#darkestwolfx

[darkestwolfx]

So TAG meets LOTR... 📚

So what started as a jest has actually become quite an involved conversation! If you haven't seen the original it can be found here: https://www.tumblr.com/darkestwolfx/745511488198967296/goodness-if-this-idea-ends-up-trending-challenge

Now this isn't me saying I will write it by any means, but let's have fun whilst I debate!

I would say let's start with Scott, but I don't think there's much debate at this rate that he's Aragorn

Feel free to open a debate but you challenge @idontknowreallywhy at your own risk and Wolfie is not responsible for any loss of limb 😂

So let's kick things off instead with opinions on the ladies;

And I'll add another poll in a few days time and keep these rolling until we are through everyone 🤣 Let's see what the popular castings are!

[darkestwolfx]

I definitely agree watch both!

As someone who saw the original first - because the reboot didn't exist at that time 😅 - I would be inclined to say the original. I feel that I had a love for the reboot because of how it was brought back. It wasn't trying to be a carbon copy but nor was it impossibly removed from the sentiment of the original. So I think that's something that was done really well despite the changes to effects / CGI some 50 years on

But I don't thinking watching the original 2nd would make any difference. It's not like some shows where the watching order seems necessary to make sense. I think there are different things added in the reboot like EOS that are noticeably different if you watch the original 2nd but it's nothing major that affects viewing

Pretty sure I still have the all the original episodes on my drive if you want a link 😊

Should I watch the original Thunderbirds or do I watch the 2015 reboot first?

[idontknowreallywhy]

Highlighting some most excellent John gifs because we love him too

@astranite just because 🧡

[tsarisfanfiction]

I Just Can’t Wait To Be Free

Fandom: Thunderbirds Rating: Gen Genre: Family Characters: Gordon, Scott

And another fic for @gumnut-logic‘s #irrelief!  The prompt used here is “Any characters – trapped in a lift/elevator” from @darkestwolfx

When Scott gets stuck, Gordon’s the only one around - too bad he can’t stop laughing.

“Stop laughing.”

Scott sounded tired, frustrated, and just about ready to throttle the nearest unfortunate brother – who just so happened to be him – but that didn’t stop Gordon cackling loudly at his eldest brother’s misfortune.

International Rescue had the best rescue gear in the world.  International Rescue had access to some of the best technology in the world. International Rescue currently had one of their operatives trapped in a lift and no-one could figure out how to get him out.

Not that Gordon was trying particularly hard, he had to admit.  If the situation was different, then of course he’d be donning his Rescue Mode and trying to work out the fastest and most efficient method of extraction.  But they weren’t on a rescue, they weren’t even on the mainland – any mainland – and Scott didn’t need to be anywhere in a hurry, so Gordon felt quite justified in cackling at his brother’s current situation.

It wasn’t every day Scott got stuck in his own launch chute, after all.  Luckily, he was returning from a rescue, not the other way around, so there was no real urgency to get him out.  There was the concern that if Thunderbird One’s launch chute was malfunctioning then it would need a complete service before anyone stepped foot in it, and Scott would have to take the long way down to the hangar until it was deemed fit to use again (complete with pulling on his spare uniform by hand, which Gordon did not envy), but that was a concern for later.

Mostly because Scott was still inside, Brains was at a conference the other side of the world with Moffie, and Virgil was still in the air with an ETA of another hour.  Kayo was off doing Kayo-things who knew where, Grandma was still unaware in the kitchen as she conjured up another inedible horror, Alan was with Virgil and John was off-planet.

John and EOS had tried to remotely fix the chute, but it quickly became apparent that it was a mechanical issue, and therefore nothing that could be done by remote control wizardry. An ion wrench was probably the tool for the job, and even if Gordon didn’t have a ban on touching Virgil’s tools (and no-one went near Brains’ without strictest supervision), fixing errant launch tubes was rather different to repairs on a submarine.

Hey, they all had their specialities.  Gordon’s just happened to be not this.

So, really, there was nothing for Gordon to do except sit and laugh as Scott growled at him from the other side of the false wall.  He’d even offered to stream Into The Unknown to Scott’s comm to relieve his boredom until Virgil got back, but that had been rejected.

Virgil had been alerted to the situation, at least.  He’d told Scott that he was hurrying back and had got an irritated snipe at the sluggish speed of Thunderbird Two in response.  Not Scott’s smartest move – a private message to Gordon had informed him that if Scott was going to be like that then he could wait because Virgil was certainly not going to push his beautiful ‘bird for the sake of an ungrateful brother who was at no risk of harm except to his ego.

Hence the hour ETA.

Scott was too smart to not realise that was not Two’s top speed, but no apologies had come out from the chute – Gordon knew those would come later, once he was free and no longer stressed out from being trapped in a small area for who-knew-how-long.  Scott wasn’t claustrophobic, not by any means, but there was always something about being stuck in a place with no way out that got to people.

They’d all done enough cave-in rescues or similar to know that one.

That was why Gordon was laughing.  It might annoy the heck out of his brother, but as long as he could hear a voice, Scott knew he wasn’t alone, hadn’t been left there.  Gordon might not be able to get Scott out, but he could make sure he knew he hadn’t been forgotten.

Oh, Scott would never thank him for it, of course.  Scott had a heavy dislike for being mocked, and there were other ways he could have made his continuous presence know – his usual methods of calming rescuees on missions, light-hearted banter and stories – but hey, he was a younger brother.  He had a duty to be irritating sometimes.

“Gordon, your Ed impression is not helping.”

Gordon stopped laughing immediately, squinting at the (currently not) swivelling fake wall between him and Scott.

“Did you just make a Lion King reference?” he demanded.  He knew Scott liked pre-millennium movies, and the Lion King, despite its lack of anything space or plane related, had always been a family favourite. They’d seen it several times on family movie nights.  

Was it his imagination, or was the answering silence a little apprehensive?  “Scoooooootty.”

Silence continued to answer him, and a hyena-like grin slowly spread across his face.

“Iiiiiii’m gonna be a mighty king,” he started, leaning his back against the wall just next to the rotating section.  “So enemies beware!”

“Gordon,” Scott complained.  He just laughed.

“Come on, Scott,” he encouraged, before singing the lines again.

“No.”

“You can do Simba’s part instead?” he offered.

“No.”

“Scoooooott.”

“No.”

Well, if he wanted to be a spoilsport…

“I’m gonna be a mighty king,” he repeated again.  “So enemies beware!”  Then he deepened his voice.  “Well, I’ve never seen a king of beasts with quite so little hair!”  Too deep.  Ah well.

“I’m gonna be the main event, like no king was before!  I’m brushin’ up on lookin’ down; I’m workin’ on my ROAR!”

Still silence from the chute, so he cleared his throat and tried another pitch.

“Thus far, a rather uninspiring thing.”

That was better.

“Oh, I just can’t wait to be king!”

Ah, now this was going to get a little tricky solo.  He cleared his throat again.

“You’ve rather a long way to, young master, if you think-  No-one sayin’ ‘do this’-”

“Now when I said that…” Scott’s voice finally broke through the sullen silence the other side of the wall and Gordon allowed himself a victory punch.  He knew Scott wouldn’t be able to stay silent the whole time. Little brother’s intuition.  He lifted his voice higher for Nala’s line.

“No-one sayin’ ‘be there’!”

“What I meant was…”  It sounded rather like Scott was taking out his exasperation through Zazu.  Well, it was in character.

“No-one sayin’ ‘stop that’!”

“What you don’t realise…” Gordon hoped John was recording this. Oh who was he kidding, of course he was.

“No-one sayin’ ‘see here’!”

“Now see here!”  That sounded familiar.

“Free to run around aa-all day!”

“Well, that’s definitely out.”

“Free to do it aall myyyyy waaayyyy!”  Gordon finished the section with a blemish, and quietened, waiting.  Question and answer phrases were one thing, but there was no guarantee that Scott would continue into the next section.

Big brother didn’t disappoint.

“I think it’s time that you and I arranged a heart to heart.”

Gordon’s hyena-grin settled into something more genuinely pleased as he picked up the answer, tapping lightly on the false wall for emphasis.

