#like thinking about margo and aleida

[nadia-el-mansours]

[isalabells]

"When [Aleida] opens the door [to Margo's office after the JSC bombing], I think the immediate fear is, "Margo died, and I never got to tell her that I love her." There's shock there, so she isn't thinking straight, but I think that's what it is — that she's been arguing and fighting with this person, and at the end of the day, she just wants to tell her that she loves her."

[gaminedyke]

caught up on for all mankind!! can't wait for the next episode

[reactivemotion]

FAM rewatch, 2.02 Another brilliant episode. Damn I love this show, even before the blond man with the sexy accent shows up. Very quick notes: - the foreshadowing! "Gordo Stevens, American hero". Molly bragging about her 20/20 vision. - Oh Molly. - Margo vs the vending machine. - The golf scene is great, especially Karen and Wayne sneaking away to smoke a joint. - I remember watching this for the first time and thinking Kelly and Danny would end up having a thing. Not, like, Kelly's mom and Danny. - Margo is really shook when she sees the note with Aleida's name on it. I had forgotten that. - Margo is having none of that Apollo Soyuz handshake bullshit.

[warrioreowynofrohan]

I’ve finished For All Mankind.

Discussion of Margo Madison’s arc after the cut, because man, that was harrowing.

Margo’s story in Season 4 was just so painful. They whole way through it I was just going: Margo, stop. Think. This woman is from the KGB. She and the people above her, they are the people who tortured you, they are the people who tortured Sergei. Do you really want to be helping them? They are the people who arrested and detained a man just for selling newspapers, and arrested and tortured who knows how many other people.

Margo, look around you. This is not a place where someone who screws up in a high-profile job just gets fired and has a quiet retirement. You have the ability to know this. But you got an intellectual puzzle put in front of you and you instinctively solved it, without thinking about who you were working for or what it would mean. With your life, with your background, with your mentor, you know better than this. You know you can’t just do science and disregard who you are serving. And you know that serving brutal, cruel people because you fear for your life, or because they’re giving you the resources you want, is the wrong decision. It’s not an excuse. It’s just – your story is coming full circle, Margo, look.

(Heck, even the accident report she worked on, that got the man killed or sent to Siberia, was a call back, an echo, a report on a technical failure in which people died that was caused by flaws in wuality control.)

“I had no choice,” virtually always means, “I did not like the choices I had.” And undeniably, all of Margo’s options were shitty. Defection or life in prison. Working for the KGB or torture and death. But those choices existed.

I liked her last conversation with Aleida because it acknowledged these things, all the things that were implicit in her story. And I read the end of Margo’s story as being the answer to it. You can see her taking responsibility for the asteroid being diverted as a way to protect Aleida, but to me it was more than that. The only acceptable person to sacrifice is yourself. And that’s what Margo did. Because she realized that the only two options were allowing herself to be arrested, or continuing to work for the brutal dictatorship that murdered the man she loved. And given the choices available to her, that’s the one I wanted her to make.

[purereflectionsworld]

Fic number tag game

Thank you to multiple Tumblr friends for tagging me, and to @sparkleplatypuswriter specifically for writing a lovely and succinct post that made participating feel less overwhelming 😂

Rules: give us the links to your fic with the most hits, second most kudos, third most comments, fourth most bookmarks, fifth most words, and fic with the least words (feel free to interpret however you would like; if not on AO3, can be on Tumblr or FFNET!).

All of my fics discussed below are for the For All Mankind fandom and — surprise, surprise — most are canon-compliant stories about my love Aleida Rosales 😂

Most hits: Turns within me, turns without me. This is a WIP fic (almost there! I’ve completed nine of ten chapters) that fills in the gaps for Aleida in between S2 and S3, focusing both on her personal life and her relationship with Margo. I have a love/hate relationship with this fic 😆 I’ve been writing it for a long time and evolved as a writer, so there are naturally parts of it (more-so in the first half of the fic) that make me cringe a bit.

Second most kudos AND third most comments: Would it have been worth it, after all. This is one of my favorite fics! It covers Aleida’s POV of, and emotional journey during, the one-month period in S4 when she’s passing notes between Margo and Sergei. I appreciate the love I’ve gotten on this one from Margo/Sergei shippers on here, especially as it’s still a very Aleida-centric story.

