#FishTankweek

[anthemode]

Sketching

"Make sure I look coolest, great painter!!"

"Unfortunately, I'm a realist. Stay still."

[whatgaviiformes]

FishTank Week 2024! - May 12-18

Well, you all asked for a rinse, repeat, and most of you wanted prompts ASAP, so welcome again to FishTank Week, 2024 edition! We had such a fun time last year bringing out all our yellow and green and fiiiiish and music. I hope 2024 brings new ideas, new inspiration, and always all the FishTank things.

FishTank? Yes, Fishtank, the name we use in the thunderfam for the brother relationship of Virgil and Gordon. Brotp for some, but otherwise still so fun to explore anyway!

When is FishTank Week? This year it'll run from Sunday May 12th through Saturday May 18th. The significance of the week? Loosely calculated as the day between their birthdays, but honestly any excuse 💚💛

How do I celebrate FishTank Week? Like last year, we are releasing a series of prompts (see below). If they inspire you to write or create art, you can choose to post those on the exact day or anytime that week. Fic, Reblogs, Recs, and Art are welcome and appreciated all week long. Anything's welcome, so don't forget mood boards, music, head canons. Whatever you can think of!

We'll be active that week as well reblogging, and with some QOTDs and daily posts reminding of the prompt(s).

I'm not interested in FishTank: *hugs* totally fine. Our tags this year will be #fishtankweek and #fishtankweek2024 if you want to block them.

Questions: Reblog, comment, or you are also welcome to reach out to me directly.

Thanks to @emtb319 and @idontknowreallywhy for collaborating this year. And @gumnut-logic for letting me use a daily dose screen shot for the below.

Prompts - we've added some options within the prompts and some alternates for you to use as you like. Inspiration is the goal, and the only guideline is FishTank. The others can make an appearance too. We won't make you clean TB 4 for having a wayward Tracy, Kyrano, Creighton-Ward, or others around for the fun. But definitely Virgil and Gordon.

12: Wingman

13: At the... Orchestra | Art Museum | Aquarium

14: Brothers Relaxing

15: "We're a team, always" | "Did you doubt me?"

16: Comfort Food | Food on the go

17: Memories

18: Pranks

Alts: Love and Laughter | Along the Coastline

Good luck fish wrangling, and happy creating!

See you on the 12th,

Gavii 💚💛

[emtb319]

This has been a lot of fun. @whatgaviiformes Thank you!!!

‘Mail’s here,’ Gordon announced to the house.  He and Grandma had just returned from a supply run.  ‘Hey Virg, box for you.’

‘Thanks Gords,’ he said, taking it from his hands and setting it aside.

‘What is it?’

‘None of you concern Gordon, just a little something that I needed.’

‘It’s pretty light,’ Gordon answered, trying to get an answer to his question.

‘Yes it is.  What’s your point?’

‘You know that I’ll just keep asking until you tell me, right?’

‘Bye Gordon’, Virgil said as he grabbed his coffee and left with his box.  Throughout the next few days, Gordon tried to sneak a peek at the box, but Virgil kept it too close to see what it was.

‘What could possibly be in that box,’ Gordon murmured under his breath.  He even resorted to asking Eos if she knew, but if she did, she refused to tell him.  By the 4th day, the box was still unopened and driving him batty.  ‘You’d think that he would have opened it by now.’  Gordon didn’t realize that anyone had approached him as he continued to mumble to himself.

‘Gordon…Earth to Gordon.  Time to go little brother, we need 4.’

‘Oh, ok.  Let’s go Virg.’  While on their mission, he forgot about the box.  The next day presented Gordon with his opportunity.  Virgil was called away and left the box on his work bench.

‘Ooooo, time to see what his big secret is.’  Gordon was giddy with excitement, he would finally know.  He opened the box, stopped, laughed, and sent his big brother a text message.

A piece of string, really?….you got me.  A few hours later, Virgil was done with his callout and gave him a quick reply.

Pull the string.

Virgil, even I know better than that.

Really?  Then why are you covered in glitter? I really don’t want to talk about it.  Virgil laughed so hard that he nearly fell out of his pilot’s seat.

[mrmustachious]

Fishtank Week 2024

I've written a lot of fishtank over the years, so for fishtank week here are a bunch of fics I've written for you to peruse and get your fill of the two best bros :D

Shaky Hands - Rescues didn’t always go as planned.

Human Shield - Virgil thinks Gordon is an idiot. Gordon just thinks he's a good brother.

Shackled - Rescues are hard when evil lies around every corner.

Unconscious - Sequel to Shackled. Virgil gets worried when there's no sign of Gordon, so he goes investigating.

Stitches - “I think you’re going to need stitches.”

Secret Injury - Gordon’s hurt, but Virgil needs him. He can set aside his own injuries if that’ll mean his brother is safe, right?

Fever - Gordon and tonsillitis.

Don’t Hold Your Breath - Gordon woke up trapped, underground, and running out of air.

Grow Up Fast - He thought that he was being helpful, that an older brother was supposed to protect a younger one from harm, but maybe doing so just made everything worse. Prompt: “I'm not a kid anymore so stop treating me like I am."

Out of Control - Something was wrong with his brother, Virgil just didn't know what.

All Trussed Up and Still Nowhere to Go - Virgil couldn't remember what had happened, but he knew one thing for sure. He wasn't going to let anyone hurt his brother.

My Spidey-Sense is Tingling - A rescue involving a chemical spill soon leads to some unexpected consequences.

Coughing Up a Lung - Gordon woke up this morning suffering from a cold. At least, he thought it was just a cold...

That’s Where the Blood’s Supposed to Be - A sea quake leads to a concussed brother and Virgil having to pilot a ship that isn't his.

Hide & Seek - After being captured, Virgil and Gordon know that if they have any chance of surviving, they must find their own way to escape.

You Will Go Down With This Ship - Gordon decides to take a walk around the island, but he never intended to end up stuck and injured in a hole with a storm looming overhead.

Six (or more) Feet Under - The ground slipped out from under him, and then a white blanket swallowed him whole.

More Than This - Gordon had dreams and plans for the future, but then one fateful day it all came crashing down. Plans changed, for both him and his family, and now nothing was the way it was meant to be.

Crushed Metal - Hanging your brother above a giant machine that was out of control would have its consequences.