“Kings don’t need advice from little hornbills for a start!”

“If this is where the monarchy is headed count me out!” Scott barked, answering knocks in time with the words.  “Out of service, out of Africa, I wouldn’t hang about!  This child is getting wildly out of wiiing!”  Scott was no Virgil – none of them were – but he could hold a tune when he put his mind to it.  With nothing else to do except knock on his side of the wall to emphasis certain words (and Gordon was fairly sure the ‘child’ he was actually thinking of was not a certain fictional lion cub, but maybe an annoying but lovable squid instead), now was a perfect time to put his mind to it.

“Oh I just can’t wait to be king!” Gordon replied.  “Everybody look left!  Everybody look right!”  He whipped his head around, even though there was no-one there to- oh, hello John!  He gave his older brother a cheeky wave, and got an eyeroll for his trouble although the spaceman stayed mercifully quiet. “Everywhere you look I’m, standing in spotlight!”

“Not. Yet.” Scott answered, biting it out in a perfectly-Zazu fashion, and Gordon grinned triumphantly at John before launching into the choral line.  To his absolute delight, Scott joined in.

“Let every creature go for broke and sing!  Let’s hear it in the herd and on the wing!  It’s gonna be King Simba’s finest fling!”

“Oh I just can’t waaaaaaiiiit… to be kiiiiiiiing!” Gordon finished with a flourish.  In front of him, John shook his head and vanished, maybe to report to Virgil.  Or maybe to explain to Grandma what her grandsons were doing.

“Are you satisfied now?” Scott asked.  He sounded a little less stressed, which Gordon counted as a win, especially as the entire operation had taken less than five minutes, and Thunderbird Two was still nowhere near landing.

Fifty-five more minutes to fill before Virgil and his ion wrench came to the rescue.

“No way, Scotty,” he drawled, settling back against the wall again and ignoring the murderous silence. “What next?”

“No.”

So it was back to that was it?

“Hakuna Matata,” he drawled, and heard a sigh of resignation behind him.  “What a wonderful thing.”

By the time Virgil finally arrived an hour later, freshly showered and clearly in no hurry to rescue their brother, although he was dutifully carrying his toolbox, Gordon had dragged Scott through every movie duet he could think of and then some.

It was a dishevelled eldest brother desperately wanting a shower of his own that eventually found freedom, but a smiling one.

[louthestarspeaker]

Wheelhouse

Here is my first contribution to @gumnut-logic ‘s wonderful IR Relief challenge. I combined the prompts “John and Penny being close friends (bonus if there’s a suspicious Gordon in the background)” from @eos-in-orbit and “Any characters – trapped in a lift/elevator” from @darkestwolfx . 

Summery: John steps up to the plate and out of his comfort zone when he offers to go to attend a meeting in Scott’s place. He’s hoping for a simple straightforward evening, but when is anything ever that easy?

John fiddled with the cufflinks on his suit sleeves. Should he not have worn them? It felt like he was being too formal. He should have asked for another second opinion besides Grandma- she always liked to see him and his brothers all dressed up.  

John was standing in the lobby of a fancy hotel in London, the chosen site for a business transaction between Tracy Industries and a potential partner, waiting by the door for Lady Penelope, who was to help him negotiate.

FAB1 rolled up in front of the hotel, the bright pink in sharp contrast with the stormy weather around it. Parker hurried around to open the door for Penny, holding an umbrella above her head until she was safely under the awning, before heading back to park, valet’s not to be employed for obvious reasons.

John smiled as Penny entered, wearing a cream colored pantsuit and long pink overcoat, her eyes widened in surprise as she caught sight of John. It’d been quite some time since they’d seen each other in person. 

“John! Oh, I’d hug you but I’m soaked. Umbrella’s can’t do much in that wind, I’m afraid.” 

John reached forward for a quick hug anyway. “It’s just water. Besides, it’s nice to have a little weather after coming down from the office.” 

Penelope shook her head. “Speaking of ‘the office’, what are you doing here? Not that I’m not delighted, but wasn’t Scott supposed to be coming?”

John smiled ruefully. “He’s had a bad day, I’m filling in for him.”

“Oh dear, he’s not hurt, is he?”

“No, he’s alright. But you can hardly expect him to play the part of the billionaire business tycoon after spending most of the day rescuing Lemaire.”

Penny hummed in understanding. “Hits a bit too close to home, does it?” 

She laughed at John’s silent nod and flat look, hooking her arm through his and pulling him into a walk. “Trust me, darling, you’re nothing alike. Now we’d best be going, Parker said he’d meet us upstairs. It doesn’t reflect well to be late to your own party.”

“Hardly a party, Pen.” John muttered. Penny glanced up to see John eyeing the people eyeing them. A Tracy or a Creighton-Ward was enough to garner attention on their own, together they attracted the eyes of most everyone in the lobby.

Penny winced internally at John’s obvious discomfort. As much as she’d tried to pull him out of his shell, he still detested the attention. 

“You didn’t want to send Virgil instead?” She asked gently. “I know you don’t care for this sort of thing.”

John shrugged. “You know Virge. He’s more R&D.” 

Brokering a business deal was kind of out of his little brother’s wheelhouse. Out of John’s wheelhouse too actually. He was more the numbers guy, and the great thing about being the numbers guy was you could do it all remotely from your space station twenty-two thousand miles away, or from your private island that might as well be just as far. 

John sighed, finding himself pulling at his sleeves again. Scott really was better at all of this. Did Scott ever wear cufflinks?

“Stop that, John.”  

“Stop what?” He asked, jumping out of his head.

She eyed him with a look saying ‘you know exactly what’. “You’re brooding again.” 

“What? I don’t brood.” He said, hitting the call button for the elevator so he didn’t have to look her in the eyes. “I… ruminate.”

“Whatever you want to call it doesn’t change the fact you need to stop. You are more than capable of heading this meeting.”

John shook his head ruefully. “If you say so, Pen.”

“I do say so, and don’t even think of trying to argue with me, John Tracy.”

John let out a laugh at this bit. 

As if he’d ever stand a chance…  Penny was an excellent negotiator, a talent that served her well- and often-  in her line of work. And was one of the many reasons never to start an argument with her.

“Wouldn’t dream of of it, Pen-”

A loud clap of thunder interrupted him, and the lights buzzed before flickering off completely. Leaving the lobby, and it’s occupants, in the dark. 

“Well. This is rather unfortunate.”

Penn’s remark was one of many as the murmuring of the crowd rose in volume and temperament, many using language not nearly as polite as hers. One call rang above the others though, because it was downright panicked.

“My sister’s stuck in the elevator!”

It was a young man standing near them, alarm evident on his face. The manager rushed over, walking quickly but not running, trying to exhibit some control of the situation. “No cause to worry, sir. The elevator breaks have engaged, she’s in no danger.”

“No, you don’t understand, she’s claustrophobic, she’ll be having a panic attack!” The young man said, looking as if he was about to have a panic attack himself. John stepped in then, instinct driving him.

“Hey, take a breath, your sister will be fine.” John assured the young man. He turned to the manager. “Have someone call the fire department, in the meantime we’ll call the elevator. We can see how she’s doing.”

His instructions were carried out without complaint, even if the manager looked a bit put out to be ordered around in his own hotel. But he, like everyone else, recognized John’s seniority in the situation. He wasn’t only the camera-shy Tracy heir, after all. He was International Rescue.

The manager led the small party over to the receptionist desk, followed by no small amount of obvious eavesdroppers, to connect with the elevator phone.

“Hello, Emma, are you there?” The young man, James, asked, his voice shaky.

The empty silence meeting James’ question had John sending Penny a grim look. Silence on the comm lines was never a good sign.

“Emma? Are you there?” James’ voice had risen an octave, and still no answer.

The manager was sweating nervously, having given up all pretense of authority. “What- what do we do?”

John calculated quickly in his head. The fire department was sure to be delayed with the traffic and thunderstorm conditions to contend with, during which time Emma, in the best case scenario, couldn’t catch her breath, and in the worst case, was already passed out- which would slot her with a possible head injury as well. John shook his head. It was hardly a decision at all.