Fourth most bookmarks: Only two of my fics even have bookmarks 😂 So let’s go with my fic with the second most bookmarks (a grand total of one): This hunger, it isn’t you. This story is my longest non-chapter fic, and it was the BIGGEST labor of love for me; as a result, it’s my personal favorite, and I think it’s my most underappreciated fic 😂 I was inspired to write this fic after re-watching the flashback scene of the stranded Mars crew just before Dani and Ed find Danny’s body. They all looked so emaciated and weak, and I suddenly had this idea that Aleida — as someone who’s experienced food insecurity herself — would have become personally obsessed with saving the crew from starvation in the months following the JSC bombing. Of course, since I am me, the REAL story quickly became Aleida’s post-bombing mental health journey (i.e. repression of Margo related trauma) and the evolution of her relationships to work and family between S3 and S4.

Fifth most words: Fire in her eyes. My sole non-Aleida fic (okay, I did work in a reference to her). This is a Karen Baldwin POV, Karen &|/ Tracy fic that I wrote for a fandom exchange. This one was a step outside my comfort zone, but I am actually so happy with how it turned out, and glad I got the opportunity to write it!

Fic with the least words: Kept on the inside. If you ever wondered whether Aleida showed Margo her scars, this is my take — set on Aleida’s wedding day. I published this little fic as a standalone one-shot but it was originally intended to be (and eventually became) a scene in Turns within me, discussed above!

I think many of my mutuals have been tagged already but feel free to steal this!

[wickedwitzh]

Something short that I wrote last night when I couldn’t sleep - fits within my broad AU from 2x10 onwards that so far only exists in my head.

Margo x Sergei, 670 words, mature

December 1984

Stockholm is, for the lack of a better word, nice.

Freezing, for sure. Loud, but at the same time, startlingly quiet for a capital. A bit bleak. With streets more narrow than what Margo is used to, and more cars, somehow.

It’s also quite breathtaking, in a very understated sort of way.

And there is snow. Margo has only seen snow a handful times in her life, and seeing the white-ish mass brings her a disproportionate amount of joy that she tries (and fails) to hide from her fellow attendees, especially the Russians.

She is still not quite sure why they are here. Technically it’s a four-way meeting about the future of the international space programme, where the United States and the USSR, flanked by South Korea and China respectively, are supposed to discuss their future endeavours. It’s hosted by the ESA, because the four countries in question could not agree on the logistics and besides, Europe wants its slice of the space cake. And so Margo, and Molly, and Bill, and Aleida, all end up in Stockholm, arguing with the Soviets and the Chinese and even with the Europeans, sometimes.

It’s simultaneously worse and better than the ICA, Margo thinks. Like, sure, the ICA is less interactive, which, on the other hand, means that she doesn’t get tired so easily. And the ICA is about scientific progress, not politics. And the hotels usually have better bars. And the conferences are held in early Autumn, mostly in London, where the temperatures are bearable, and not in Sweden in December, just after the Nobel week.

Margo doesn’t take well to the cold climate. Her nose is running constantly and she doesn’t have proper gloves and she is cold almost all the time, but then… But then. Sergei’s hands are warm against her skin; the heat hits her cheeks when his fingers trace intricate patterns on the inside of her thighs; and when he pushes her against the mattress — gently, but decisively, in such perfect proportions that it makes her go insane with want — for a few moments, the chill disappears.

When he buries himself deep inside her, Margo only sighs with pleasure and twists her hips, all thoughts banished from her head. It’s only after, when they lay, panting, buried under the ridiculously puffy comforter, that she realizes that he’s still, technically, married.

She doesn’t see the ring anymore, though.

“We’ve started the divorce proceedings,” Sergei says into her hair. “It’s as amicable as possible. Jurij has already proposed; Yulia will marry him as soon as our divorce is through.”

It still amazes Margo sometimes, this strange geometric shape of human affairs that Sergei is able to navigate, but she’s met Yulia, she knows that his marriage has been over for quite some time already. It makes her feel a tiny bit better about sleeping with a married man.

They discuss other things too, of course. The Mars programme. The new nuclear fuels. Their coworkers and their bosses and the insane timelines imposed on them.