Shrapnel - How did Gordon escape unscathed whilst the Mechanic tried to crush his ship with him inside? Maybe that's because he didn't.

Get Out of My Head - Virgil hurts Gordon in the worst way imaginable.

Disappearance - liesorlife requested: How about disappearance with Gordon

Artist AU - onereyofstarlight requested: Artist AU looks fun and Virgil is the obvious pick - maybe an AU where Kip Harris is an artist instead of a firefighter and Virgil's about to meet his No. 1 Art Hero?

Comforting Hug - Gordon and a therapy dog.

Loss of Sight - It seems like whoever led them into this trap wasn't done with them yet.

Over-the-Shoulder Carry - Gordon's an idiot, but what's new?

Trying to Wake Them Up - Virgil's hurt and won't wake up, so it's up to Gordon to get help.

Hair Matted with Blood - Virgil and Gordon want to spend some quality time together.

Animal Attack - Whilst out chasing rumours of a beast that lives out in the woods, Virgil and Gordon get more than they bargained for. Supernatural AU

Going into Shock - Quite often after a rescue, they were showered with gifts. However, not all gifts were wanted.

[gumnut-logic]

His giggle was infectious.

His little brother leapt from rock to rock, darting to peer into every pool he encountered, several times exclaiming at his discoveries and nattering off some long Latin name that meant absolutely nothing to Virgil. How one mollusc differed from another was something for a biologist to decide, not an artist.

Of course, every now and again, a shell would be shoved in his face, and the colours would catch his eyes. Virgil would take the shell, listen to the babbling, and stare at the pinks and oranges, calculate what he could do with those colours and then surreptitiously slide the found object into his pocket.

His pocket was clinking as he walked over the rocks.

The crab that was shoved in his face was a whole different kettle of crustacean. “Hey, Gords, c’mon, I want to keep my nose attached to my face.”

“Virg, it’s only a common rock crab. And a little one at that.” The so called common bearer of claws waved them in anger at Virgil.

“Yeah, well, can you put it back where it belongs? It looks ticked off at your interruption of its day.”

His little brother crouched back down at the edge of a larger rock pool and returned the crab to its hidey-hole.

They were on holiday.

Well, technically on holiday. Dad was still working and had disappeared for the day, leaving Scott in charge. The terrible two had immediately taken advantage of that fact and proceeded to make everyone’s life hell.

Before his eighteen year old brother could blow a fuse, Virgil had intervened and offered to take ten year old Gordon down to the shore for some rock pooling. It was an activity Virgil could tolerate, even enjoy, and it separated the synergy of the two youngest.

The relief in Scott’s eyes had been worth it.

No doubt, either Scott or John would be having the pleasure of setting up Alan’s backyard rocket set at this very moment.

Hopefully Scott, otherwise John would be adapting the mechanics and the silly thing would actually reach orbit, never be seen again and the wailing from their youngest would last the rest of the weekend.

But shells, crabs and the occasional anemone was Virgil’s concern at the moment.

The coastline was some kind of limestone and consequently peppered with holes for the receding tide to leave trapped sea creatures behind.

A sudden yell of “Sand goby!” and Virgil was dragged over to see a tiny fish barely two inches long and the same colour as the sand it was sitting on staring up at the two of them.

“I saw them darting about, but this one is the first to stay still enough. Look at those eyes!”

Looked like a tiny lizard of the sea.

Gordon touched the surface of the water and the fish disappeared in a cloud of displaced sand.

“Look how fast they are!” A glance at his brother and he found him literally buzzing with excitement.

“When we get back to the house, you can look it up. Did you get a photo?”

Gordon grinned up at him, brandishing the camera in his hand. “Yep. Wait until I show, Scotty.”

Virgil snorted. Scott knew even less than Virgil about ocean fauna, but he would love to see Gordon so excited.

Scott was a sucker for happy brothers.

As Gordon scampered over to the next rock pool, Virgil had to admit he quite enjoyed seeing Gordon like this, too.

“Woah! Virg, come look at this!”

Rolling his eyes, Virgil straightened and followed obediently, stepping from outcrop to outcrop to crouch beside his almost vibrating brother.

Gordon was pointing at a rock.

“What am I looking at, Gordon. All I see is rock.”

“Watch this.” Gordon stuck a finger into the water and prodded the ‘rock’.

It lit up in bright blue rings.

Now, Virgil didn’t know much about sea life, but he did know about this particular life form.

He grabbed Gordon’s arm and Gordon himself and yanked him away from the rock pool. Unfortunately, that unbalanced the both of them and they promptly fell into the rock pool next door.

Considering what they had just encountered, Virgil was none too happy about this state of affairs and, spluttering, staggered to his feet, dragging his protesting little brother as far away from the offending puddle of water as he could.

“Virgil! What? Why? Lemme go!”

“Gordon, you know exactly what that is. Why the hell did you touch it?!”

“It won’t hurt me! And it is amazing. Lemme go! I’ve never seen one before and I want to look at it some more!”

“You are not going anywhere near it. In fact, we are getting off this beach right now!”

“Aww, Virg, c’mon! It won’t hurt us!”

“It’s a blue-ringed octopus Gordon! It bites you, you’re dead!”

“It’s not going to bite me!”

“It looked angry enough after you poked it. Why the hell did you poke it?”

“Uh, to see the rings? It’s amazing.”

“It’s a deadly octopus!”

“God, Virg, get over it. I know what I’m doing.”

“Yeah, well, I know what I’m doing and I’m taking you back to the house where you can explain to Scott exactly what you were doing.”

“Aww, Virgil, please. I thought you were the cool one. The one who understood.”

Virgil blinked. “What?”

And his brother sagged before him. “I thought you understood.”

“Understood what?”

“How much fun this is.”

A frown and Virgil’s heart slowed a little. Gordon’s head had dropped and he was looking at the ground. “Gordon?”

“You, Virgil. All the others just talk about planes and space and flying. You’re the only one who listens to me when I talk about this stuff.”

His frown deepened and he reached out a hand and placed it on his little brother’s shoulder.

“I’m always the odd one out. Everyone else wants to go to the military museums, not the natural history museums. You always stand up for me and come with me. I know you don’t like it as much as I do, but you help.”

