones)

7. Penelope Featherington (Bridgerton)

8. Daryl Dixon (The Walking Dead)

9. Joel Miller (The Last of Us)

10. Newt (Maze Runner)

I'm gonna tag @purereflectionsworld @youreorangeyoumoron @ddagent and anyone else who wants to play!

[benwvatt]

wip wednesday

tagged by @firenati0n @thesleepyskipper and @fullsunsets! thank you all!

My current priority WIP is for the 911 fandom, and it's super short right now, so enjoy a smattering of my stories!

tagging @crime-wives @siobhanbooks @gordopickett @onekisstotakewithme @tailsbeth-writes

@tinyarmedtrex @yojfull @useragarfield @likehercules @littlerosette

@binkitten @blueeyedgrlwrites @caterpills @suseagull04 @doctorkepner

@beachy--head and whoever else wants to join!

The one where Bea grieves

“Are you… hungry?” Henry asks. “No.” “Alright. I’m going to fill my water glass. And maybe, if you want to, I can bring you back a sleeve of crackers.” Bea purses her lips. “Okay.” “Fine, then.” Henry walks away. He sounds like he wants to sound angry, but can’t bring himself to. “Your choice.” “Thanks,” she says, hand pressed to one of the squares etched into the door. “He’s…” Philip says, “trying? We were scared, for a moment.” She nods. “We didn’t know if something had happened to you, Bea. Don’t scare us like that.”

2. Extra snippets from podcast AU, which I miiiight turn into a sequel. Or prequel. We'll seeeeeeee.

Henry decides he wants Alex, and, as that simply isn’t an option, he opts to rapidly build, and fall back upon, a Victorian fainting couch. Henry runs a science podcast whose truest, most secret mission is to unravel why on earth he’d had the dirty luck to catch feelings for his straight roommate.

3. Sequel to my earlier 9-1-1 fic, which is about Eddie Diaz + comphet!

Eddie remembers Bobby’s homemade pizzas, the way Hen hoards the olives to herself (Chimney, too, come to think of it; he does it for her, giving the mason jar to her first before he sprinkles them over his dinner; they really are best friends) but Buck’s face sours at even the smell of olives, lips pursing, laughing; in fitful bursts, white headlights flash through the windows and Eddie groans, not wanting this cursed light on his face; come on, he looks at the clock; it’s 11:38 and he still hasn’t slept. Before he can bear it, his alarm clock blares in fitful bursts and his slack wrist falls across the bedside dresser, flapping around in search of the off button. Eddie finds it, and the clock falls silent for five… ten… twenty minutes before he’s groaning, eyes set on the red numbers; FUCK!