They talk about these things in between the conference proceedings; on a wooden bench overlooking Skeppsbron; under the bare cherry trees in Kungsträdgården; as they stroll down Kastanjgatan, a little behind the rest of the group that is on the lookout for the next pub where they’ve been told to ask for something called “Norrlands guld”.

They vaguely remember that their babysitters — the KGB and the CIA alike — are trailing somewhere behind them, but it’s terrifyingly easy to pretend that it’s only the two of them, in this strange city that’s oozing European charm but is not popular enough to serve as a backdrop in Hollywood movies.

They get careless, though. They are too open with each other, too happy in each other’s presence. Not to mention the other, more intimate stuff. It’s a stupid mistake that only two people absurdly in love could make. But it’s still a mistake, and as it turns out a few months later, there will be a price to pay.

[linafinsterwald192]

This Soyuz-Apollo romance has me in shambles. SHAMBLES. It all starts with Sergei challenging Margo with the whole "No, that's not astronaut 3 and 4, that is cosmonaut 1 and 2." and "I suggest Soyuz-Apollo. For convenience." and "Soyuz will be the active part." He's such a cunt with it but he is also right. He needs to be doing this because otherwise, the Russian involvement in it will always just be an accessory. An afterthought. Also frankly I think it was funny for him to be a little shit. I hope it was funny to Sergei too.

Margo had absolutely no say in falling for him. But I also think that she puts an incredible amount of love into the people around her. Purposefully. She let Wernher close to her, and made herself vulnerable by asking how much he knew, and I think she was trying to find something that negates all the harm Wernher has done. Something that excuses his actions even a little bit. One can see how much she cares about basically everyone who is up in space at any point. She is so hopeful and scared when things go wrong. She made herself incredibly vulnerable with Aleida. She met up with her several times, knowing she needed it. Needed Margo as a parental figure in her life. She asked her to join NASA, knowing it was a risk, knowing that Aleida might slam the door into her face and hope it breaks her nose. Knowing Aleida might fuck it up big time and ruin Margo's reputation as she vouched for her. And Margo kept at it, until Aleida could stand on her own two feet. Despite how often she got hurt, she always keeps loving. Despite the constant paranoia and hatred towards Russia/Russians from the people around her, Margo and Sergei bantered over Apollo-Soyuz vs Soyuz-Apollo after Margo invited him to one of the places she never shows someone else. One of the sides she hides from everyone around her because that's HER space. it's her. Despite the revelations about Wernher, she trusts that Sergei won't be like him, even though it could very well be plausible for Sergei to have dark secrets as well.

She is so silly when she is with Sergei at first. She allows herself to just relax and be silly when she has to constantly be so fucking serious. The little paper ships docking. Them being stuck in the handshake tube thing. Margo never lets people get physically close to her like this. She isn't uncomfy. She is very comfy in there, despite being stuck and being super close to Sergei, despite Sergei clearly finding this amazing and hilarious, and MISSING THE COIN FLIP- Margo pushes him away because she has to. She doesn't want to push him away. She is MAD when he talks about work after they made out. Margo "I am always professional and this is not a place for feelings" Madison is livid this is interfering with literally anything - and livid that anyone would threaten Sergei like this.

She cares about him so much. She promises to keep him AND his family safe and it's clear she will do everything to achieve it. She doesn't shove him away going "this is fucking dangerous and I'm not risking everything I am and have for you". She goes "I'll get you and your family out of here." She KNOWS this might be the worst heartbreak she will ever go through. She KNOWS she might end up being tortured or killed or being seen as a traitor, a coward, a defector - And she does it anyway. She didn't stumble into any of this. She fucking ran praying to be fast enough.

That scene of her screaming into the pillow? fucking gold star. What I love so fucking much about this romance is that it's not a "it's too dnagerous to love me" shtick. it's "well FUCK. well FUCK. i love you and i can't do anything about it. so what do we do? how do we keep everyone safe, and be together? and be together.

It hurt her so much to constantly dismiss Aleida's efforts of finding out who gave away the engine design. And it scared her because she knows Aleida doesn't give up. And that is such a good thing.