Okay, so his little brother knew how to get into his heart and twist it. Of course, this was Gordon and the little rat had his ways, but the honesty on his face was plain and it got inside Virgil’s softy sixteen year old heart.

Virgil sighed. “Okay, I get it. You have a point.” Though he had to admit, Virgil had dragged Scott through a number of art museums in the past. The boredom on his brother’s face had been epic, but Scott had done it for him.

A sigh. “I’ll make you a deal. No prodding deadly wildlife. You take note and step out of harm’s way. For both your health and mine.” And the rest of the family’s.

Russet brown eyes caught the sun and literally bloomed in excitement. His brother’s innate bouncing resumed. “Deal!”

Virgil rolled his eyes and let his brother go. Gordon didn’t give him a chance to change his mind and darted off towards the nearest rock pool.

He stood there and watched his little brother dart from pool to pool and after a moment, before he could get too far away, resumed his unhurried stroll down the beach with him.

He did understand his little brother and he appreciated his fascination with all things sea and he would help him reach those places that he loved.

Latin bounced down the beach towards him and Virgil grinned.

Ten minutes later. “Ooh, look, Virg, it is just like a miniature box jellyfish!” 

Wha-?

Virgil ran.

-o-o-o-

If you are interested in what Gordon found have a look here. And yes, I have encountered them and been stung by them. Rather unpleasant :D

[sailing-on-a-puddle]

A contribution to FishTank week on the prompt at the Aquarium.

These are my photos from 2015 of a knitted aquarium! It was in the Maritime Museum in Jersey, Channel Islands. It's still there according to their website. I've read a few things where Virgil and Gordon were crafty and even specifically knitted fish so I like to think they made this eventually 😊

[alexthefly]

FishTank Week reblog!! 🎉💛💚

Snakes on a Thunderbird

For @godsliltippy for TAG MiniBang 2023 (@tagminibang)

Inspired by this adorable piece of Fishtank art here. (@tippystreasurebox)

Trigger warning for snakes. Also brief mention of animal neglect, plus some minor whump and peril.

As Virgil went through his post-flight checks, Gordon twisted and revelled in the several satisfying pops his back made. 

“Oh god, that is so much better! Want me to crack yours for ya, Virg?”

There was a grumble of disapproval from his right. 

“I’ll pass thanks. Hearing yours was an experience in itself. In fact…” 

His brother reached over and snagged the small metal box Gordon had been carrying on his lap. 

“...perhaps I’d better take that before you do yourself any more damage.”

Gordon rolled his eyes and snatched the box back with perhaps just a little too much snap.

“Right Virgil(!) ‘Cos hauling passengers and crates off of a sinking ship was fine, but this last hundred yards to the rescue centre is where things gets really tricky(!)”

The rescue hadn’t really been all that bad physically. The crates in question had been lighter than expected, though that was because apparently properly feeding the various animals inside had clearly not been much of a priority for the smugglers on board; about as high as safety and ship maintenance had been. And although Gordon’s back was definitely starting to twinge a bit now, he’d have been a lot happier to be a lot achier if it meant those poor creatures had been treated right.

Well, whatever. He’d stayed professional. …Mostly. That Johnny hadn’t mentioned his little brother's prolonged blue streak ricocheting over the comms was likely a sign that he’d felt the same way.

The fact the GDF were already briefed and waiting with an arrest warrant the second they’d touched down was probably another one.

A yellow light broke through his thoughts and dragged him back to the present. He batted the medi-scan away with a grunt.

“Would you quit it, Virg? I’m fine.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

Gordon opened his mouth, ready to deliver a witty yet devastating retort, but then thought wiser of it. Better to just let the big guy get it all out of his system. He'd only worry otherwise, and a worried Virgil was a pain in the backside, especially with the flight home and debrief to get through. He closed his mouth and submitted to the inevitable with a huff.

Virgil for his part stayed quiet too as he completed the scan; once it was done, he continued to look Gordon over with the practised eye of both a medic and a big brother.

“Well, Doctor Virgil? Are you done? Can we go now?”

Another moment of scrutiny. Then: 

“You know today was a good day, right?”

Dammit. The big green angst-detector strikes again.

Gordon really didn’t want to talk about it now.

“Whatever you say, bro.”

“I mean it,” Virgil insisted. “You’ve said it yourself - this shelter is the best. They've got the facilities and the expertise; they’ll take good care of all these guys, big and small. And the GDF will make sure the people that did this get what's coming to them."

“Uh-huh.”

"Gordy, the good guys won. Take the win.”

Honestly it didn’t feel like a win. Not even a tiny one. The memory of all those sad little eyes was too raw. It was going to take a lot for it to fade into the background, and he just didn't have the energy right now. All he wanted was to get everything unloaded, go home, swim ‘til he couldn't think anymore and then crawl into bed and sleep for 12 hours.

"Virg, could we please do the pep talk another time? The shelter staff are waiting for us."

A little frown appeared on his brother's brow, but he sighed and nodded.

"Are they all okay in there?” Virgil asked instead, nodding at the box balancing on Gordon’s dashboard. 

It was an obvious change of subject, but a welcome one. Gordon gave the portable incubator a protective little pat.

“Should be. I candled them earlier and they look good. Not pipped yet, but I think it should be soon.”

He blinked as a sudden thought occurred.

“Actually," he said as he opened the incubator lid and retrieved the covered tray inside, "I’m just gonna check they’ve not been turned mid-flight. I’ve been holding them steady the whole way over, but you never know.”

“I thought you were supposed to turn eggs?” said Virgil with a hint of confusion. He leaned across to watch what Gordon was doing. "Grandpa said it stopped the embryo getting stuck."

“That’s for birds. Snakes are different. All the little veins and stuff are fragile; you flip the egg, the umbilical cord tears away and they die.” 

Gordon gingerly lifted the lid and peered inside. 

"Of course, these guys are almost ready to hatch so I don’t know how much of that appli-”

But the rest of his thought died on his tongue as he lifted the lid and took a look inside.

A beat.

“What?”

“Erm, not sure. Hang on a sec…” Gordon gently slid the eggs to one side of the tray and running his gloved hands very carefully in the sandy substrate below.

"Where are you?" he muttered softly.

"Where's what?" Virgil quickly jumped to his feet, unease radiating from every pore.

