#whatgaviiformes

[tsarisfanfiction]

🍦 What's the sweetest fic you've created so far?

Obviously Thunderbirds for me, so I can go read it. But also if you want to answer for other fandoms if any stick out :)

Wow, it's been forever since I got one of these asks, thanks :D

And oh heck, Tsari and sweet fics?

Okay then, TAG fics, what do we have in here that's actually sweet...

Right, I am looking at my AO3 and there is no way I'm narrowing this down to one, so have a selection of the particularly fluffy and sweet things I've managed to come up with for this fandom. You might spot a common theme...

Flour and Memories (Scott&John)

Cocoa and Blankets (Military Bros)

Peaceful Dawn (Scott&John)

Kiss The Chef (Tracy Family)

Chocolate Thief (Tracy Family)

Toffee (incomplete...)

As far as other fandoms go, well. I'm not really much of a "sweet" fic author and angst keeps cropping in. I'm gaining a bit of a reputation for this, apparently.

That being said!

Riordanverse

Braids (Michael&Apollo Cabin)

Family Time (Apollo&Apollo Cabin)

Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You (Solangelo, Apollo/Naomi)

Foul Play (Solangelo)

...I found a couple of actually cute fluffy things?

Fanfic Writer Emoji Ask

[dragonoffantasyandreality]

Asks! 19 & 20. Favorite thing about the day and favorite thing about the night.

Hi @whatgaviiformes! <3

Favorite thing about the day? I get to see the sea from my apartment window, in all seasons. I live quite nearby to it so I can visit anytime I want. ☺️

Favorite thing about the night? Hmm... Mostly drawing and writing. I'm usually very active at night (RIP to my sleep schedule, lol 😂)

Thank you for the ask Gavii! ^^

The ask list

[astranite]

Thank you for all the answers :)

Some asks :)

1 what are 3 things you’d say shaped you into who you are?

24 what’s one thing you’re proud of yourself for?

26 fave colour and why?

26b most used yarn colour?

1. 3 things that shaped me into who I am...

Teachers: I had some excellent and supportive teachers growing up that I didn't want to disappoint. Between them and the work ethic I inherited from my mom, I made my academics a large part of who I am and always strove for straights A's when I was in school. Although I'm no longer taking classes for anything, I've brought that desire to perform well to my work.

Fantasy: I'm cheating by putting a genre here, but I read A LOT growing up. It was a few stories in the fantasy genre that made me realize that reading wasn't about what the school curriculum decided would be the most educational and enriching. It was about journeys, escape, seeing something from another perspective. And yes, the obvious one is in this list but I also read a lot of Tamora Pierce, and Madeleine L'Engle (though that's probably more along the lines of sci-fi).

Team sports - I was in softball and synchronized ice skating, so that gave me the heart for teamwork and accomplishing something together. I was also in the girl scouts, so that contributed too.

Obviously there are others, but those are some things that established a few of my core values very early on.

24. One thing I'm proud of myself for...

It actually is my crochet. It's one of those skills that keeps on giving since there's so much you can learn within the craft. And I know there's a niche of the craft I can say honestly I know I'm pretty good at. I'll be humble over everything else, but the thread work was something I picked up on my own, learned through tutorials I found myself and just gave a try. There's always room to grow the skillset, but right now that's one thing I am proud of and how I feel unique in the crafting space. Now the interest in doilies however is a different story. They are not a quick turnaround to make.

26. Favorite color and why

I like a lot of colors for different reasons, so I probably need this to be more specific 😁. Just based on aesthetic my favorite color is blue, and I like anything in the spectrum of blue. In clothes, I gravitate towards burgundy - it was my school colors twice, so I have a lot of hoodies in that shade. For you all, 💚💛. Can't forget those.

And 26b- when it comes to yarn- also probably blue since I am not making clothes all that often. I do have a lot of doilies in burgundy and purple since I made those for the table centerpieces for my wedding (and those were the colors), but if you remove those my Instagram tends to keep coming back to blue. I use everything, though. Brights, pastels. The one shade I don't see a lot of in my crafts or stash is brown.