Margo for sure wanted to run away with Sergei. But she couldn't promise him anything. And then, she didn't get to. She never got to say "I'll run with you." she never got to say "I love you." But everything she did conveyed just that. Everything she did was such a pure form of admiration, dedication, love, vulnerability, fear-

She was READY to rip Irina into pieces. She was. all she could say was "You knew him for years!" She couldn't SAY "I loved him and you know that." She couldn't SAY "he was always in a good mood, always happy, always loving, always caring, he was the best of the best, he was selfless and gorgeous and amazing" - she could only appeal to Sergei's supposed loyalty to the Russians. That was all the leverage she had. I WISH we knew what Irina thought in this moment. How much she knew. If she knew after Margo crying CRYING in a full room of silent people, in front of IRINA, maybe being aware that this might reveal her love for Sergei- And it hurt her so much that Aleida got pulled into this. Aleida was right, it had to be her typing the code. And it broke Margo that there was nothing she could do against it. Only for her to take the blame. Irina was in that room. Eli was there. Aleida was there.

Margo knew Sergei would be SO PROUD and SO PISSED if he had the chance of learning about this. Margo was stripped of the last tidbits of her honor, she was stripped of her diplomatic immunity - for all she knows, she could be kidnapped by the KGB and tortured for however long her body holds up. Especially if Irina pieced it together somewhere along the way. And she still went for it. And she let Aleida hug her in front of everyone because she knew that this was more important than the shit Aleida could catch for it. AND AFTER THIS. AFTER HER FEELINGS HAVE BROUGHT HER SO MUCH FUCKING PAIN AND MISERY, AFTER SERGEI ESSENTIALLY GOT KILLED FOR HAVING FEELINGS AND BEING IN LOVE, she says that feelings are a good thing. "Your honor, I was always told we shouldn't let personal feelings cloud our search for the truth. I don't think that's right. Feelings might not always be convenient," WELL . YOUR FEELINGS CERTAINLY WERE NEVER CONVENIENT- GOD- FUCK- THIS WOMAN. "they may even slow our progress, but they are also the only way to truly begin to understand the world around us. And the new worlds that await us." She EMBRACES it all. She might be in American prison from the sounds of it but this absolute powerhouse is looking forward to new worlds. She embraces that she felt all these feeings. She once thought she was like WERNHER VON BRAUN because of things she did. LIKE WERNHER VON FUCKING BRAUN- and now she is like "I did that." Also frankly I think she feels a little proud of herself when she gets escorted out of the mission control room. She does look a little smug, right? So anyway I will be reading all Margo Sergei fics I can find and post a thousand posts about them and I think Apollo-Soyuz should be a synonym for top Margo bottom Sergei and the other way around and I will now continue to scream into the void. thank you for your understanding. thank you for coming by on such notice.

[superfluouskeys]

okay okay for the headcanon thing I am definitely for sure only going to send one (1) of and not forth (40) I am here to request Margo Madison bc someone put her back on my dash like yesterday and I was violently catapulted back to like a year ago when I was just watching space show on an infinite loop and honestly I did not get to pry enough thoughts about Margo Madison from your brain then so NOWS MY CHANCE

sdfknbjdfsnkjdfsnjkfsdnjk so these took awhile because the headcanons came to me in a random order but I felt that the (single) message(s) was/were a cohesive narrative that I could not interrupt and needed to be posted in order so here we go LOLLLLLLLL

margo madison my BELOVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

realistic

Absolutely never thought she could learn another language, thought she just didn’t have the innate skill for it, didn’t even really have much interest.  I imagine she spent the first part of her exile just like vaguely miserable and hoping a miracle would happen and she wouldn’t have to get used to this.  In her personal life at least I don’t think she’s super jazzed about any little change to her routine—she likes things to be familiar and predictable at home.  So, without consciously meaning to, she makes herself a new little routine.  She definitely did not go out and explore all her options for pastry shops.  She went to one and that’s where she goes now.  She is not going to ‘try new things’ she has tried enough new things for a lifetime.