"One of the eggs must have hatched in transit," explained Gordon, still rifling through the soft gravel, looking for any flash of movement. "Once the shell breaks they usually take a few hours to come out, but I guess with all the jiggling…"

"Okay, so presumably there should be a snake in there then. Where’s the snake, Gordon?!"

Gordon kept digging, slightly more urgently. 

"Some snakes bury themselves down into the substrate after hatching - it’s a kinda protection thing. They wait there for their first shed, then they come out looking for food."

Virgil reached out gingerly over Gordon's shoulder and picked up the soft and clearly empty egg shell, complete with a neat split down the middle. He held it softly in his hands, turning it over and over as if he might find the wayward snake still clinging to it somewhere.

"Exactly what sort of snakes are these, Gordy?" he asked slowly, deliberately.

"Umm…”

“Gordon!”

“I don’t know! I’m not a snake expert, and you can only tell so much from just the eggshell anyway.” 

He set the tray onto the dashboard and started checking inside the incubator itself, just in case. He could feel heat starting to rise across his cheeks.

“Gords, could it be… poisonous?”

Gordon swallowed back the sour taste in his mouth.

“I don’t know.”

There was a moment of horrible silence as those words sunk in. Of course, the chances of the snake being venomous were slim - only about 10-15% of known species were after all - and in any event their uniforms were designed to withstand pretty much anything, but there was still that tiny sliver of doubt in his mind. Was Brains far-sighted enough to have considered snake fangs as a variable during the testing phase?

Virgil took a step back, eyes darting everywhere, and tapped his wrist controller. 

“I’m not picking anything up. John? Any chance you could run a sweep of the cockpit for… uh… unusual heat signatures?”

“Unusual?” 

John’s projected image leapt out of the dashboard holo’ right in front of Gordon’s face, causing him to almost fall off his chair. 

“What sort of unusual?”

Virgil cleared his throat in a far-too-obviously guilty way. 

“We’ve kind of… misplaced something.”

“O-kaaay… What sort of something?”

Gordon opened his mouth to say… Actually he wasn’t sure what he was going to say, but in any case Virgil got there first.

“Can you just do it please, John?” he asked, brow furrowed. "Now?"

The look John shot them both could have stripped paint, but he turned away and started swiping.

“No unusual readings found,” he said after a few seconds. "Perhaps if I knew what I was looking for…”

Gordon caught Virgil’s eye. Despite his obvious concern about the situation, the big chonk was clearly still trying to cover for him. 

He really was the softest marshmallow.

But as touched as he was, right now the most important thing wasn't avoiding blame; it was finding the snake before anyone got hurt, including the creature itself. There would be time to wriggle out of Scott and John’s inevitable lecture later.

“The signal’s likely very subtle,” he said, drawing John's attention. “He’s cold-blooded, so his core temperature’s gonna be mirroring the immediate environment. Look at components a little below body temperature and check for tiny, unexplained fluctuations.”

“Cold-bl… You lost a reptile?!”

“A snake,” clarified Virgil.

There was a moment while John processed this new information, then he closed his eyes and pinched the top of his nose. 

“Of course it's a snake(!)” He sighed. “EOS? Did you catch all that?”

EOS’s voice rang through clear over the comms. “Yes, John. Checking now…”

“In the meantime,” said John, “I suggest you put your helmets back on, just to be safe. The less exposed skin you two have the better.”

The brothers nodded. 

Gordon set the incubator down and grabbed his helmet from the dash in front of him, just as EOS brought up a schematic of the cockpit onto the screen in front of him.

“There’s a slight irregularity in temperature around the co-pilot’s control panel, but it’s too indistinct to pin down to a specific component.”

Gordon’s eyes darted all over the dashboard in front of him. 

Where?

Scrabbling to push his chair back and get his helmet on, he vaguely heard Virgil say something about lifting the main cover off the console before he was suddenly distracted by a sharp, stabbing pain in his right cheek, just above the jaw.

“Yeow!”

Virgil was by his side immediately, mediscanner in hand. “What?! What is it?”

Gordon remained in his chair, sitting stock still.

"Don’ scan.”

"What?"

"Don' scan. Th' noise'll scare 'im."

Virgil's eyes went wide.

"Where is it?" he whispered, looking him up and down.

“I’z on m’ face."

“What?!?”

“On. M’. Face. W’z inside th’ helmet.”

Virgil and John exchanged a panicked look.

…Yep.

By rights, Gordon should have been scared. After all, there was a chance he could die here; the little danger-noodle might be pumping deadly venom into him by the second. But surprisingly he wasn’t overly worried about that possibility just now. In fact he felt strangely calm and clear-headed. What was done was done after all, and the priority now was to a) not do anything to make the snake strike again (him or Virgil); and b) get it secured.

“Ah’m gonna slowly r’move th’ helmet," he mumbled, trying not to move his mouth too much. "When y’ see ‘im, grab ‘im c’refully b’hind th’ head an’ unhook ‘im.”

Keeping his head stock still, he looked sidelong at his big brother to check he’d understood. Poor Virg looked pale, but he nodded and shifted into position in front of him, mouth set in a grim line. Behind him, John's face was a picture of worry.

“R'dy?” Gordon asked. 

Virgil nodded, hands poised.

He gave a little blink in lieu of a smile. “Okay."

Deep breath.

"One. Two. ‘Hree.”

And slowly he took off his helmet.

Virgil reached forwards and closed his hand next to his face. Gordon's skin pulled painfully for a moment, then released, leaving a sharp echo across his cheek.  

He exhaled in a big whoosh that seemed to come from his very soul, and raised his eyes to finally look on the thing that had bitten him.

“Scanning for a species match now,” said John urgently as Virgil stepped back, holding the offending creature out at arm’s length. “Cross-matching size, markings and-”

“It’s a Children’s Python!”

“A what?” Virgil asked roughly.

John took a massive breath in. “Oh thank god! Are you sure?”

“Certain,” replied Gordon, finding his feet and bouncing over to look a bit closer, all concern for his safety gone. “We had one as a class pet in 5th grade. Native to Northern Australia. Fantastic pets.”

“I can confirm the identification, John” said EOS. “The species is non-venomous.”

All the remaining colour drained from Virgil's face. He lowered himself down shakily into his chair, arm still outstretched. “Well in that case would someone please come and take this thing out of my hand before I have a heart attack?”