“Where did her elevator stop?”

“Between the third and fourth floors.” The manager supplied.

“Penny, have Parker meet us on the fourth floor.” 

`*`

Parker arrived quickly, toting the leather bag he deemed to be his ‘lucky kit’. Elevator doors were harder to pry open than the movies made them seem, but one well placed ice pick and an impressive round house from Lady Penelope had the door open in moments.

John readied himself for the trip down to the elevator car. As far as civvies went for performing rescues, evening wear probably had to be at the bottom of the list. John removed his jacket, rolled up his shirt sleeves, and pocketed his cufflinks. 

He doubted he’d ever be able to wear the suit again after clambering down the oiled elevator cable, but he’d sure as heck try. Growing up in a Kansas farm house with four rowdy brothers meant he’d adopted his grandmother’s mentality of keeping nice things nice.

John wrapped his hands with strips of cloth- shredded dish towels, courtesy of the kitchen staff. It should help him grip the elevator cable. He stood at the elevator opening, eyeing the ten foot drop before turning back behind him.

“Are you coming, Lady Penelope?” The mission-like atmosphere of the situation had him switching to her professional title.

She shook her head. “Three’s a crowd, darling. I’ll wait here with James.”

John nodded in understanding. Best not to overwhelm Emma with too many people, and her brother seemed to be only just keeping himself from tipping over the edge into hysterics- he could do with Lady Penelope’s calming presence.

With a calculated leap, John jumped into the elevator shaft. He met the cable full on and clutched it tightly- reminded oddly of the rope climbing exercises in a high school gym class. His make-shift hand wraps did their job and John was able to climb down without  too much slipping. He unwrapped his hands from the now shredded material, called a quick okay to Lady Penelope upstairs, then dropped down through the top emergency hatch, landing neatly in the elevator car.

Flicking on a penlight, he illuminated the small space, taking stock of the situation.. Emma stood on shaky legs, slumped against the wall, fingers clutching the silver rail that ran along the length of the car in a white knuckled grip. She was wheezing desperately, and swaying on her feet, but still conscious- always a good thing.

John approached her slowly, not wanting to frighten her further. “Emma? You’re brother sent me. I’m International Rescue. I’m here to help.”

Her eyes darted wildly around at the walls surrounding her, before making contact with John’s. “I c-can’t… can’t breathe-”

“It’s gonna be alright. I’m John, I’m going to stay with you until the fire department comes.” John gently pried her fingers away from the rail and took her elbow,  leading her away from the wall and seating her in the middle of the floor.

John crouched down in front of her, meeting her eyes and directing her to cup her hands around her nose and mouth. “Now breathe in deeply from your stomach. Hold. Breathe out.”

It only took a few repetitions before John admitted to himself it wasn’t working. Emma kept breaking eye contact, and every time her eyes drifted to the walls she choked.

“It’s alright.” John soothed again as it happened for the third time. “Let’s try something different. Close your eyes.” If Emma couldn’t see the walls, perhaps he could convince her she wasn’t trapped. “Now, you’re not here anymore, you’re watching the sky. The sun is setting over the ocean.”

John channeled his inner Virgil, describing an island sunset in bursts of crimson and gold, waves reflecting warm sunlight before soft pink fades into the deep indigo of night time. Silver light pricks the sky, the stars revealed in swirling constellations, like fragments of the sun. The stars go on forever.

“And there’s a breeze coming off the ocean.” John said. “Match your breath. In… and out. In… and out.”

Minutes blended as John kept up the soothing narrative, his words smoothing Emma’s wheezing gasps into even breaths. Quite soon, help arrived, signaled by a thump from the ceiling, and things began to move in quick succession.

A firefighter dropped through the hatch like John had, checking they were both alright before fitting them with harnesses and winching them up one by one. As John was pulled up out of the elevator shaft he was greeted by- not a familiar face, but a recognizable one. After all, the news reports had been notoriously hard to avoid after she and Virgil decapitated the world's largest building.

“Chief McCready.”

The chief grinned and nodded, clasping John’s hand and hauling him onto solid ground. “Tracy.” A familiar name paired with a new face. “And here I thought you boys chased after trouble, but it looks like it might be the other way around.”

John’s civilian clothes, oil smeared and wrinkled, were a dead give-away he hadn’t been expecting this particular mission. He could see Grandma now, shaking her head and clicking her tongue, amazed at all the ways him and his brothers managed to ruin clothes, but not at all surprised that they did.

He allowed himself a small smile. “The job follows you around.” On duty or not, the calls never went unanswered.

The Chief clapped him on the shoulder, understanding the sentiment in a way only a first responder really could. “That it does.”

Their conversation was brief, the Chief dragged away by her duties and John by an overwhelmingly grateful Emma and James, both of which hugged him tightly and thanked him profusely.

When John finally had a moment to catch his breath, he caught Penny watching him, a hint of humor in her eyes.

“What?” He asked, her levity in his tone.

“Nothing at all. It’s just I can hardly believe this is who the tabloids call the ‘reclusive elite’.”

There was a brief moment of confusion before John realized with a start just how many eyes were on him. A whole crowd of obvious rubberneckers, both indiscreetly peeking at him and gaping unashamedly. And all John could do was laugh.

What could he say? He’d talked down an emergency victim, spoken with site officials, and was now standing there in filthy clothing post-rescue. He was in his element.

[idontknowreallywhy]

@darkestwolfx

I’m gonna say Gordon or Ned vibes here

Bugs Bunny could have simply walked into Mordor. He would have shown up at the gates of Mordor in a disguise and been like “Evil volcano inspection unit” and flashed a fake ID badge to the confused orc.

[tsarinatorment]

Tsari’s John Fic Recs

For John’s first birthday date I made a list of fics I’d written to date (there have been a couple more since, I think) that star the starman, so for his second date (two birthdays, lucky boy!) I’m throwing in a companion to that of John fics I love which were written by other people.  As always, I only recommend complete fics.

Poor John doesn’t seem to actually have that much that focuses on him, but there are some gems out there.  Some of these might not specifically have him as the main character, but he’s important in all of them!

Δv/Δt by PreludeinZ Rated: Gen. Family. John, Scott. 4k Deceleration is a function of velocity over time.

A Guide to Valentine's Day (and how to exploit it) by Silverstar Rated: Gen. Friendship. John, Penelope. 1k In which John and Penelope pretend to go on a date to make the most of the discounts offered on meals for couples, because Valentine’s Day is about all kinds of love, including the platonic kind.

Afternoon Tea by @darkestwolfx Rated: Teen.  Friendship.  John, Ned, Scott. 5k. A not so normal family couldn't be expected to have strictly normal friends. So what if they were pot plants and AI's? Scott swears it's all something of a dream, he's overtired as it. But did someone say cake?

Bring Our Starman Home by @lenle-g​ Rated: Teen. Hurt/Comfort, Family. John, Scott. 28k When a meteor hits Thunderbird 5 while shields are down, the Tracy family think John is dead for sure. Scott has prepared himself to fly up in TB3 with Alan to retrieve a body, for John couldn't possibly still be alive after that... could he?

Career Day by @gumnut-logic​ Rated: Teen. Family. OC, Alan, John. 7k It is Career Day at school for eleven year old Alan Tracy. He has just lost his father. Who will he invite?

Dare To Hope by i_amnerd Rated: Gen. Family, Hurt/Comfort. Scott, John. 1k Not for the first time, Scott wishes that little brothers came with some kind of training manual or instruction booklet.

Different by @gumnut-logic​ Rated: Teen. Family. John, Kayo. 2k John Tracy is different.

Exhaustion by @sugar-fiend​ Rated: Teen. Suspense, Angst. Alan, John, Scott. 9k A rescue mission in space is interrupted with deadly consequences…

Fraught Friendships by RenaHime Rated: Gen. Family, Hurt/Comfort. John, Scott. 2k The aftermath of "Impact", and the reason Ridley O'Bannon was never seen again

In Enemy Hands by Claudette Rated: Gen. Adventure, Drama. Scott, John. 62k When the secrets of International Rescue are offered for sale to the highest bidder the Tracy family must act quickly. However, their secrets are not the only thing that is at stake.