[mrmustachious]

Saw this and wanted to take part so I made a new post. No obligation to take part, I just thought the fandom could do with a new tag game going around!

Rules: if you're tagged, share one or two sentences (or lines for artists) from your unposted WIP with zero context.

☆☆☆☆☆

“We don’t need to do anything. It’s you who needs to get over yourself and realise not everyone is out to get you.” Alan pointed at him accusingly, and Gordon was taken aback.

☆☆☆☆☆

Tagging: @tracybirds @astranite @tanushakyrano @silverstarfics @whatgaviiformes @spaceshipsoutthepool @janetm74 @alexthefly @hebuiltfive

[tracybirds]

A little offering for FishTank Week 2024 :D This is to fill the prompt "wingman" in hopefully a fun and unique way haha

Thank you to @whatgaviiformes and helpers for putting together the prompts, and thank you @gumnut-logic for the readthrough <33

[Wandering Albatross deets here]

--

“Holy crap, Virg – come see!”

Virgil’s ears pricked up at the excitement that coloured his brother’s voice, and he leapt up with a grin.

Without a second glance, Gordon passed the binoculars to him, pointing out the speck hovering over the horizon.

“It’s an albatross! Keep your eyes on it, I’m gonna grab the gear.”

The albatross’ wingspan filled Virgil’s field of vision and he watched it intently, breathless, as it glided over the shimmering sea. The speckles of black deepened as his eyes followed its feathers from shoulder to wing and with a jolt, he saw the beak and knew what he was looking at.

“Gordon, it’s a wanderer!” he yelled, not daring to pull his face away from the magnificent, magnified view.

“What?!!” Gordon’s response could only be described as a shriek, as he clattered back down the stairs, dragging the tripod with him.

The salmon-pink beak was one Virgil would know anywhere, years of pouring over photos and videos with Gordon at his side and he could identify this bird in a heartbeat. The wandering albatross, the largest wingspan of any bird, had flown over them in delighted dreams and childhood stories, ever since Gordon first saw a model of one at some seaside museum when they were small.

It was the viewing of a lifetime, a bird that had been on both of their dream lists ever since they had known what birding was.

And now it was here.

Wings outstretched, the albatross flew, snow and charcoal against an overcast sky.

Time stood still, marked only by the quiet ‘click’ of Gordon’s camera beside him, as Virgil committed the ebb and flow of circling flight to memory. His fingers itched for graphite, but the sight held him captive, rooted to the spot as the two stood shoulder to shoulder in awed silence.

When the lonely seabird slipped over the horizon in search for other shores, Virgil at last dropped the binoculars to his chest and turned to Gordon.

His eyes were bright, his smile alive.

“I’m so glad we were both here for this,” said Gordon in a rush, and Virgil felt the familiar warm glow in his chest, as the chatter sprang forth from his brother, a running commentary of facts and observations and wonderings alike.

“Gordon,” he gently interrupted, and Gordon stopped talking mid-sentence. “I’m glad we were both here too.”

[gumnut-logic]

Polly

The Adventures of Chicken Dad by WhatGaviiFormes

This little ficlet was written for @onereyofstarlight with all the permissions from @whatgaviiformes to use her wonderful Chicken Dad AU for my own nefarious purposes - if you haven't read that AU go there now and read it. Lots of Gordon and Virgil and FishTank.

I can only hope to live up to the majesty of that which is Chicken Dad. In this we have some Gords and Johnny and a chicken that @onereyofstarlight gave him and I hijacked. Piccy above is the genuine Johnny and his chicken from her Stardew Valley game :D

Thank you to both of you for allowing me to use your creations :D

I hope you enjoy.

-o-o-o-

“Here, hold her for me.”

John suddenly had his hands full of fluffy white chicken.

“Gordon!”