“Oops! Yep, give me one second…” 

Gordon grabbed the tray of eggs and fished out a roll of electrical tape from one of his console drawers. 

“This should keep the lid secure until we can get him into the shelter, at least.”

Gordon reached out and gently took hold of the little snake, who had stopped thrashing around and instead seemed content to curl its body gently around his hand. He took a second to admire its beautiful mottled markings in light and dark brown, and the gentle undulation of muscles pulsing as it moved.

"Hey, little guy."

The tiny snake flicked its tongue at him, tasting the air.

Slowly, gently, Gordon encouraged the snake back in the tray, extracted his hand, and then put the lid on and taped it down.

As soon as the tray was closed, John seemed to deflate like he was the one who’d been punctured.

“Please, for the love of god, don’t ever scare me like that again, okay guys? My cortisol levels can't take it."

"Take it easy John," soothed Virgil as he stumbled over to examine Gordon's cheek. "You sit back and have a float and we'll finish up here." 

He took Gordon by the chin and turned his face to the side. 

"...C'mon Blofeld, let's get you cleaned up."

…

Fifteen minutes later and sporting a natty Baby Shark band-aid on his cheek, Gordon skipped across the animal shelter car park towards the front desk. Alongside him, Virgil carried the now-definitely-sealed incubator. (Gordon had argued it was his privilege as 'the walking wounded’ not to have to carry stuff. Virgil had just rolled his eyes and agreed, muttering something about checking for himself to ensure no more 'jailbreaks'.)

Behind them, a dozen or so vets and other volunteers were unloading the various other crates of animals from Two's hold, checking them over and directing them to their respective enclosures.

Gordon grinned.

"Feeling better now?" asked Virgil, quirking a smile in reply.

He was, in more ways than one. Somehow, staring into the face of that tiny serpent had made him feel a lot more positive about everything. Nature really was amazing. If a baby creature, just out of its egg, could survive and protect itself in a hostile environment like that little one had today, then with a little bit of care he was sure the other animals they'd rescued would as well.

Life was good. He had his health, he had his family, and they’d done good today. 

Suddenly overcome with happiness, he couldn’t help doing a little jumping air punch, earning a low chuckle from his left.

"You were right, Virg. Today really was a win.”

Virgil raised an eyebrow at him. "Not sure I'd quite describe it that way, but if you say so. You did still set a snake loose in my ‘bird, though.”

“Hey, don't blame me! I'm as much a victim as you are. Little Hissy Houdini's a force all of his own.”

A pause. “You named him?”

“Yep! Kinda fitting, don’t you think?”

Virgil’s eyes narrowed. 

"You’re not keeping him.”

Gordon gasped dramatically. 

“Virgil Tracy, I am shocked! I would never-”

“Sully the Gully, Puppy Longstocking, Razorbill Bob, the Swift Family Robinson…”

“...again. Never again.”

“Well that’s just as well then, because I don’t think Scott would appreciate finding this little escapologist in his sock drawer, do you?"

As Gordon contemplated all of the delicious trickster-y possibilities that that image brought up, he stretched and gave his back another series of cracks.

Virgil regarded him coolly. "You sound like a goddamn popcorn maker," he grumbled. "Speaking of, I wonder if the others'd be up for a movie night tonight? I feel like we've earned a bit of down time."

"Sounds good to me," said Gordon, flinging an arm around the big man's shoulders. "And I have the perfect one in mind… You like Samuel L Jackson films, right?"

[anthemode]

Can't hide anything from big bro!

Another mini art for FishTank week. Yes I like the combination of whumpee Gordon and caretaker Virgil...

"Virg, I'm super fine! Let me go to the rescue!”

"Leave it to Scott and Alan. What you need now is a warm bed!"

[whatgaviiformes]

Ficlet: Stillness

A/N: for brothers relaxing, my second submission for FishTank Week. I'm not entirely happy with this one, and I may come back to it to make it better. For now - enjoy

Angst, btw

~*~*~*~*~

The pebble beach was as resonant as ever, water trickling over stone with an effervescent cascade towards the horizon and back again. At water’s edge, Virgil sat upon a larger boulder, his back to Tracy villa, and beside him was his ever reliable co-pilot, staring just as hard towards the place where the sky met the sea. They had found each other here, and Virgil had smiled as he settled in beside him with the same idea: Gordon in search of closure within the caress of life-giving ocean and Virgil on a mission of sound and seascape to erase the terrors lingering in his heart. 

This one hadn’t been kind to them. 

Tap, tap

“Gordon?” Virgil asked. “I mean this in the kindest way possible, but can you take just a minute to stop - for me please?”

Amidst foot-tapping, Gordon suddenly paused and studied him gently, before launching into a new rhythm with his fingers on his knee. “What are you talking about?”

“Ugh!” Virgil scrambled for the tapping hand, holding it like they once did as kids in effort not to lose each other. This time, it was to silence the energy. “Shhh!”

“But I wasn’t making any noise.”

“Just.” He sighed. “Shush, for a moment. This is supposed to be relaxing.” He released Gordon’s hand. 

The water was like breath, ebb and flow. Inhale exhale. And again.

Tap, tap tap.

“Gordon!” 

“Sorry! I don’t know what you want from me.” The younger man shrugged, the expression of “and I was here first” apparent, but unspoken. 

“I want you to be still for once!”

Virgil got his wish as Gordon clamped his lips tight, shifting to swing his arms around his knees in effort to keep his subconscious movements minimized. Finally in silence, Virgil closed his eyes, as he offered his memories to the tide. The stress coiled in his shoulders, pressing into his heart and stifling the movement of his lungs slowly eased, and in the waves he found his breath again. 

Expelled into tense silence. 

“Sorry, that was harsher than I meant it,” Virgil apologized. The figure beside him was stiff and still and vacant. “Are you ok?”

Gordon nodded mutedly, one hand clasping his opposite wrist, while his free fingers fluttered rhythm in the air, ghosting across his knee. The small position broke Virgil's heart. 

“Thank you,” he whispered, closing in to hug him around the shoulders. “I needed that.”

“I know.”

He squeezed harder; he wanted Gordon to feel how much he meant it.