John Tracy hated taking public transport by @gumnut-logic​ Rated: Teen. Friendship. John. 2k Every trip he buried himself in his own world whether it be his work, research, a good book or even a movie. He shut the world out and more importantly anyone who sat next to him.  Sometimes this was not possible.  Because sometimes they spoke to him.

Line 'Em Up Bartender by @madilayn​ Rated: Teen. Friendship. Scott, John, Colonel Casey. 800 Scott, John and Colonel Casey find a way to cope with one of Jeff's speeches at a Charity Function.

Once In A Blue Moon by WhatHaveWeDone Rated: Teen. Hurt/Comfort. Virgil, John. 3k It was an aligning of the planets when John and Virgil got to work together.

Parameters by breeisonfire Rated: Teen. Family. Scott, John. 1k “Just pretend to be my date” with John and Scott - in a non-shippy way.

Questions Like A Whirlwind by @darkestwolfx​ Rated: Teen. Family, Hurt/Comfort. Scott, John. 6k He couldn't put it into words. He wasn't sure they'd understand if he did. He felt like a child, he felt like a murder, he felt… like he'd lost something and had no clue how to put it back in place by himself.

The Antarctic Incident by carryonstarkid, PreludeinZ Rated: Teen. Adventure, Drama. Tracy Brothers. 9k Thunderbird Two goes down in the middle of an Antarctic blizzard.

The One Where John Gets a Hug by Silverstar Rated: Teen. Hurt/Comfort, Angst. John. 21k Spending months by yourself has never been advisable behaviour, and John's never been good at asking people for help. Or: the Tracys learn the magical art of communication, with a load of hugs thrown in for good measure.

[cg29]

The final Christmas TAG delivery is here 🥳 The Tracy in question was actually ready a few days ago but insisted that his little bro’s and the rest of his family went first 💖 Now they’ve had their turn he’s very happy to drop in some Christmas joy for his team and the rest of the Thunderfam..

💙Happy Holidays Team Sky Turnip 💙

If I’ve not tagged someone please feel free to tag 🏷

@flyboytracy @fallenfurther @fearlesstracy @janetm74 @olliepig @tsarinatorment @n-chu4ever @dragonoffantasyandreality @scribbles97 @malignedangel @1bluesilvertracy @issychatter @darkestwolfx

Additions: @sweet-christabel @islandsandstars @sofasurf

Previous Deliveries:

Virgil .. John .. Gordon .. Alan ..

Intermission Deliveries:

Kayo ..

Parker/Penny/Bertie/Brains/MAX ...

Jeff & Grandma ...

[darkestwolfx]

WIP Wednesday comes around again

I cannot believe it's another Wednesday! So here's another work in progress teaser for you all Undecided price to whoever correctly guesses what is going on here 😉

‘Don’t you dare scare us like that!’ Gordon bawled. Technically, it wasn’t his fault. It was an unavoidable scare, but he didn’t have the energy to explain that to the tiny's. Dad could have that job when he reappeared from… wherever it was he’d gone. That was still a foggy patch within his memory. ‘I won’t.’ He reassured. ‘We’d miss you.’ Alan sniffed, wiping at his nose with his sleeve. ‘I’d miss you too.’ He wrapped his arms around them as the two blondes cuddled close, one nestling into each side, and their small warmth and reassurance was enough to lull him back to sleep within the scratchy sheets.

[tsarinatorment]

Thanks for the tag @x-authorship-x!

Last song I listened to: according to the random youtube playlist I had on in the background while fic writing earlier, Battle Cry - Imagine Dragons

Currently Watching: DC Titans (which I am enjoying a lot, although my beloved found family currently being splintered is frustrating and I am begging for them to stop being idiots and get back together)

Current Obsession: Apollo's kids (Riordanverse), which will surprise no-one who talks to me on a regular or even semi-regular basis, I expect.

Tagging: @fearlessinger @stereden @hadronkaleidoscope @gumnut-logic @janetm74 @darkestwolfx

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[angelofbenignmalevolence]

Sealed with a Kiss

TITLE: Sealed with a Kiss CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Oneshot AUTHOR: malignedangel/angelofbenignmalevolence PROMPT:  Gordon/Lady Penelope – Pirate/Mermaid AU prompt submitted by @darkestwolfx​ for International Rescue & Relief which is being overseen by @gumnut-logic​. Also @agentfreelancer1​ might enjoy this as well :D

RATING: T

WORD COUNT: 3,573 words Story Notes: This is my first foray into writing fanfiction in awhile so I may be a little rusty. I have used this prompt as a springboard, but I have taken the term “merperson” and applied it quite loosely. And since there was little consensus on the exact terms of the selkie mythology in my research, I have been a little creative with the application of that as well. This is my first foray into writing TAG fanfiction and I’m not entirely sure I didn’t bite off more than I could chew starting with Gordon and Penelope lol. Hopefully this still makes you smile! It turned out a little longer than I expected, so I do apologize for that as well!

~@~

~@~

“Hey Gordon, you coming?”

Gordon stood atop a juncture of three rocks near the ocean shore, his hand on his sandy hair as he pursed his lips in thought. He could have sworn he left it here. He looked over to where the eldest of his brothers stood at the shoreline holding his sleek black coat in his hand. Gordon smiled at him. There was no need to worry him just yet.

“Nah,” Gordon said flippantly. “I’m just going to hang around on the shore for a while. I’ve got a few hours left before I need to be home yet.” Scott’s brow furrowed in the way that it always did when he worried. “Just go. I can handle walking around on the shore by myself. I’m a big boy.” Scott looked at the sun hanging low in the sky. Scott sighed but relented.

“Alright Gordon,” he said. “But you need to be off shore by 10, no excuses, alright?” he said. Gordon waved him off.

“Yeah, yeah, no worries!” Gordon said. “Now stop being a worrywart and go enjoy yourself. You’ve got six hours left in your day of freedom. Don’t spend them worrying about me.” He made a shooing motion which smoothed the frown away from his brother’s features.

“10 o’clock, Gordon,” he said. He fluffed out the coat in his arms and pulled it over himself, stepping into the surf. Gordon watched as the coat enfolded his brother’s form, morphing it into his sleek seal shape. Scott moved a bit more into the surf before looking back at his brother one more time. Gordon laughed and made a shooing motion. Scott dove into the waves and Gordon waited until he was sure his brother had swum off before he let out a deep sigh. Six hours until midnight meant that he had four to find his coat before Scott would go into smother-brother mode.

He began to circle the rocks that he had been standing on, looking for where he had stashed his own seal coat, scratching his head as his search yielded nothing. He frowned. He had buried his coat near the rocks for the express point and purpose of not losing the thing and the strategy had worked literally every other time he had come on shore. He scanned the shoreline. Maybe he had buried it under a different set of rocks? But no…there was the rickety staircase that had been abandoned for years. It had to be here.

He began to widen his circle, his toes digging into the sand in the hopes that he would feel the sleek fur against his toes. The wider his circle got, the more worried he became. What if he couldn’t find it? Worse, what if someone had taken it? By selkie law he’d be bound to that person until he could gain his coat back. His brothers had warned him about it and scolded him when he had been too careless with his seal coat. Scott had always had to be so incredibly careful and for once, just once as his worry mounted, he wished he had been as careful as his brother.

He moved around another large rock outcropping and stopped dead in his tracks. Sitting on the beach was a woman, a human woman. He couldn’t help but notice that she was stunning in the light of the setting sun. The other thing he couldn’t help but notice was that she sat with her arms cradling a seal coat.

His seal coat.

Gordon ducked back behind the rocks for a moment to consider his next strategy. He supposed that it would be too much to ask the universe for the young woman to not know the significance of the coat she held in her arms. He let out a breath. Well, he had really put his foot in it this time. He was not ready to give up the sea or the freedom that it offered him, unlike Virgil who had given up his seal coat to a human woman that he had fallen in love with or John who had given his coat to an old sea dog that had promised to teach him the stars and return the coat when John wanted to return to the sea. The sea was everything to him. Perhaps if he appealed to her emotions…

“You know, I saw you earlier. Hiding behind that rock doesn’t make you any less obvious.”  The voice was full of good breeding and sophistication. He came around the rocks again with an embarrassed laugh, running his hands through his sandy hair once more.