Then, when she started to settle into her new routine, the idea of anything else happening started to feel very unpleasant.  She can’t go back to the way things were before, so she really doesn’t want to have to dramatically change her life again.  I think at this point she was like, okay well, since I’m here now I guess I’d better learn some Russian.  And then I think it was surprisingly easy for her to pick up, because she has a very analytical and pattern-seeking brain, and because it served an immediate practical purpose.  And I think she doesn’t feel literally any pressure to be good at it because she’s supposed to be this random woman, which ironically makes it way easier for her than for the average language learner to speak and learn quickly.

unrealistic but amusing

Doesn’t think she has an accent.

painful and fun to inflict

I can imagine her carrying a lot of deep-seated shame around not hitting the normal life “milestones” or even particularly wanting to, never really having a relationship, having absolutely negative desire to have a child in her house, etc.  A part of her feels like, not only should she have taken Aleida in, but she should have WANTED to.  Even when she does finally have a Thing(TM) it’s so weird and complicated and impossible and barely even a thing and then it ends in life-ruining tragedy.  She loves her work, but it’s also all she really feels like she can do right.

realistic TO ME!!!!!!! (unrealistic but I will die on this hill)

frothing at the mouth about her having a thing with irina even though it’s completely against her morals and she has cut people off for being way less shady – is she rationalizing it to herself or has her moral compass legit shifted in a meaningful way???? both such good options!!!!!!!!

[ddagent]

I've been really loving your writing! How about C1 for the prompts? I must know what that season 2 AU is. And maybe, if you have the time, D6?

Fanfic Menu Challenge

Aleida Rosales' first day at NASA had been intense. It was the first time she'd stepped foot into JSC since the day her father had been deported. There had been a scheduled field trip during her senior year but she'd called in sick that day; not wanting to see the familiar halls, to see Margo Madison. Aleida had long wondered what returning would feel like. But it had felt...right. She belonged in these halls, had worked her ass off to get a place in these halls. And not only was she now an engineer at NASA but she was working on one of the biggest missions since Jamestown: Apollo-Soyuz. With none other than one of the men who put Alexei Leonov on the moon.

At the end of her first day, Aleida wanted to make sure she said goodbye to Sergei. He had been kind: not pushing her to open up; asking only questions about the work. Always with a smile. But he was nowhere to be found.

In the ops office, she caught Elaine. "Hey, have you seen Sergei?"

Elaine tried her best to hide a smile as she finalised the new ops procedures. "He'll be with Director Madison."

Aleida felt a chunk of ice settle in the pit of her stomach. Why was he with Margo? Was she checking up on her? Did Margo think so little of her that she needed to be babysat? "Are you sure?"

Elaine checked her watch. "Well, it's about seven. He'll be there."

With a nod towards Elaine, Aleida fled the office and went to find Margo's. This would be the third office Margo had had since Aleida had known her. The first was nothing more than a cubicle: dim lighting, a mug full of tootsie rolls and toothpaste. The second had been larger, with a window no less and a couple of chairs. As Director of JSC, Aleida was expecting her office now to take up a whole floor. Maybe there was even a goddamn piano in there. Aleida felt rage build with every footstep, every clench of her hands. She was pissed at Margo for checking up on her. Pissed at Sergei for lying to her. He wasn't her friend. He was her damn babysitter.

As she rounded the corridor, Aleida caught sight of the open office door. Margo's assistant, Emma, had gone home. Light spilled from the open door, as did laughter. She recognised Sergei's laugh: he was incapable of getting through a shift without it. But in the months that she had known Margo, she had never heard that woman laugh.

"You do not think I will look fetching, yes, in a fake moustache and wig?"

Margo laughed again. What the hell? "Sergei, we are not hiding you when the Soviets come. You're with NASA, now. Front and centre."

"A perfect place to be for their snipers."

Through the open door, Aleida watched as Margo jabbed a finger in Sergei's direction. "Don't joke about that. Refill?"

"Please."

Margo stood up, took his empty glass, and went to a small bar by the wall of windows to refill their drinks. Aleida wondered what they were drinking. Vodka, maybe, as Sergei was Russian? Whiskey, brandy? Pepsi? But her speculation was cut off as her eyeline settled on Sergei. He wasn't staring at the artwork on the walls or at the bland carpeting. He was staring, unwatched and unbidden, at Margo Madison. His gaze was soft; his smile playful. Sergei stared, every atom within him yearning, as Margo poured them both another drink. Then, as soon as she turned around, a mask went up and Sergei was laughing and his eyes were harder. Like he'd never been watching her at all.