“Shh, you’ll scare her.” Gordon bent down and made his own version of clucking noises at the wriggling bird. “Isn’t that right, Polly. Don’t let the spaceman scare you. He’s harmless, I promise.”

“Gordon.” But John said his brother’s name a touch quieter.

Polly, for all her agitation, eventually settled in his hold, turning towards him as if to inspect her roost. A single chirp and apparently he had her approval.

Gordon, of course, was grinning at the both of them. “You’re a natural.”

Natural what, was the question. John had come down to talks accounts with Gordon. There had been some good results with several of the new products they introduced this season and John wanted to discuss the options for next season.

Though he had to admit it was just an excuse to drop in on his brother. Between rescues and TI, John hadn’t seen Gordon in a couple of months.

The fact John had arrived unannounced this morning had led to hunting his brother down in the chicken pens. This one apparently only held Polly.

“Why is she by herself?”

Gordon looked up at him. “Polly? Smother-henned. The other girls won’t leave her alone. So we separated her out to give her a break.”

John looked at the chicken. She had a sprinkling of feathers around her head that stuck out at odd angles giving her a touch crazed appearance.

“I can understand that.”

Gordon snorted. “I thought you might.”

John frowned. That sounded pre-meditated. “You knew I was coming today.”

Another snort. “Of course, I did.”

“Eos.”

“God, no. She still hasn’t forgiven me for the Hal joke.”

“I don’t blame her.”

“Ahh, c’mon, I was complimenting her.”

“By comparing her to an insane murdering computer.”

“Eh, family is family.”

“Now, I’m considering taking offence.”

Gordon straightened up and turned back to him. “Aww, c’mon, Johnny, you love me. You know you do.”

“Yeah, well, family is family.”

Gordon gave him a flat stare. “Touche. Anyway, it was Virgil who dobbed you in.”

“Virgil’s in Germany.”

“He has a phone.”

“How did he…?”

“Hey, don’t ask me, I’m not the brother whisperer.”

John grunted and shifted his weight.

Polly clucked at him.

“So you knew I was coming.”

“Yeah. Thought it would be a good time to give you your chicken.”

“My chicken.”

“Polly. She’s been waiting weeks for you.”

“I don’t want a chicken. What would I do with a chicken?”

“Be nice. You’ll hurt her feelings.”

“She’s a chicken, Gordon.”

“Yes, your chicken.”

He stared down and the mostly white chicken with just a splash of dark spots. “I can’t look after a chicken in space.’

“I didn’t say you had to take her into space. She can stay here, but she is yours.”

“Why?”

“There has to be a reason?”

“Of course!”

“Well, Scott has a chicken. Virgil has several, he’s a bit of an addict, apparently. Even Alan has a duck.” Gordon threw up his hands. “What can I say, I wanted to make sure you had your stake here as well.”

There was something in Gordon’s voice.

John swallowed. “I have a lot of stake here, Gordon. You are here.”

Gordon looked away. “I didn’t want you to think I had forgotten you.”

“I didn’t.”

“Good. And now you have a chicken.” Gordon turned back to doing whatever he was doing.

John looked down at Polly.

She was eyeing him again.

He let out a sigh. Gordon was being Gordon, so understanding was optional, but he was his brother and love and support was mandatory.

“Thank you, Gordon.”

His brother still had his back to him, busily doing stuff. “You are welcome, Spaceman.”

Polly clucked in agreement.

“And Polly is short for Polaris.” Gordon finally turned to face him, a soft smile on his lips. “Maybe she can help you find your way here more often.”

A bird squawked in the distance and Polly sat up straighter, fluffing her feathers.

Gordon placed a gentle hand on his arm. “Anytime, John, no pressure. Just know that you are always welcome here.” Bright brown eyes gleamed at him.

There was something tight in John’s throat. “I will. I do.”

“Good.” Gordon smiled again before turning back to sweeping out the pen.

“After all, I have to visit my chicken.”

Gordon eyed him, but John could only smile.

-o-o-o-

[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.