“Yeah, sorry about that…I didn’t mean to disturb you. I was looking for something,” Gordon said. “Actually, I found it, too.” The young woman raised an eyebrow expectantly. Gordon cleared his throat. “The seal coat…it’s…mine.” He hesitated as he answered, wondering if perhaps this was the wrong way of gaining back his seal coat. The young woman frowned and tightened her arms around the coat.

“I’ve heard lots of stories of men who comb the beach looking for seal coats to bring home an unwitting bride,” she said. Gordon laughed, despite the seriousness of the situation on his part.

“Yeah, believe me, my brother Alan had a pretty close call with that,” he said. The young woman frowned.

“Forcing young women into marriages isn’t funny,” she said, as if she knew from experience. “And I’m going to make sure that this seal coat goes back to the young woman it belongs to.” Gordon’s eyes widened as he realized they were talking about Gordon being the one looking for a bride. He threw back his head and laughed.

“Oh no,” he said as his fit of giggles died down. “You misunderstand me. I’m a selkie. My brother too obviously. All of them. I have several.” He felt the words tumbling out in an awkward rush. Even angry, the woman was very pretty, and he couldn’t help his laughter at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. “Let me start over. My name is Gordon and the seal coat you are holding is mine. As in, I use it to take my seal form.” The young woman frowned in thought as she considered him before loosening her grip on the seal coat, her anger dissipating quickly into something more melancholy.

“Well…this is an unexpected turn of events,” she said. Gordon placed his hands on his hips with a slight smile on his face.

“Don’t sound so disappointed,” he said, hoping to lighten her mood. She shook her head and set the seal coat aside, as if she no longer wanted anything to do with it.

“I’m sorry if I sound disappointed,” she said, her sincerity obvious. “I had been hoping that the coat belonged to a seal maiden. I was protecting it so she wouldn’t be forced into marriage with a human if that wasn’t what she wanted. I never intended to keep the coat for myself. I was just…looking for a friend, I suppose.” Gordon frowned slightly and approached, sitting down on the other side of the coat as Penelope adjusted her skirts.

“Well, just because I’m not a seal girl doesn’t mean we still can’t be friends,” he said. She looked over at him.

“No,” she said after several moments where she looked at him, as if trying to figure out his angle. “I suppose it doesn’t.” Gordon smiled.

“Though, you do have me at a slight disadvantage. I’ll have to start calling you the shore maiden if you don’t give me your name,” he said with a wink. The corner of her lips quirked in a smile.

“I’ve been called worse,” she said. “But my name is Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward.” Gordon smiled and reached for the hand nearest him, bringing the back of it to his lips.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Penelope,” he said. Penelope took back her hand and brushed some hair away from her face.

“I have to admit,” she said. “It’s the first time I’ve ever met a selkie in person,” she said. Gordon leaned back on his hands, looking up at the sky above the waves.

“Yeah,” he said. “That doesn’t surprise me. We tend to keep mostly to ourselves. Partially because of the coat thing but also because most humans forget us pretty quickly.” Penelope turned to look at him, intrigued.

“Seems like someone like you would be pretty hard to forget,” she said. Gordon laughed.

“I’ll take that as a compliment, as I’m sure you meant it,” he said, enjoying the blush that rose to her cheeks and thinking that it only made her look prettier. “But yeah…we can’t come on shore very often. It’s part of the whole merfolk life thing.” Penelope frowned.

“That sounds lonely,” she said. Gordon shrugged.

“I mean…it could be worse. I could be one of the finfolk and that would mean I couldn’t come on land at all. That…might suck a little more.” Penelope laughed.

“I can see where that might be a bit more inconvenient for forming friendships,” she said. He nodded.

“Yeah. Besides, seal guys are much cooler than mermen,” he said with a wink, earning another laugh from her. He smiled and let the moment settle before he cleared his throat. “So tell me a little more about yourself.”

“I’m the daughter of Lord Creighton-Ward. And I’m expected to marry well,” she said. Gordon made a face.

“Sounds like an exciting future ahead.” The lack of enthusiasm in his voice was nearly palpable. “If it’s wrong to make a seal girl marry if she’s not in love, it seems to me that a human girl should be given the same…I don’t know…courtesy?”

“One would think,” she said, sliding her feet out of her shoes and letting her toes dip into the sand. Gordon could see the distance in her eyes as she thought ahead to an uncertain future. He knew he had to do something to bring her back from wherever it was she was going in her mind, especially if it had the power to erase the smile from her features.

“What would you want for your future if it was in your hands?” he asked, hoping the suddenness and the personal nature of the question would shock her back to reality. He knew his plan worked when Penelope looked at him, an amused smile lighting up her features.

“You don’t waste any time getting to the point, hmm?” she asked. Gordon shrugged, inwardly celebrating his personal win.

“There’s too little time to waste on small talk, what with the whole ‘can only go on shore so often��� thing,” he said with a grin. “So come on, tell your new friend what you want for your future. I may not be a magic fish, but I know a guy.” He winked at her, causing her to shake her head and look out at the water.

“Hmm…if I could have anything I wanted for my life? I’d like to do something to help those in need. The voices of those less fortunate than I are not often heard. I’d like to be in a position where I would be free to use my voice to help make things better, perhaps be able to actively make the world a better place.” Gordon looked at her. He probably couldn’t say what answer he expected to hear from her if he had been asked, but whatever it was he had expected, it wasn’t that answer. His smile softened into one of admiration. She was such a purely good person. He would consider himself honored to count her among his friends.

“So what’s stopping you?” he asked, breaking the silence that had settled over the both of them with her pronouncement. Penelope shrugged.

“Unfortunately, in this day and age, women’s voices aren’t nearly as loud as men’s voices,” she said. Gordon shrugged.

“So make them listen. If anyone can do it, it’s you. I believe in you. You have the freedom to rewrite your future,” he said. “And I’ll be rooting for you. And if there’s ever anything I can do for you, I’m happy to kelp in any way I can.” He grinned at his own joke and Penelope arched an eyebrow, holding the expression for only a moment before allowing herself to laugh.

“That was a terrible joke, Gordon,” she said. He grinned.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I think that my jokes be the start of a beautiful friendship between the two of us,” he said with a wink.

“I suppose you think they will seal the deal?” she asked, as if resigned that the joke was going to come out one way or the other, and she might as well beat him to the punch. Gordon’s eyes lit up.

“Say, that was pretty quick,” he said. “I think even my brothers might have approved of that. I’m just mad I didn’t get there first.” Penelope smoothed her skirt with a smile.

“Will you tell me about your brothers?” she asked. He nodded and started to regale her with tales of their exploits in the open ocean and some of the more humorous stories. He didn’t notice as the sun set below the horizon and night crept over them, the hour growing later and later.

“And then of course, there’s Alan. He’s the baby of the family. And like I said, he was the one that had a close call with his seal coat. He-” Gordon began, but a grumpy seal cry cut him off, causing both Gordon and Penelope to jump. Perched on a rock was a very annoyed looking black seal. Penelope looked at Gordon.

“One of your brothers, I take it?” Gordon put a hand on the back of his head, his cheeks pinkening. It sure was one of his brothers; a very upset eldest brother who looked like he was about ready to drown Gordon in the surf for forgetting about the time. He waved awkwardly at the seal.

“Oh hey, Scott. That time already?” he asked. The seal vocalized angrily. Gordon laughed and turned back to his new friend. “I suppose this means that my time is up. I’ve got to head back into the water.” He got up and offered a hand to Penelope to help her to her feet. Once both of them were standing, he picked up his seal coat and shook off the sand. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Lady Penelope,” he said. “And I hope to see you again when I come back on shore.” Penelope nodded.

“You’d better. You owe me a story,” she said. She moved closer to him as he batted away the sand from his seal coat. She leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek before she slid on her shoes and started to head up the beach once more. Gordon placed a hand over his cheek and smiled.