Margo sat back down and a new topic was introduced. "So, how was your new engineer?"

This was Aleida's moment. This was her time to storm in, to challenge them both. But she was rooted to the spot. Sergei replied and all Aleida could see was the familiar way he addressed Margo, the familiarity between them both. "She was wonderful, as you told me she would be. I am not surprised; you were her mentor."

"Hardly." Margo took a sip. "I knew her for four and half months eight years ago. I may have got her started but everything she is...it's all her." Another drink. "You'll keep an eye on her for me?"

"Margo—"

"—Sergei." He paused. She faltered, then spoke: "Please. You...you know what this means to me." Two drinks were quickly put aside. Sergei took Margo's hand in his. Their eyes met, and for a moment Aleida wondered whether she would watch her former mentor and her new one kiss in a quiet office. But Aleida blinked, and Margo was out of her chair, downing her drink, and putting it on the sideboard. "It's getting late."

"Of course." Sergei reluctantly finished his own drink. "Goodnight, Margo. See you tomorrow."

"Night."

Sergei left Margo's office, pulling the door closed behind him. He muttered words in Russian – Aleida didn't understand, but they seemed to be chastisements, hissing at himself and his behaviour. Sergei raised his head to leave and found Aleida standing in his path. He came to an abrupt stop. No questions about how long she'd been standing there, what she'd heard. Just: "This was a private conversation."

Aleida crossed her arms. "Looked pretty cosy."

"It is not. Director Madison and I...we discuss things. We have known each other a long time." Sergei joined her, sunk his hands into the pockets of his pants. He relaxed the closer he was from the door. "She does not question your capability, Aleida. She means only to make sure that you are well, that you are happy here."

"She could ask me herself."

Sergei smiled, softly, almost to himself. "Ah, but that would require Margo to challenge what has been instilled in her since she was first mentored: that this hallowed place is only for calculations, procedures. Not friendship or...love. She does her best, Aleida." His hand lightly patted her shoulder. "Please, give her space for her best to become better."

Aleida, reluctantly, nodded. Maybe she could give Margo a little leeway. But only a little. The moment she found out that Sergei was making detailed reports about her back to Margo, she'd cut both of them out. It would only dawn on Aleida later, when she understood the true reason behind the seven o'clock meetings, that discussing her work performance was the very last topic of conversation Margo and Sergei wanted to indulge in.

[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)

[sparkleplatypuswriter]

Also just thinking about how Margo learned that engineering and space exploration weren’t a place for feelings, and then Aleida and Sergei popped by and were like “hi. we feel very deeply for you.”

[moocowmoocow]

Femslash February 14 - Crush

Molly x Aleida

Aleida had always had a small crush on Molly Cobb. Anastasia Belikova had shown her that girls could go to space, but Molly had shown her that girls could go to space, make fun of the president and be a total badass. The crush grew during Apollo-Soyuz. Yeah, it was great to be told that Molly liked her after she gave Bill the finger but she and Margo were so grounded and in control when the world was flying out of control. It made her think that maybe she could grow into that role, too.

Now, she had about one and half too many drinks at the Christmas party and she was in a bathroom stall with Molly Cobb and she had her hand in Molly Cobb’s pants and she was fucking her. This was so great. And to her horror, she found that she said the last thing out loud.

“C’mon, kid,” Molly complained. “I’m trying to get off and your hero worship is really killing the mood.”

Aleida swallowed hard and concentrated. It was merely a matter of friction, thrust, angle. To pay attention to the feedback. And soon she heard Molly moan and felt a rush of wetness on her hand. And holy shit, she just made Molly Cobb come.

“Not bad for your first time, kid.”

Aleida couldn’t stop her smile. “Thanks.”

And then Molly Cobb had her hand down Aleida’s pants. Holy shit. And then there was no thinking because Molly was really good at this and Aleida couldn’t concentrate on anything but the pleasure growing steadily in her body until she came hard.

Holy fuck. Molly Cobb gave her an orgasm.

As Molly left the stall, she called back, “Don’t tell the Mistress of Darkness about this.”

“Yeah,” Aleida said, still dazed. There was no fucking way she was telling Margo about any of this.