[tinytracys]

And this is the point where the soaring melody in the upper strings really drives home the agony of the composer while the lilting almost jolly-sounding rhythm of the rest adds this tension where he has to just keep going, keep churning it out even though his heart is breaking, you see what I mean?

Oh, yes. I think so…

… Gordy have you any idea what I just said?

Um, not 100% no but…

Oh. Never mind.

But I love watching you say it - your eyes go all sparkly and the way you get all excited makes me feel like the music is flowing around just under my skin.

Oh *blushes*

Can you tell me some more?

💚💛💚💛💚💛💚💛💚💛💚💛💚💛💚💛

FishTank Week Day 2 Prompt: At the Orchestra

Precise reason for selection of this piece is in this gorgeous fic by @whatgaviiformes

[tracybirds]

yesterday @whatgaviiformes rebagelled, sorry reblogged, a post with a particular bagel mug and I could not resist :D

[gumnut-logic]

I just want to give a shout out and a massive thanks to @coco9728 for all their kind and enthusiastic comments on my fics both here and on Ao3 over the last couple of weeks. I have cherished every one of them and want to squish hug you for your kindness.

You've asked me several times to write more Virgil :D Ummmm, this is the first time in over six years that I haven't been actively writing so you might not know, but I am traditionally kind of a rabid Virgil fan myself and I have written the poor boi into many dramatic/crazy situations and will probably write some more at some point - I got distracted by yarn and the muse went walkabout.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your kind words and encouragement. For the moment all I can do is point you in the direction of my Ao3 and the million or so words over there.

I can also recommend my fellow Virgil fans - @alexthefly @katblu42 @womble1 @cg29 @whatgaviiformes for some fabulous FishTank (Virgil & Gordon) and @idontknowreallywhy for Earth & Sky (Virgil & Scott) - though she did put poor Virg through a serious wringer in her last big fic ::eyes her suspiciously:: (of course we love her for it, Virg himself is not so sure :D ).

Anyone else wanna recommend some good Virg stuff for the wonderful @coco9728 ? I should know more, but my brain suffers from being useless at times.

But anyways, welcome to Thunderfam and thank you for the lovely splash you've made in my life.

Nutty

(who should reply more to all those wonderful comments, I really should)

[katblu42]

@whatgaviiformes do you know this one?

✨ Please reblog the polls to make them reach out to as many people as possible, but KEEP IT SPOILER-FREE to make people listen to the music with an open mind 💖 Artists and titles will be revealed after the poll's conclusion, check the original post for an update! ✨

[gumnut-logic]

Talk No.1 (Complete)

Alexander Sweetapple series

Here is the whole fic as one 2700 word piece. Apologies for the tiny bits posted before. Nowadays I can only do snippets at a time and I'm far too eager to post for my own good. But here is the whole thing complete :D

Many thanks to many people for this series - @onereyofstarlight and @whatgaviiformes listened to my extensive babbling about this fic and other random topics today. They deserve an award. Many thanks to @idontknowreallywhy for the ask this belongs to. It doesn't quite answer it, but there are other conversations planned. After all, it says No.1 in the title :D Too good a prompt, I must say :D

I hope you enjoy this conversation between Alexander Sweetapple and Scott Tracy :D

-o-o-o-

“Alex baby, Mr Tracy wants to see you.”

Okay, if he balanced the reaction by adding more stabiliser earlier and slower, the result might give him the flexibility he needed in the final polymer.

“Yo, Alex!”

It was a bit of a stretch, pun intended, but it might just work. He calculated the time and volume of-

“Alex!”

He jumped and his stylus flipped out of his fingers, flying across the room to hit the pinboard full of notes he had been scribbling on earlier.

There was a crash as a pin, holding up far more than physics should allow, gave way and let its stack of flimsies explode to the floor.

“Oops.” Erica held a hand to her mouth. “Sorry.”

Alex stared at the mess scattered like artificial autumn leaves and just sighed. It had been one of those mornings. His current project had hit a bit of snag and he’d had to dive deep to find a solution.