 “Virgil, I-” 

“You what?” He released him part of the way leaving a hand on his shoulder in encouragement for him to look up as Gordon dropped his gaze back down to the waterline. 

“I-?” His voice was as quiet as a secret. “It’s not relaxing to me.”

“The quiet?”

“Yes? No?” 

“Gordon?”

“It’s the stillness, Virgil,” he admitted, resigned. “I don’t find being still all that relaxing. Would you?” he challenged. “If you were me?” 

His hurt thundered in Virgil’s ears. Not all of it from the present. Most of it was too recent to be considered distant-past, but too painful to be anything other than a time they used to know. A challenge once impossible, now overcome and part of history. It was all too easy for Virgil to focus on the here and now. Hell, most of the time Gordon was just as carefree about that too.

He would never take for granted Gordon’s perseverance. 

But he wasn’t the one still living it. And Gordon was good at secrets. Too good, especially with his own. 

“No, Gordon I would never -” Horrified, Virgil shook his head, miserable at the thought of what he’d said, what he’d implied. So far he feels from himself that he didn’t notice earlier, panicking at the knowledge that Gordon was only tight lipped until he wasn’t - until the thing he was holding close to his heart was impossible to ignore. “Is your back injured?!” 

“No.” Gordon shrugged him off, irritated. “No more than normal anyway.” 

“I’m sor-”

“Stop. I didn’t tell you to guilt you. For the record your worrying doesn’t help me relax either.” 

“So what does?” And this time when Gordon didn’t answer, Virgil got the message, quieting the questions stirring within him until Gordon was ready to share more, and at Gordon’s pace. 

After a beat, he shared, eyes empty as he stared out to sea. “Living. Laughing.” He glanced over at Virgil’s torn expression, “Days like this, I can’t,” his voice broke, “feel alive if I’m still. I just feel trapped.” 

“So move.” Virgil hopped up, careful of the water slick on the rock’s surface as he reached for Gordon’s hand to help him stand. “Here’s our music,” he said, gesturing to the rock and wind and bird call all around them.

Gordon flushed. “Are you sure? You won’t laugh?”

 It was just a sway with the seaspray in the shimmering light of the sun off the ocean, but it made Virgil’s heart dance.

“I feel stupid.”

“But you feel alive.”

“I do.”

“Then, keep dancing.”

[emtb319]

Day 4 of Fishtank week-prompts ‘we’re a team, always’ or ‘did you doubt me?’

Gordon didn’t like to sit still.  Even now, from the couch with his leg in a brace and all, he was trying to walk his biggest brother through the sea sludge that held the escape capsule.  He could hear Scott’s annoyance, but he had to do something to help them.  If only his body would heal faster.

After they successfully recovered the capsule, they busied themselves with its data.  Gordon found himself feeling left out again.  It was a lot of engineering speak to see if they could even recover the data, let alone see and interpret it.  The boredom of healing was only making it worse.

After a particularly restless night, he found himself sitting on a couch overlooking the pool.  He wanted to swim laps, but the braces wouldn’t allow for it.  So, he sat on the couch, stewing.  He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t hear Virgil come into the room or sit next to him.  It wasn’t until stuff was put in his hands did he realize that he wasn’t there alone.

‘We’re running low.  Purple or orange?,’ Virgil asked.

‘Huh?’ was the only response he could utter.

‘We’re running low on our little crochet animals for the kids.'

‘Oh,’ Gordon answered, finally realizing.  ‘Give me the purple please and that white.’  A few hours later, they had a nice handful of little crochet animals.  Virgil got up for a moment to get the stuffing that they’d need to finish them.

‘I know it’s been hard for you Gords.’  Gordon huffed at him.  How could he possibly understand how bad this was for him?  The sitting still, the boredom, watching his brothers go out there to help people while he stayed behind, useless.  Virgil handed him a bag of the stuffing.  ‘We’re a team, always, even if that looks a little different right now.’

‘A little different…Virgil you know that I can’t sit still.  This is driving me crazy.’

‘I know, I know.  I remember when Mom was pregnant with you.  Even then, you didn’t do still.  You used to drive the technicians crazy.  All they wanted to do was measure you, and on top of it all, you tried to make your grand escape, 11 weeks early.’  Gordon chuckled.

‘I remember the stories.  Isn’t there a picture somewhere of me blowing a kiss to my nurses?’

‘Yea, I’ll find it for you.  You still came early and small.  Not even an hour old, you were stealing everyone’s hearts.’  They kept working on their stuffed animals, until John called down.  Virgil and Scott were needed.

‘Go Virg.  Thank you for this, I really needed it.  I’ll have these done by the time you get back.’

‘Thanks Gords,’ Virgil said as he gathered the ones that were done to store in 2.  ‘We can always use more of these.’  Virgil took a moment to grasp his shoulder before leaving.  ‘It won’t be much longer.  You’ll be back in your seat on 2 as my co-pilot soon.  I promise.’

‘I know.  Now go before John starts to worry and be careful.’ ‘I will.’

[gumnut-logic]

Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear 🤣🤣🤣🤣💚💛

Very veeeeeery remotely linked to Day 2’s prompt (blink and you’ll miss it) but here is a bit of a sequel to Inebriated Fishtank… in which they have not entirely ceased to be under the influence…

💛💚💛💚💛💚💛💚💛💚💛💚💛💚💛💚

An enthusiastic steel drum version of ‘Under the Sea’ blared out and Scott slammed his hand on to the comm, eyes still screwed shut… if he didn’t open them he wasn’t awake. And it could have been a butt-call…

He’d never prayed so hard for it to be a butt-call.

“Hey heeeeeeeey Scooooty-McNoodle!!!”

Scott pried an eye open to glare in the general direction of heaven…

“Hello Gordon. Which police station?”

“I am OFFENDEDED ancient brosicle! How could you pres… presufimicate such a thing?”

“You don’t need bail? Then why are you calling me? Go to bed you drunken fool.”

“Ah yea about that… “

‘What about it? Just sleep it off.”

“So… funny story! My fuzzy wuzzy beary pops actually did the whole arrangementing of beds thing.”

Wait.

Scott’s brain clicked up a gear from basic muscle memory to something resembling cognition.

“Gordon where is Virgil?!”

“He’s here!”

“Can I speak to him?”