“I do indeed,” he muttered to himself. The moment was interrupted as the seal behind him barked at him and he shook his head.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming, Scott. Keep your coat on,” he said, sliding into his seal fur and following his brother back into the surf with one last look up the beach at Penelope’s retreating form.

~@~

Gordon lay on one of the rocks that jut from beneath the ocean outside Tracy cove, sunning himself as he watched the sky. His seal coat was tucked safely beneath him. His thoughts strayed back to Penelope and the few hours they had spent together on the beach only a few weeks ago. He doubted he would ever see the feisty blonde again, but he knew that he could never forget her. She had given him his freedom despite obviously wanting to keep him by her side. And he had almost considered staying with her, but the ocean had a siren’s call all its own. No matter how much Penelope had drawn him towards land with her own siren’s call, they had both known that he would never have been able to drown out the call of the sea.

He let out a deep sigh. Man, sometimes the extended time between their visits to shore sucked hardcore. He already had begun to miss the easy companionship with his human friend. He closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of the ocean: the waves lapping against the rocks, the call of the sea birds that flew and dived for their meals, the creaking of a boat as it rocked on the….

Wait a second. Gordon sat bolt upright. Boats never came this close to the cove where he and his brothers had made their home. The sailors that ventured out this far into the ocean called the place Hullshatter Cove for a reason. He looked out over the ocean and sure enough, a boat was making its way in the direction of the cove. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, wondering if he hadn’t gone sea mad, but the boat remained where it was. He got to his feet, gathering up his coat and frowning. He had to keep the boat from coming into the cove somehow.

He pulled his coat over his body, feeling the transformation as he leapt into the water. His seal body cut through the water swiftly and in no time at all, he was at the side of the boat. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was going to do to stop them, but he had to try. He looked up to consider his next move when a lifeboat dropped, the craft hitting the water so close to his head that if his reflex to dive hadn’t been quite so quick, he would have been seeing stars. His head surfaced again as he stared at the small craft. Gordon wasn’t one to look a gift horse, or boat for that matter, in the mouth. He jumped into the lifeboat, letting out a series of barks to warn the sailors of the impending danger.

Underneath him the small boat lurched as it began to be hoisted up on deck. Gordon realized that he may not have thought this plan entirely through, but there was no turning back now. He allowed himself to be hoisted to ship level, where he jumped onto the deck and barked at anyone who came near him, trying desperately to call their attention to the dangers that awaited them as they floated closer to the island.

“Now is that any way to behave?” Gordon froze, his head whipping around. He knew that voice. There stood Penelope. Gone were the skirts and trappings of high society. Instead she wore trousers and a long captain’s coat, and Gordon couldn’t deny that the look somehow suited the young woman more than the skirts ever would. She looked comfortable and happy in a way she hadn’t when last he saw her. “You can close your mouth, Gordon,” she said. He snapped his jaw shut, having been unaware of when it had dropped open. He began to shed his coat, taking human form there on the deck of the ship and looking at her with wide eyes.

“Penelope? But…how…why…?” Gordon wasn’t sure what question he wanted to ask first. Penelope shook her head.

“Why? For you,  of course,” she said. Gordon’s expression went from puzzled to completely bewildered.

“Me?”

“Yes,” she said. “You longed for the freedom of the sea, and I decided that I wanted a taste of that for myself. So I pulled a few strings and got myself a letter of marque to sail the sea. I was hoping I would find you again.” Gordon’s heart melted. She had done all of this…for him?

“Penelope…I…don’t know what to say…” Penelope waved a hand dismissively.

“The only thing that you have to say is that you are going to give me the full story about your brother and his near marriage miss. You said that you couldn’t come on shore again for quite some time and I wasn’t willing to wait that long. So if you couldn’t come on shore, I would come to the sea,” she said. Gordon stood frozen for a moment as he processed her words. Never before in collective selkie memory had a human made the attempt to figure out a loophole  to remain close to a selkie companion on their terms. He laughed, happy tears threatening to make their way to his eyes. He moved forward to her and wrapped her in his arms, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead.

“Thank you, Penelope…thank you so much…this means the world to me…and I promise…I’ll tell you all the stories you want…” he said. She smiled up at him, her arms draping around his waist as well.

“Good,” she said. Neither of them moved for several moments, allowing themselves to just be in each other’s company before she pulled back slightly and smiled up at him, moving her hands to his chest. “Now what say you and I go have a bite to eat and you make good on your promise?” Gordon nodded, willing to follow his feisty little captain anywhere, letting her guide him toward the lower decks. He stooped for only a moment to pick up his seal coat before taking her hand.

“Well you see, Alan’s near brush with marriage all started when…”

[scribbles97]

Trapped

IRRelief Fic filling prompts from @hodgehegposts @eirabach and @darkestwolfx

Prompts being 

Pen and Ink + getting your own back 

Any characters – trapped in a lift/elevator

One of the brothers being ticklish

So, it hadn’t been how he had planned to start their romantic weekend away but he was at least grateful that he was there with Penelope. 

Even if it was stuck in an elevator half way up to their hotel suite. 

The irony was that it was his brothers that had shut off the power, an electrical fire downtown of the hotel requiring their part of the grid to be shut off for the time being. Not that he’d been keeping tabs or anything. 

John had told them he wasn’t sure how long it would take, fire crews were busy helping with the blaze, priority on those in immediate danger over the pair of them having a slight delay in the start of their weekend activities. Gordon hadn’t been able to help himself as he’d thrown a sly smile towards Penny, a raised eyebrow had seemed to get the message across as she had shook her head and given him a firm negative response. 

Yeah, he supposed it wouldn’t go down too well if someone turned up to rescue them in the middle of that. 

“I am so going to get them back for this,” He muttered, tilting his head back against the mirrored wall of the elevator, “Thirty seconds. That was all we needed, and then we could have been up there enjoying our evening.”

“Darling,” Penny sighed, reaching out to touch his arm, “I highly doubt it was intentional on your brothers part.”

He huffed, shaking his head as he folded his arms, “They knew Pen. They knew what getting away this weekend meant and--”

The squeeze of her hand on his arm cut him off, shaking her head at him she smiled, “Darling it’s okay. We’ll get there eventually and catch up on things.”

That was just the problem though, she didn’t understand the importance of that evening. He had been planning it for months, trying ridiculously hard to keep a lid on his plans and keep her in the dark about it all. This was Penelope though, someone who made it her business to know everyone else's business. Keeping a secret for Gordon was hard enough, without having to keep it from the woman he shared everything with. 

Tilting her head, she frowned at him slightly, “What was so important about it being this weekend anyway? Parker insisted I rearranged my meeting with the Guide Dogs society.”

Winning Parker over had possibly been the hardest part of the whole endeavour. Buying the elder man’s silence had perhaps been even harder

“Nothing much,” He lied with a shrug, pursing his lips slightly as her hand tightened again on his arm, “Just wanted it to be special at all.”

“Darling, you always were dreadful at lying to me,” She whispered leaning into him, “You’ve been up to something, John told me as much, and you’ve kept it from me.”

Her tone was low, the kind of dangerously quiet murmur that just screamed trouble. 

One of her hands reached down to his hip, “I’m going to get my own back for you keeping secrets.”

Oh god. He knew that look, the narrowed eyes with that glint that sparkled in the blues of her iris’. The way her mouth curled up ever so slightly as she leant in and her fingers reached under his shirt just above his hip bones, digging in just enough. 

“No!” he begged, unable to help but laugh as he tried to squirm away from her in the limited space, “No! Penny please-- Don--” He broke off in a breathless giggle as she continued to tickle him, her fingers finding all the most sensitive spots to make him writhe.

“Pen!” He gasped, wriggling out of her reach, “Oh come on, that’s just mean, you know how ticklish I am!”

She laughed softly, her smile wide as she watched him, “All the better for getting my own back.”

Righting himself and resuming his position sat up against the mirror, he shook his head. She was evil when it suited her, but god, he loved her for it. A devil and an angel all wrapped up into one. 