Erica stood in the light from the windows of the portable building they were currently calling their labs. Her hair had shifted to more of a purple since the earthquake. Alex figured it was to offset the bright fluro yellow of her cast. Why her broken arm had a fluro yellow cast had been explained but Alex had yet to understand it. As always with Erica, colour choices were a mystery. Purple hair, pig tails with bobbly yellow ties, bright red lipstick and eyeshadow sparkly yellow with a touch of green.

She was just Erica.

She frowned at him. “Tia said Mr Tracy needs to see you.” She thumbed a hand in the direction of the door.

“Virgil? Virgil’s here?” Great he would love to hear about this solution.

“No, not Virgil, THE Mr Tracy.”

Alex blinked. “Mr Jeff Tracy?”

Erica let out a breath and rolled her eyes. “No, Mr SCOTT Tracy. Really, they need codenames or something. There are just too many Mr Tracys. The bird one, Alex. The Eagle has landed.”

“Mr Tracy?” Oh shit. “Where?”

“Tia’s office. Apparently, he was ‘in the area’.” She put a finger to her lips in thought. “Gordon could be the Fish. He’d like that, I think.” She started counting fingers. “There are three space guys, though. Youngest flies the Rocket, so we can call him that. Middle one…” She eyed Alex. “…assuming he does actually exist, could be Spaceman. Their Dad is The Astronaut. That leaves just Virgil.” She smiled and walked towards her desk, past Alex, trailing a blood red fingernail across his shoulder. “We all know he’s the ‘Lover Boy’.”

“Erica!”

But she only laughed. “You better get moving, Sweet Pie. The Big Bird’s a-waiting.”

He grunted, grabbed his tablet, and fishing his stylus off the floor, fled out the door.

The morning sunlight was glaring but warming in the cold brisk air. Around him the Māhia facility was a buzz of activity, mostly workmen hammering and hollering at each other as the new labs facility emerged where his former workspace had crumbled. It was an energising atmosphere. Change, for good or bad, was still change, and it offered new points of view and new inspiration.

And, of course, it didn’t hurt to return to Māhia with such a big change in his own life.

In all honesty, he was just really happy.

He trotted across the grounds towards the main offices, at one point glancing off in the direction of the landing strip to see if he could spot a Thunderbird.

No such luck, so he guessed Mr Tracy…Scott…had arrived in one of their private jets. He briefly wondered why he had dropped in and why he wanted to see Alex. Virgil had called him last night, with only a hint of checking up on him. He was learning that Tracys were much like Tracy Industries, a bunch of caring people who did their best to look after those close to them.

Close.

He grinned a little goofily.

He was close to Virgil Tracy.

It was with that wonderful thought that had him almost skipping into the offices and down the hall to Tia’s.

He was brought up short, however, when instead of finding Tia’s PA seated outside, another familiar and efficient woman sat there instead.

“Hello, Mr Sweetapple. It is nice to see you again.” Carly, Mr Tracy’s PA, smiled at him knowingly.

Well, it seemed knowingly. There was a sparkle in her eye that just said, ‘I know what you’ve been up to, Mr Sweetapple’. Whether she approved or not was not clear, but she knew.

Everything.

“Hi.”

“Mr Tracy is finishing up with the Director. Please take a seat and he’ll be with you in a moment.”

Alex blinked. This was the first time he’d seen Mr Tracy in a formal setting since leaving Tracy Island. On Tracy Island, Scott appeared to shed the ‘Mr Tracy’ persona and relaxed.

Alex had seen him joking and laughing, messing with his youngest brother’s hair, and there may have been a prank involving blue shampoo and Gordon.

To be honest, Alex wasn’t sure if Scott had been the victim or the perpetrator. After all, Gordon had also ended up with blue hair and because he was blond, the blue stood out much more than what had taken to the few silver hairs Scott sported.