“Um… noooooooooo”

There were several voices worth of giggling, none of which sounded like Virgil.

“Who’s with you? Where is Virgil?”

“Oh how rude of me over here we got…” There was a clatter and his brother’s voice faded out amongst some more distant giggling before Gordon returned, piercingly loudly:

“Stooopid floor. Anyways here we got Florrie, Alice and Alexi, say hi to Scooter ladies, he’s my biggest olderist bro and he’s even sexier than me and old dribbles here.”

A chorus of “Hi Scooter”

“Gordon! What’s wrong with Virgil?”

“You gotta say hi!”

“Gordon!!”

“You’re being rude! Say hi to the ladies!”

“Hi ladies” Scott muttered.

“NICELY!”

Scott knew an immovable squid wall when he heard it. Fine. He turned up the charm, and the volume, to max.

“Hello ladies!”

“Owie! Geez bro.”

“Virgil, Gordon?!”

“Yeah he’s pretty handsome. Still single too! Sure I can give you his number…”

“GORDON!!”

“Heeeeeeeeey bro. Love you bro. Love all the bros. Specially the grumpy turtle one.”

Scott tried another tack

“I love you too squid, but what happened to the grumpy turtle one?”

“Hezzzz a snooooozy liddle turtle.”

“So he’s in bed?”

“Nooo I toldja he’s here. Say hi Virgie.”

Silence.

“Awww he droolin’”

Scott was beginning to join the dots here.

“Gordon, please tell me Virgil wasn’t trying to match you?”

“I can one hunderb percival tell you that.”

“Would it be true?”

A pause and a definite snort in the background.

“Noooooooooooooooo”

Oh no.

If he’d consumed enough to make Gordon tipsy, there was no way Gordon and three women were going to be able to move the bear. He thought Virgil knew better.

Scott got up and put his trousers on. He could get to Brisbane in a few minutes in One…

There was more giggling and a deep bellowing laugh followed by a grunt.

“Omigosh I’m sorry I can help… gimme his arm… oopsy tha’s ‘is leg.”

More rustling noises.

“Oh I am sooooo bad manners! Scotty you gonna say hola to Juan too, he’s helping.”

“Hola Juan. Gordon, where are you? Do I need to come get you?”

“Naaaaw we goddim Scooteywoo”

“Then why are you calling Squid?”

“Need the bed place.”

“I don’t know where he booked Gords! Stay put I’ll come and get you.”

“Nawwwww I wanna take him to the art tom… tom… tomorning. Art ‘n waffles…. I pinky promised the Virg!”

Scott rested his head against the wall and counted to ten.

“What do you need Gordon?”

“T’get in his phone! I dunno his pass-thing! Need to find the resersermmmnn”

Scott did know it There were a million and one reasons why Gordon did not.

But he could either spill the beans now and take the consequences later, or head out to find them just in time for one or both of them to be sick on his shoes. Or in One. He shivered. No option really.

“Gordon you have to promise not to do anything bad with Virgil’s phone.”

“Yeah yeah I’m a good fishy”

“Gordon, pinky promise me.”

There was a tut and Scott could almost hear the eyeroll.

“I can’t reach your pinky to promise!”

“Fine. Pinky promise Juan then.”

Gordon did a stage whisper

“He doesn’ know a huge lodda English Scoobydoo.”

“Ok err” Scott racked his brains “could you put um, Alex was it? On the phone?”

Gordon huffed.

Rustling.

“Well hello there, handsome, this is Alexi.”

Pushing down the desire to bring about Gordon’s imminent demise, Scott had a sudden brainwave and put the charming voice on again. Yes, giving a total stranger access to his brother’s phone was a risk but less of one than allowing Gordon unfettered access without the security of a pinky promise - generally accepted to be the only law he considered himself bound by.

“Alexi listen carefully, I’m going to give you the passcode. Could you use it to find the reservation then lock the phone again please?”

“Sure, honey.” The reply was breathy. Intimidatingly breathy.

“Ok, you ready?”

“I’m all yours”

Shudder.

“Exclamation mark, eight, one, zero, zero, capital D, lower case Y, exclamation mark; capital F, one, five, lower case H, exclamation mark.”

“Ok honey that worked, I’m in. I’ll get your brothers to their hotel. I’ll leave my number on your brother’s phone just in case you need it later, ok?” She was essentially purring now.

“Oh that won’t be…” Scott paused. He needed all the allies he could get here.

He cleared his throat “That would be lovely, thank you for your help Alexi.”

There was a shriek and more unmistakable giggling as Scott hung up with a wry smile before collapsing back on to his bed and closing his eyes. Good luck Juan and co.

Aa he drifted off he considered how it was a shame Virgil would have to change that one tomorrow.

It was so apt.

💚💛💚💛💚💛💚💛💚💛💚💛💚💛💚💛

[weirdburketeer]

My tiny contribution to #FISHTANKWEEK

A little of my two favourite Thunderbirds at leisure on the island 💚💛🎨🖌️🏊

@gaviiadastra @gumnut-logic @cg29 @godsliltippy @womble1 @flyboytracy @vegetacide and everyone else in this wonderful #Thunderfam who my literally soggy brain won’t let me remember 🤯💚💛#VirgilTracy #GordonTracy #TracyFamily #Thunderbirds #TAG

[whatgaviiformes]

Rather than a QOTD - An activity of the day. Let's make a playlist! Reblog this post with all the songs that evoke FishTank, and why have you made your choices?

V: Oh! I can help with this - we had a few of these last year. I added them to my painting playlist

G: You’re such a sap

V: You’re one to talk. “Time flies by in the yellow and green” lived rent free in your head for weeks, Squid. I remember. John remembers and he’s on Five most of the time. 

G: Yeah, Ok, Mr. “If you dive I will follow.”

Last Years Songs (all links are youtube)

“Dive” by Hot Shade, Mike Perry, Chris James

“Shotgun” by George Ezra

“Brother” by NEEDTOBREATHE (ft. Gavin DeGraw)

 “Don’t Let Me” by Morningsiders

[emtb319]

Fishtank week Day2! Today's prompt is 'At the orchestra/art museum/aquarium'

Scott, Kayo, and Penny had to spend the day dealing with GDF stuff/nonsense.  Alan was up on Thunderbird 5, getting in some needed practice and learning with John.