“I do know, you know?” She murmured as he shuffled back towards her, lifting his arm to rest across her shoulders. Shifting into him, she rested her head against his chest, fitting against him like a piece of a puzzle. 

“Know what?” He asked before pressing his lips to her hair, the smell of orchids still fresh and sweet from her shampoo. 

“It’s two years today since I saved you.”

She didn’t need to expand, they both knew just what she was referencing. Still, he could help but hold her a little tighter, breathe in the smell of orchids a little deeper. 

“Marry me.” He found himself murmuring against her hair, “Lady Penelope Creighton- Ward, would you marry me?”

It hadn’t at all been how he had planned. There was meant to be a dinner and candles, music and moonlight, and a chance to build himself up to asking her perhaps the biggest question of his life. 

Somehow though, the way it had come out just seemed right. 

Even if it was whilst they were trapped in an elevator. 

Her eyes were wide, her mouth slightly open as she floundered for words. Gordon could feel his heart in his throat as he waited, praying just to hear a single word.

“That was what all this was about?” She finally choked out, “You--” She caught herself, shaking her head as she smiled, a laugh breaking free, “Of course I will Gordon.”

He had to sigh in relief, sinking back against the wall in relief as she leant in to kiss him. Brief and sweet and purely a tease of what would no doubt come later. He still missed her as she pulled away, her brow creased in thought. 

Before she could speak, he shrugged apologetically, “The ring is up in the room, so you’ll have to wait for it I’m afraid.

Her laugh was bright and lit up her whole face, “I wasn’t thinking of that darling. I was thinking how I’m somewhat cross at John for telling me you were up to something.”

He grinned and shrugged, “We’ll get him back next time he’s home. Your brains and my pranks, we’ve got to be a force to be reckoned with.”

She settled back into his side, humming thoughtfully, “I don’t doubt we can come up with something before they come and find us.”

[eirabach]

So I also really really also want to write @darkestwolfx 's Gordon and Penelope Pirate / Mermaid AU for @gumnut-logic 's fantabulous IR Relief project, but I want to get a couple of chapters ahead in Savages first. So here's a teaser? Kinda? 😁

[darkestwolfx]

I love, love, LOVE this!

Challenge met and completed with absolute success! Thank you both! I was actually really believing Gordon’s story and I loved the journey of the bell around Tracy Island.

If Virgil ever lives that down I will be absolutely amazed! I love ow you included everyone in this as well! Thank you both so so much 🤍

Co-written with @hedwigstalons in answer to the challenge set by @darkestwolfx. It's set as part of my "Isolation on Tracy Island" series which you can read here on Ao3. We think we did a pretty good job with this collab, TAG teaming back and forth, which was so much fun to do.

Day 40 of isolation on Tracy Island and Gordon is grumpy because his heirloom is not as special as he thought. 

It started with Jeff deciding that maybe now was the time to take up gardening. Apparently one of his friends had suggested it as a way of calming the mind and being more Zen (my words, not his) and he was now wielding a pair of hedge trimmers like the bush had offended his ancestors. Virgil was cringing and muttering about this being the reason he hadn't brought his new love of Topiary to the island. 

The bushes and shrubs put up a valiant defence but it was no match for a Tracy on the warpath. The ornamental border soon looked like it had been run over with an industrial lawnmower. So much for a little light pruning. I was quite glad Jeff hadn’t been part of the working party at my flat and vowed never to let him anywhere near my herb tubs.

The herbaceous massacre, as it came to be known, did answer one of life’s mysteries though. It revealed just what had become of Gordon’s bell. Of course now he is lording it over us all again and trying to use it to summon drinks and snacks. Virgil helpfully volunteered to break both of Gordon’s legs again so he would be deserving of waitress service which shows just how annoying the little tinkly sound could be in the hands of the squid.  

I groaned when the little jingling nightmare made its presence known for the tenth time that morning. 

“Where the hell did that thing even come from?” I demanded to know, I’d only seen it once before and wasn’t about to admit to it.

Everyone looked at it, their heads swivelling as one, like cats tracking a mouse, it was both fascinating and disturbing in equal measure.

“Parker gave it to me,” Gordon told me, “when I broke my leg. It’s very valuable you know, it belonged to his great-great-great-a few-more- greats-grandfather who was the butler to the Prince of somewhere. The Prince used it every day to call for his attendees to dress him for the day. He said that it had been in his family ever since the Prince had gifted it to his great-whatever on his retirement. That’s why I was so surprised when he threw it away, you’d think he’d be a little more careful with his family heirlooms.”

Alan snorted. “That's not even the slightest bit true.”

“Oh yeah, how would you know?” Gordon demanded. 

“I know because I found it in the kitchen cupboard and gave it to him to give to you.”

“You did not!”

“I totally did!”

“Well where did it come from then? Why was it in the kitchen?”

“I put it away when I found MAX with it,” Brains chimed in.

“Where the heck did MAX get it from?” Scott wanted to know. “I hid that thing in the drinks cabinet.”

“Why were you hiding it in the drinks cabinet?” I had to ask. My head was spinning, my simple question leading to something I could barely follow.

“I can answer that one. ”

My head swivelled round and I nearly spilled my drink. Just when had Kayo arrived? I never knew whether she was on the island or not. Heck, sometimes I didn’t even know when she was in the same room as me. I swear that woman has a cat lurking somewhere in her ancestry.

“Scott here was probably embarrassed after one of our training sessions. I found the bell in the gym cupboard and set him a challenge. It bruised his ego that he was no match for me on stealth. I expect he was hiding it to avoid a rematch.”

OK, no surprise that Kayo could best Scott on stealth but, as if pulled on by an inescapable force, I just had to ask. “So where does the bell come in?”

We all proceeded to watch open-mouthed as Kayo picked up the bell and vaulted three chairs without a single chime sounding out. Definitely part cat.

“OK, OK, ” Scott threw his hands up in resignation.  “Busted. But how did it end up in the gym cupboard?”

There were various shrugs around the room as everyone denied knowledge of how it ended up there. I subjected each of them to my patented stare. I knew as well as they did that the bell hardly classed as sporting goods. Having been forced into captivity with these untidy animals and their habit of leaving objects lying around for someone else to pick up I knew one of them was guilty.   

Slowly a hand lifted into the air. 

“John?” Alan goggled. “Why were you in the gym?”

“Hey! I work out! Probably more than you do.”

“But the gym?" Alan ignored the slur on his work out schedule. “You don’t use the gym.”

“It was when-” he paused, interrupting himself to cough sheepishly.

The power of a million eyes looked my way. I whistled innocently, the clouds in the sky suddenly very fascinating. 

“Is this going to be gross?” Alan whined, making a face that only a teenager could make. “Did you disinfect after?”

He didn't see the book coming until it was too late.

“There is nothing gross about a sit up competition. A couple that works out together...well, that has nothing to do with staying together but it helps.”

“How does a bell have anything to do with sit ups?” Gordon asked.

“If you can’t use your imagination then I’m not telling you.”

“You do need pretty strong legs though,” John added.

“And a trust that you won't get dropped on your head.”

“You said it wasn’t gross!”

“That still doesn’t explain where the bell came from before you took it to the gym for some weird stuff we don’t need to know about,” Gordon grumbled, still quite put out that his precious was now a little less special and a lot more tainted.

“I found it on the unit with Grandma’s ornament collection.”

“Grandma has an ornament collection?”

“Yes, by the book cases. You might know about it if you actually bothered to read. You know, have a go at improving that chlorine soaked brain of yours.”

Honestly, it was like living with a load of children.  Put them in a room together for five minutes and if it wasn’t books being thrown it was insults.

“So you stole one of Grandma’s ornaments?”

“Not stole, borrowed. Tracys don’t steal.”

“OK, you borrowed one of Grandma’s ornaments and then didn’t put it back. You are so going to be on dish duty for a month now she knows. It’s probably one of her favourites.”

I was feeling a little guilty at this point because to be fair I hadn't worried about where the bell ended up after our gym session either. It’s only because John is a tidy soul at heart that it made it into the gym cupboard at all rather than being left out on the mats. I had been a little...distracted to worry about such niceties. I promised myself that whatever fate befell John for his misdemeanour I would shoulder my share of the punishment.