That morning had been interesting. A little eye opening to see both brothers running around in towels yelling at each other - the athleticism had definitely been an eyeful. It had taken Mrs Tracy to bring the ruckus to a halt. Alex’s mum had been giggling so much - a presence the two Tracy men had obviously forgotten and there was a lot of red face to match the blue hair.

Alex himself had been curled up on the sofa with both his breakfast and Virgil, and had kept quiet in order to not remind them of his existence. Though his eyes had nearly fallen out of his head in the process.

The situation was not one he thought he would ever encounter.

Virgil had just rolled his eyes and smiled at Alex, probably at Alex’s expression, and kept on eating.

Let’s just say that Scott Tracy at home was vastly different to Scott Tracy in a professional capacity.

He swallowed and settled into the chair as Carly returned to doing whatever she was doing with her tablet.

Alex tried his best not to wear the corner of his tablet cover off with his fidgeting.

“Thank you so much for all your support, Mr Tracy. You’ve been so generous towards our rebuilding efforts.” Tia was walking through the office door, Mr Tracy at her side, smiling.

Blue eyes sparkling.

Alex looked down at his tablet.

“I’m gratified it is going so smoothly. You should be proud of your team here, Tia.”

“I am.”

Alex looked up to find the two of them shaking hands. Did Tia have a little of that hero worship in her eyes? He frowned. He’d never noticed it before, but there it was.

It was so familiar, it hit home.

He looked away again.

“Alex!”

He jumped and shot to his feet. He did not…did not…drop his tablet…barely. “Mr Tracy!”

“Tia, speak to you soon. Let us know if the team needs anything.”

“Thank you, Mr Tracy.” She eyed Alex with a smile as she walked past. Why did everyone seem to have that knowing look in their eyes?

“Alex, come on in.” Mr Tracy gestured towards the open door. The man was dressed head to toe in a silver grey business suit with a blue tie. A red tiepin shone in the overhead light, an engraved TI logo fading in and out as he moved. As expected, every hair was in its place as if he was ready for a promotional shoot. His eyes glittered as he smiled.

Alex did as asked and trotted into Tia’s office.

It looked like it always looked. Neat, professional and efficient. But as Mr Tracy shut the door behind him, Alex found himself swallowing hard for no reason whatsoever.

‘Take a seat, Alex. I’ve been meaning to speak to you out of earshot of Virgil for some time. Sorry to interrupt you at work, but I don’t think it can hold off any longer.”

What?

Alex followed him with his eyes as Mr Tracy took a seat on the couch opposite him, near the window. He sat back and crossed his legs, one elbow on the arm rest. Chin on his knuckles, he stared at Alex.

Alex began reconsidering all his life decisions up until now. Why did he want to talk to him without Virgil?

Shit.

Had he done something wrong?

Keep it calm. Worry about it when you know about it.

Yeah, right.

The silence grew as Mr Tracy looked at him a moment longer.

“I believe there is something we need to talk about, Mr Sweetapple.”

Mr? Oh, shit.

He swallowed. “Yes?”

“As to how our records claimed you were on site, when in fact you were in Gisborne.”

“Oh.” That.

“The mistake caused a great deal of grief on our part, Alex. We thought you were dead under the rubble.”

“I’m sorry, Mr Tracy. I thought I had signed out, but I didn’t.”

There was something on the man’s face, something like a memory that hurt.

Oh, god. Really? Mr Tracy had been worried about him?

A blink. Of course, Mr Tracy had been worried about him. The Tracys doted on their employees like extended family.

He stared at Scott. Did he know about him and Virgil before Alex did? He put himself in the place of the Commander of International Rescue, the great man who Erica described at length, heroically rescuing her from the rubble. Those blue eyes scanning the remains of the lab, knowing he would have to tell his brother who…

“Oh, god, I am so sorry.” He stumbled around the table, almost sending it flying, to land on the couch beside Scott. “I didn’t intend to cause worry. My mum was in Gisborne. Erica refused to let me have my laptop. It was a long drive. When I left I was in a hurry. I thought I swiped my card, I must have missed it. Honestly, I didn’t realise. I will make sure next time, I promise. I am so sorry.” His breath left him. How could he have done this to this amazing man who did so much. How could he have done that to Virgil? He had to apologise to Virgil.