[i-like-turkey]

Thoughts on the first 3.25 episodes of FAM season 2:

Tracy, what the fuck happened to you? Driving drunk? Missing work? Marrying some rich dude who I’m guessing you don’t really love cause you’re still hung up on Karen Gordo? smdh. She & Gordo had to split. Their relationship was too toxic to keep going, but I’m not loving this new, irresponsible version of Tracy.

I AM loving older Karen. She looks hotter than ever at her advanced age. And I love that she’s still smoking weed with Wayne & I love how she managed to come around on Kelly's Annapolis decision & I LOVE how after she learned about Tracy’s marriage, she went outside and smoked a cigarette while staring longingly at the moon. It’s ok Karen, Tracy is clearly going through something, but I promise she just as horny for you as you are for her. See e.g., the way they were holding hands at the bar.

Oh? What’s that? You’re telling me they were talking about Kelly and parenting? Nope. That’s not what I heard. I actually didn’t hear much of anything cause the hand action and looks they were giving each other were too damn LOUD.

I’m worried about Dani. I stopped right before a scene about her dead hubby cause it was way past my bed time & I didn’t need more heaviness on my mind while trying to sleep. She was putting on a brave face, but I get the sense that inside she’s not doing so great.

Larry sucks and has sucked from the beginning. Ellen and Pam were doing just fine in keeping things quiet. At least until after the fake relationship started (I feel like they started getting more handsy at the bar cause Larry was there). So him going off on Ellen when he picked her up from Pam's was unnecessary and the fake relationship was unnecessary. But since they did end up in that relationship, Ellen got pulled into the FBI investigation which necessarily led to suspicion about her cause the FBI agent was right, why the fuck would someone like her date an unpleasant guy like Larry?

I wanted to slap Larry when he was boasting about his fling (he's not a boyfriend, right?) parking a few blocks away and using the back door. That shit isn’t sneaky. Someone will notice that there’s always a car two blocks away and maybe they’ll see who’s getting into the car every morning and then maybe they can trace that person’s movements back to a certain house. One occupied by a married couple.

So yeah. Larry is an idiot and he has caused so much harm to Ellen and I know it’s only going to get worse cause I spoiled myself. Ugh.

Gordo’s arc so far is killing me. He spent a good part of season 1 being a dick, but he was the kind of dick that was impossible to fully hate. I really appreciated how he always seemed to have Tracy’s back and never felt emasculated by her and I loved how proud he was of her in the finale. Now maybe that all changed and that’s why they got the divorce, but I’m hoping it’s not. Anyway, back to the point, his arc is KILLING me cause it’s hitting really close to home. PTSD + loneliness + this sense that your best years are behind you + being ashamed of what you’ve become.

I’m glad Ed gave him a slot, cause he needs the purpose, but I’m also worried that mentally he isn’t up for it.

Aleida's intro had me laughing so hard. But I'm also kinda judging her for not keeping her TP stash in the bathroom. Maybe there's no room for it, but you'd think an engineer could make room so they don't end up in that tricky situation.

Does NASA know Margo lives at the office? Do they care? How many vending machine sandwiches does she eat a day?

Not enough Ellen so far. Not enough Pam either. Though I know that Pam isn't gonna be around often, so at least my expectations are set. But it's still disappointing that they chose to send her away and give Karen control of the outpost instead of letting Pam stay there which would have kept her in Ellen's orbit 🥁

[starplusfourletters]

for all mankind s3

DID FOR ALL MANKIND JUST SAY HARAMBE

I would say Molly should make her own NASA, with blackjack and hookers, but tbh I guess that’s what Helios is

Which writer’s bright idea was it to have two characters with homophonic names and then PUT THEM ON THE SAME MISSION

The extent to which Aleida IS B’Elanna Torres (but like, done right? Maybe?)

Jeez what is it with Danny. Every other character is a trainwreck \pos and he’s a trainwreck \neg. Hrrrrrrrgh

If I had a nickel for every time Danielle told Ed that a Stevens was not fit for a mission

Oh nooooooooooo Margo girlbossed too greedily and too deep

SEA SHANTIES? This show really does have everything

The worst part of being in the 90s is that I don’t get the music references anymore

KAREN AND WAYNE A THOUSAND SEASONS

COULD SOMEONE PLEASE PUT DANNY OUT OF ALL OF OUR MISERY

WALTZ! WALTZ! WALTZ! Except I’m only invested in one of the characters! But still WALTZ!