Grandma picked up the bell and gave it a closer look.

“This thing, ” she mused, turning it over in her hands. “Oh yes, I remember where I got it from. It’s nothing special really. I found it when I was doing the laundry so put it with my knick-knacks. You boys never do remember to check your pockets before putting your uniforms in to wash. I’ve found all sorts over the years.”

“Us boys?” Accusatory looks were exchanged once again. I have no idea how they get any work done being so damn suspicious all the time. They are constantly questioning each other's motives and believing the worst of each other. Though honestly, they could be little buggers to each other whenever they indulged in one of their prank wars, which was quite often. And since they had stopped announcing the start of said wars, I guess they had a reason to constantly suspect each other of wrongdoing.

“Well if I don't know where it came from,” Scott started.

“And I found it in the kitchen,” Alan continued.

“After M...MAX found it in the drinks cabinet when he was mixing me a Cosmopolitan,” Brains admitted. My eyes widened, I was soooo not touching that bit of information with a ten foot pole.

“And Parker didn’t inherit it from a Prince,” Gordon added.

“And I found it already in the Gym cupboard,” Kayo threw in.

“And I got it from the shelf,” John confirmed.

“Where I put it after I found it clunking around in the dryer,” Grandma finished off.

“And I had never seen it before I fished it out from the shrubbery,” Jeff chimed in. “That leaves…”

Virgil hung his head.

“Virgil, where did you get that bell?” Grandma demanded to know.

His eyes were darting here and there, looking anywhere but at her.

“Speak up, young man.”

“Yeah, Virg, where did you get the bell?” Gordon grinned evilly, obviously enjoying watching Grandma’s golden boy squirm.

“Did you buy it in a pretty little antique store somewhere?” I offered helpfully.

“Was it a gift from a lady friend?”

“Did you get it as a thank you from a star struck rescuee?”

“Did you just like the sound it made?”

“Will you all shut up!” he roared, exploding from his chair.

Alan looked as if he’d die of shock. Virgil never shouted.

“Virgil, I’m waiting,” Grandma never backed down. “Where did the bell come from?”

Virgil took a deep breath and then straightened his shoulders, lifting his head defiantly.

“You know when Professor Questa called us with his yearly demand for help?”

Brains, Grandma, Scott and John all nodded.

“And then the volcano actually started to erupt?”

More nods.

“Everything got a little out of hand, the guy at the desk wasn't listening and then Brains was riding MAX and…”

“And?” seven voices demanded in unison. How had we gone from a volcano to Brains treating MAX like a fairground ride? 

“I was just trying to get his attention and...well...I kinda, accidentally...”

A collective holding of breath…

“I stole it.”

Poor Virgil, he’s never going to live this one down.

[ak47stylegirl]

Can you recommend any funny TAG fanfictions to read?

Of course, I can! 😆 there are a good couple of fics that I can recommend that had me grinning and laughing like a lunatic 😅🤣

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Gotcha! by TheFABFive2015

Gordon enacts his revenge on Virgil for his little shower prank, this is such a hilarious fic :D Virgil is paranoid. 

Defeat by Rebershekk 

Spider meets John XD 

Driven To Distraction by TheFABFive2015

Set after Designated Driver, Scott’s reaction to everything is so funny, lol XD 

Gray Hairs by nhsweetcherry

The boys tell stories about times that the others had given them grey hairs :D 

When Scott met Ned by @darkestwolfx  

Scott’s retelling of how he met Ned  to his brothers, this is a really good one! it’s storytime XD 

Still Not Scott’s Worst Idea by gammadolphin

Six-year-old Alan, plus haunted house, do not mix. Scott should have known that XD John knew that but who listens to him? not those two for sure… despite what it sounds like, this is a hilarious fic XD Alan’s kicks are lethal 🤣

Five Times The Floor Was Not Lava by Silverstar

I don’t really need to explain this fic, it’s in the name XD Gordon and Alan get into mischief XD 

EOS is Drunk! How Did THAT Happen? by BlueBeanieFrog

John learnt a valuable lesson from this fic, don’t make a code that lets your AI daughter experience what it’s like to be drunk XD  

Joy Rides by TheFABFive2015 

Alan and Gordon get up to mischief with Scott’s and Virgil’s suit ups XD (may want to read aww, chutes! first before this one) 

Aww, Chute! by TheFABFive2015 

Scott and Virgil try each others suit ups with less than desirable results XD big bros do stupid things too, lol 🤣

A Midnight Rendezvous by Sad-Blue-Eyed-Angel 2010

set movie-verse, Gordon overhears Alan and Tintin wandering off somewhere late at night and jumps to conclusions, this is a seriously hilarious XD Gordon, get your head out of gutter! 🤣 all the bros get involved, its a really good fic, seriously you need to read this fic! XD 

I Just Can’t Wait To Be Free by @tsarinatorment

Scott stuck in a lift while Gordon sings lion king songs, what more can you ask for? XD 

Sky Candy by @gumnut-logicThis fic is hilarious! Mother nature is playing tricks on the boys, lol XD this fic left me grinning so much! Thought poor thunderbird two, she gets a bit of a…new look? in this fic XD  

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Is that enough fics for you? XD I hope something there is what you are looking for! 😄

[louthestarspeaker]

WIP Tag

I was tagged by @tsarinatorment to join in on the fun! I have kind of a short attention span when it comes to writing so I try to keep a couple different plates spinning to keep my interest. (That also means there are a few stories that haven’t seen the light of day for a few months...such is the life...) So here are the ones that are most likely to get an ending XD

Tornado Warning 

“Where’s Gordon?” Scott asked, his little brother’s absence as obvious to Scott as a neon sign.

The other three looked behind them, expecting Gordon to come bounding down the empty staircase. Their dad had ground tornado drills into his sons from the time they could walk, Gordon wouldn’t just ignore it. But he wasn’t coming.

John shook his head. “You head out with the others, I’ll go get him!” John shouted over his shoulder to Scott as he ran back up, taking the stairs three at a time.

“John, wait!” Scott called up after him, but his voice was lost in the noise.

This one came to me after watching Twister with my mom. The guys lived in Kansas so I figure they must have experienced a few tornadoes.

When I Drown

“Crap!”

Gordon cut off his laser and jerked Thunderbird Four back from the ship. But it was too late, his laser had ignited the oil, and flames burned bright inside the flooding ship.

“Gordon? What’s happening?”

“Why the heck is there a leak in here? I thought this was a cargo hold!”

“Gordon! Report your situation!”

“There was a spill or something, Virge. I set an oil fire.”

“If the flames reach the engine room…”

“Exactly. This boat’ll go sky high.”

I’m a sucker for action and drama so I end up writing a lot of scenes for missions... and then make everything go wrong... Sorry Scotty, I’m probably to blame for a few of those gray hairs 

Seaspray and Stardust

The sea will always reflect the sky above it,

John thumbed his comms, eyes never moving from the read outs that were putting a crease between his brows. “Thunderbird 4, come in.”

The hologram came to life on his dash. “Here, John, what’s up?”

“I just got word from Virgil. He’s been held up, you’re looking at another ten minutes.”

Gordon’s voice lowered, and there was shuffle as he moved away from his crowd of- supposed- evacuees. “John, this building hasn’t got another ten minutes, we’re practically swaying where we stand. Can we wait this out somewhere else?”

And this last one is composed of a bunch of snapshots concerning John and Gordon, and is kind of sewn together with a poem that I wrote (that italicized line is a snippet of it). It’s going together like a jigsaw puzzle right now and I’m hoping it’ll read cohesively when I’m done *crosses fingers*

Looking back it’s obvious I have a lot of fun writing Gordon. He’s the easiest brother for me so he pops up in almost everything I write. Scene’s not working right? Throw in a Gordon! Anyway, hopefully the full versions of these’ll be up soon. As for passing on the fun I’m not quite sue who’s been tagged already so I’m kind of taking a shot in the dark. @onereyofstarlight, @darkestwolfx, @godsliltippy any WIP’s you’d like to share?