He was suddenly caught between grabbing his phone and ringing Virgil, and consoling Scott, Virgil’s big brother who had thought he was dead.

“Alex.”

How could he have done this to either of them. The thought of Virgil going missing, the need to dig under rubble, the fear and grief…

“Alex, it’s okay.”

He looked up into kind blue eyes.

“I wasn’t intending to criticise. It was an accident. A situation we can use to improve the procedure. I was going to ask you for feedback and any suggestions you might have towards improving our staff security.” Scott arched an eyebrow.

Alex stared, mouth open just a little.

The eyebrow curled into a frown. “You okay?”

A blink and Alex shook himself. “Um, yeah. Sure, um, I’ll take a look at the system.” He swallowed hard, biting the inside of his lip. He took a breath and straightened where he sat. “I’m still sorry, Scott for what I put you and Virgil, through.”

“Mistakes happen. We learn from them so they don’t happen again.”

“It won’t.”

A half-smile. “I didn’t think it would. But any suggestions to improve the system would be welcome.” He sighed. “But anyway, that isn’t what I called you in for.” He reached over to the desk and grabbed his tablet.

What, there was more?

Perhaps it was mother nature throwing Alex a bone in that moment, because while Mr Tracy reached across to the desk, his head passed through the shaft of morning sunlight shining into the room.

The blue highlights in his hair lit up.

Barely there in normal light, but with the sun’s intensity they sparkled as much as his eyes.

Something curled up warm in Alex’s belly at the sight of them. It was a reminder of the man behind the professional. The Scott under the Tracy.

But then Scott moved out of the sun and Mr Tracy returned.

He studied his tablet, poking at it for a moment. “Your conduct during the Gisborne Earthquake was exemplary, Alex. You saved thirteen people.” A smile. “We are very proud of you as both an employee and a friend.”

“Oh.” A friend?

Scott smiled again. “And the people of Tairāwhiti would like to give you an award.”

Alex stared at him.

The smile shifted a little sideways. “Are sure you’re okay?”

Suddenly aware of an undercurrent of familiar Tracy amusement, Alex pulled himself together. “Um, they do?”

“You’ve earned yourself a Tairāwhiti Hero Award, Alex. Congratulations.”

-o-o-o-

Erica jumped on him as soon as he walked through the door to their lab. “So, did he give you the Talk?”

“What?”

“The ‘treat my brother right or I’ll skin you alive’ talk?”

Alex stared at Erica. “No.”

“Oh. So I don’t need to threaten him back?”

“Erica! He’s our boss!” Alex pushed past her.

“So? I’ve got your back, Sweet-Pie. I’ll take him for ya.”

He held his hands up. “No one is threatening anyone. Virgil was barely mentioned.”

“But he was mentioned?” Erica really did love the gossip.

“Only because of you.” Alex plonked himself down in his desk chair.

“Me? What did I do?”

“You dobbed me in about the cereal.”

“That? I have a right to report my silly lab partner for falling asleep in his cereal because he was up all night. You scared me. I thought you had drowned! I thought I was going to have to give you CPR!”

“I know. I said I was sorry. Did you have to tell?”

“Of course, I did. It was for your safety.”

Alex grunted. It had only been a parting heads up from Mr Tracy, but it was still mortifying.

Mr Tracy had even placed a hand on his shoulder. “Alex, from one insomniac to another - you are dating a worrywart. He’ll hound you for it. Trust me, I know.” Scott rolled his eyes a little. “Not that he can talk.” He let out a breath. “But as your employer, I want you to look after yourself. Far be it for me to advise on the maintenance of the artistic mind, but you are more important than the work, Alex.”

Alex twisted his lips at the memory. Mr Tracy was being kind but Alex had hit a breakthrough at 2am. He had been in the zone and if he had gone to bed, he would have lost the thread.