YOU BROUGHT A WHOLE FUCKIN HOTEL BUT ONLY ONE M-SAM????

I would like everyone to know that “Mars pregnancy” WAS actually on my bingo card

ELLEN. ELLEN PLEASE. WHY ARE YOU HAVING SENSITIVE CONVERSATIONS IN A ROOM YOU KNOW IS TAPPED BECAUSE YOU ARE THE ONE TAPPING IT. ELLEN I EXPECT MORE FROM YOU

I’ve been thinking this for like two seasons but does Ellen give anyone else Padme Amidala vibes? Maybe it’s just the physical resemblance. Maybe it’s the meteoric rise to political power that hits a brick wall at about a million mph and also a marriage that is Complicated TM.

WHERE THE FUCK IS MOLLY IN THIS SEASON

Ed’s Crazy Eyes are everything to me

I feel like “being launched into Mars orbit strapped to a glorified go-cart” would not improve your preeclampsia symptoms but I’m not a medical doctor

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY. FUCK. I HATE THIS SHOW.

I realize that half these characters are My Favorite Characters. However, they killed my Actual Favorite Characters and I am inconsolable. (Except for the Actual Favorite Characters who yet live.)

Oh good I’m sure solitary confinement will make Danny Better

I apologize to my upstairs neighbors. However, FUCK.

[avelera]

So I spent the weekend watching “For All Mankind” on Apple TV with my love, and had a few thoughts:

- I think I would have watched it much sooner if I’d known it was created by Ronald D. Moore of “Battlestar Galactica” (reboot), “Outlander” (though I haven’t seen it), and DS9 fame. It definitely made the fact that Apple made this particular show make more sense.

- I somehow completely missed what the premise of the show actually was from the little marketing I saw for it. I think I clocked it as some sort of atomic age sci-fi adventure story but really it’s about the Space Race and it’s a whole alternate US history of what would have happened if the USSR got to the moon first and made the US spiteful enough to keep competing with them there.

- It’s basically a whole alternate history of the 1960s-90s (so far) and does a fair number of interesting and plausible alterations of the timeline.

- IMO the story is at its best when it cleaves closest to reality and makes you go, “Oh yeah, sure, that could easily have happened!” If only because then when they do make bigger leaps you can see how they’re grounded.

- The story is also at its best with its character stories. In particular Margo, Aleida, Molly (and Wayne, my beloved), and even surprisingly Karen after the first season arc really deal in a lot of pathos and I got choked up over them more than once.

- The show does a good job of showing the personal things going on in a character’s life and the struggles they’re going through before and during major history-altering decisions they make. In that sense, it’s a very empathic show AND it builds a good causal chain for why some of these events happen. You almost always at least understand why a certain decision was made.

- That doesn’t mean you AGREE with every decision. By the time we got to S3, my chorusing cries of, “GURRRRLL NO” and “OH BUDDY, NO” respectively had become a familiar chant.

- There were one or two plotlines and decisions I disliked (mostly because they struck me as cliche, like Kelly’s in S3, or a bit culturally questionable even if they made sense thematically, like lauding the US pilgrims in one of the S3 voiceover monologues which makes SENSE because the show’s about exploration but also… no. Eh. Maybe pick a group a little less steeped in religious zealotry and colonialism, much as I understand their mythological place in the broader American zeitgeist, and how colonialism and exploration ARE hard to extricate when addressing broader themes AND since no life has been discovered there (yet), space exploration doesn’t carry the same controversy around those aspects of colonialism, and I get how as a writer of a space exploration show, you’re trying to address the spirit of daring and all but…. Yeah. It’s tough to find good parallels to wax poetic about without stumbling upon some complex legacies, shall we say)…

- BUT I will say as a writer that they made up maybe 10% at most of the show which is an objectively very small part of such a sweeping and ambitious narratives and I liked a lot more than I disliked.

- I don’t know if EVERYONE will like it but I do think it’s a solid sci-fi show that I find much more enjoyable and solidly written than, say, “Silo” and one with a great answer to the “so what?” of the story with its couching in the great events of the latter half of the 20th c and it’s intimate focus on well-depicted and complex characters.