Virgil was sitting on the floor alongside about 100 kids, with a silly grin plastered on his face.  Gordon was invited to the aquarium that was rehabbing the turtles that they rescued a few months back.  He was having the time of his life.  Gordon jumped on the opportunity to visit his turtles and give a lesson about them to some local schoolchildren.

Gordon showed them all about their habitat, what they ate, and what caused his turtles to need the help of the aquarium staff.  It doesn’t take much to cause them harm.  In their case, it was some plastic rings.  While he continued with his lesson, Virgil made sure to grab some pictures and videos for everyone.

After he was done with his lesson, he took time to answer the kids' questions and chat with them.  Virgil was waiting for him with ice cream in hand.

‘I’m proud of you Gordon.  You were really great with those kids.’

‘Thanks Virg.  The kids were great.  I’m glad you were here today.  I know this isn’t rockets, flying, or engineering stuff.’

‘Of course.  I love watching you do what you love.  Keep doing it.  Keep being you.  I’ll  always be here.’

[whatgaviiformes]

Ficlet: (for FishTank Week)

All I've got in my for the moment is mini scenes, so here's a combo of prompts 1 and 2. :D

“Virg-?”

“No.” Virgil didn’t have the bandwidth for Gordon's Gordonness today. Not while the smudge on Thunderbird Two's wing, which he'd been trying to buff out all morning, was entirely Gordon's fault. See if he ever lets him pilot Two ever again.

“Aww come on, bro. I haven't even said anything yet!” Despite the blatant whine, there was a smile in his words. Which he was ignoring; Virgil was intentionally trying to focus on Two’s paint job. 

Gordon leaned in to intrude on Virgil's space, and he was forced to look at him. Not a hint of remorse, the little shit. 

Heavily, Virgil sighed. “Whatever it is you want, my answer's no.” 

“Two looks fine, Virgil, I’m don’t even see -”

“I do!” 

“Okay, big guns I guess.” Finally, Gordon’s expression cracked, a little too forced to be real. “Tickets to the Phil! Next time we are in the city,” Gordon bargained. His eyes twitched as he offered, “I'll even go with you.” The smile widened, losing no luster, as he pretended he was happy to provide such an option. 

Biting back a grin, Virgil crossed his arms. Considering Gordon couldn't sit still for more than five minutes and would often fall asleep within the first minute of an andante movement, the offer of the symphony was a serious trade indeed. Philharmonic for what, though?  “Ok, I'm listening.” 

“I need a wingman. Hold on, hear me out before you give me that look. There's this lecture…”

Apparently it was not just one lecture, but a series of them over the upcoming weekend. And for all his elusiveness earlier, Gordon had fully buried the lede, considering Monterey asked him specifically to guest speak. Not as International Rescue or the Olympic medalist, but solely based on an article he’d gotten published about dolphin pods and life cycles. 

He knew the one. It was a good article, as researched and thorough as it was approachable. Reading it, he could hear Gordon’s voice throughout, and Virgil knew Gordon thrived in public speaking. A bold thought, but there was a part of him that considered seriously: if Gordon had ever cared enough to try to go after Scott’s job, he probably could’ve done so based on his charisma alone. It was a good thing Gordon valued his own unapologetic authenticity more than the business acumen taught to them by their father. 

Gordon’s had been a different journey. 

Virgil loved that for him, and loved him for it. Much more than a silly paint smudge. 

“Gordon,” Virgil holds up a hand to interrupt him mid-pitch. “You can stop. Of course I’ll go with you to listen to your presentation.” Relief visibly coursed through the aquanaut, and Virgil flicked his microfiber cloth against his chest. “I’m still cashing in on the symphony, though.” 

“That’s fair.”  

“You could’ve just said you wanted company, you know. I would’nt’ve said no.” 

Gordon clapped him on the back, beaming. “Nah, what’s the fun in that? Besides, this is what we do. And I’m getting the better end of the deal, anyway. The show’ll be -  what? - three hours at the most. You’re the one that has to deal with three days of fish,” he squeezed his shoulders, laughing, “and three hours of me fidgeting.”

Virgil groaned. And it wasn’t because of Gordon’s strong grip on his shoulders. 

And just like that, Gordon released his hold and pranced off as quickly as he’d arrived. 

“You’re the worst,” Virgil shouted after him.

Gordon just shimmied away in response.

[emtb319]

My submission for day 1 of Fishtank week. Not sure now much I like it, but I'm sharing anyway.

Day 1 - Wingman

‘Gords, it’s about time you did something,’ Virgil said as Gordon tried to walk away from him.

‘Virgil, not now.  Ok?’  Gordon was not ready for this conversation.  This wasn’t the place nor the time.  He had to think, had to plan.  Virgil caught up to him and swung him around by his shoulders.

‘If not now, when?’, he asked.  ‘It’s obvious that you two love each other and want to be together, but you won’t make the move.’  Gordon sighed.

‘You don’t get it, do you?’  He waited for Virgil to respond, but he didn’t.  ‘Love only goes so far.  What about our homes, our families, our jobs, huh?  Don’t you get it?’  This time Virgil sighed.

‘You think that the next step means her leaving England forever or you the island forever, and neither of you like those options.’  Gordon paused, then he nodded his head.

‘What kind of wingman would I be if I didn’t think of any of that?’

‘Wait what?,’ said Gordon confused.

‘Gordon, what if I told you that Thunderbird 4 could be stationed in England if you want.’

‘How?  We need 2 to transport her.’

‘We need my bird to transport her with a fully stocked pod.  Brains and I have been working on something for you.’  Virgil took out a tablet from his jacket and opened up some schematics for Gordon to see.  ‘Now, do you get it?  You don’t have to give up anything.  You can still man your bird.  You’d be able to fly her anywhere too, and if Penny decides that she wants to relocate to the island instead,’ Virgil paused, bringing up another file on his tablet, ‘we can do this.  There’s plenty of room on the island for everyone.  You guys could have your own home.’  Gordon took the tablet from Virgil’s hands to look it all over.

‘Virgil, I don’t know what to say.’

‘Here,’ Virgil pushed a small box into his hand.  ‘Go get your lady and bring me back a sister in law.’  With that, he shoved Gordon in Penelope’s general direction and watched him walk towards her.