He had tried to protest that the design frenzy had saved him a week of work, but Mr Tracy had only frowned at him.

Alex turned to glare at Erica. “You didn’t have to give him the photos.”

Erica twisted her lips. “How could I not? Besides, the Fish loved them.”

“You gave them to Gordon?!”

She snickered. “Sweet-Pie, you are so cute when you’re flustered. Of course, I gave them to Gordon.” She grinned. “You should see what he gave me in return.” Her eyes were literally sparkling with mischief.

“What?”

But she turned away. “Nope, saving it up for bribery material. Be nice to me or you don’t get to see.”

“See what?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” She sat down at her desk and did a very good job of suddenly looking busy.

“That’s blackmail, Erry.”

“Nah, you trust me too much.”

Alex grumbled and turned back to his computer. “Well, in that case, you don’t get to know what Mr Tracy called me in to discuss.” He opened one of his project files, jammed his headphones over his head and purposefully ignored her curious eyes.

Besides, he had an award ceremony to attend in a few weeks - a black tie event. And it had occurred to him that he was yet to see Virgil in a suit, much less a tux.

And the possibility was very distracting.

-o-o-o-

[tracybirds]

Happy March of the OCs!!

A bunch of people kindly let me make a Sims version of their OCs for a Thunderbirds save I was making, just to have as background characters instead of the regular townies. So here's what I made based off their descriptions, and some links so you can look at the wonderful creations in which they originated! And feel free to let me know if you have some OCs you'd be okay with adding to the project!

Firstly, we have Jasmine and Jade, two treasure hunters in need of International Rescue's helping hand, from @katblu42's wonderful story Jasmine and Jade [Tumblr | AO3]

Next, we have the Raoul rangers, from @gumnut-logic's Kermadec AU! From top left to bottom right; Mel Fisher, Elspeth Rana, and Sam and Liam Coyle :D I'm very, very fond of these folks! Mel is my personal favourite, simply because I love her passion for conservation and how she gives Scott a good run for his money haha (metaphorically AND literally!)

They first feature in We'll Be Home For Christmas, which can be found here [AO3] (I know it's on Tumblr somewhere too, but I am struggling to find it oops)

Next is Everett Sanders and Jules Sheridan, created by @whatgaviiformes for the infamous Chicken Dad series (long live Chicken Dad!!) which begins here! Although they're both Gordon's friend, Everett and Virgil have their own special connection, which is explored here (and is in my incredibly unbiased opinion, adorable). Everything is also happily on Tumblr for copious reblogging here!

Next is the Carter family, created by @louthestarspeaker! From top left to right bottom, we have Brook and Kim, then their children Desiray, Eagan, and Laurie. Laurie is a good friend of Alan's and features in the fic Shoulder to Shoulder [Tumblr | AO3]

Next are Squirt and Alisha, created by @squiddokiddo

Squirt and Gordon have lots of sweet interactions together, which you can check out here, and Alisha is Kayo's girlfriend and can can be found here and here. There might be some art that's slipped through the cracks of tagging so here's their OC art tag to enjoy alllllllll the art :D

Finally, Arthur and Andrew John Trumbull, created by @tikatu. Andrew John features in The White Winds as Fermat's roommate, which can be found on ffnet here. Arthur is his father. There's quite a number of OCs, since Tikatu's created a whole Wharton's for Alan and Fermat, and I have not gotten around to making everyone ><

[gumnut-logic]

@whatgaviiformes 😁💛

“Great Tits!” … titter … 😏 A new version with a more mustardy yellow for @wonderwoolwales on 27th and 28th April.

MothyAndTheSquid.com

[gumnut-logic]

Poor, poor Gordy!

You hurtsies the Fish boy!

Wonderful words ::hugs you tight::

@godsliltippy @whatgaviiformes this fic may be of interest to you 😁

Nutty

(Ow)

TRAINING Just posted to AO3!

[dragonoffantasyandreality]

Hey Gavii!👋😊

General check in to prove I'm still around.