#brains (thunderbirds)

[serameli]

Thunderbirds original series headcanons because it needs more love

Scott has quite high concentrations of pheomelanin in his hair, causing it to go ginger when bleached (or if he spends too long in bright sunlight, but that's more subtle). Alan passed this information to Penelope and Scott spent a month looking like a traffic cone courtesy of careful hair bleach application and a shower cap

Gordon sometimes lays on the floor propped up on his elbows and legs tucked under him in a position he's dubbed 'the frog' as an ill-advised method of relieving back pain. Not only does this make him a trip-hazard, but he's also taken to 'frog snaring' (aka grabbing the ankle of) any brother unfortunate enough to walk within his grasp. The easiest way to avoid being snared is carrying a mug, since having a cup of hot coffee dropped on your head makes for a memorable lesson

John does endangered crafts as a way to unwind, he's quite keen on spinning and has discovered that rolling a drop spindle across his thigh allows him to spin in microgravity and create threads far thinner than what would be possible on earth

Alan once smuggled a bottle of high-proof alcohol to TB5 in exchange for an ultra thin trip wire made out of spider silk collected from around Tracy Island with a stick (a tripwire that caught out the remaining 3 brothers and Jeff)

John goes completely boneless when drunk

Brains's idea of a great night out involves sitting in the corner with a stack of maths problems and a steady supply of rum&cokes

When stressed, in pain, or off his gourd on painkillers Gordon will prattle about marine life, with the topic often turning to the reproduction of said marine life. The subject of barnacle penises came up repeatedly in the months following the hydrofoil crash

Scott and Virgil occasionally use aerospace maths in lieu of a pain scale, requiring whichever of the two isn't injured (or Brains) to translate

[idontknowreallywhy]

(Explanation for the reposting spree and links to everything so far here)

Resurface (MIA Series Part 4)

Chapter 2 - React

Virgil is missing. The Tracys discover the wall between comfort and chaos is wafer thin.

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“HOW CAN HE HAVE DISAPPEARED? WE LIVE ON AN ISLAND!!”

“I’m doing my best, Scott, but the solar flare is overwhelming some of Five’s sensors… there are only so many overrides EOS and I can…”

“Sorry. Yes. I’m sorry, John, it’s just…”

“I know.” The precise set of John’s jaw revealed his emotion but otherwise he was projecting calm, sympathetic professionalism.

Scott looked around at the various shades of brave face the remainder of his family were wearing. Allie looked sick as a dog but stood tall and his shoulders were squared. Gordon was muttering aggressively and glaring at the island infographic as if it was deliberately withholding information. Brains was whispering to MAX and recalibrating scans at the speed of desperation. Kayo’s expression had set into neutral with the slightest tension in her frame which he recognised as her readiness to spring to their defence against… whatever was happening.

What WAS happening? It had been so fast and Scott had been so absorbed in his own thoughts he didn’t have any answer for what happened in the seconds between Virgil cheerily entering the room bearing coffee and him bolting like a startled hare.

“And he’s not been hiding an illness? His vitals were…”

“Entirely within normal range until 14 minutes ago when there was a sharp spike in heart rate and blood pressure for 6 minutes then he…”

“Disappeared.” Scott’s voice was barely more than a strangled whisper.

“Became invisible to Five’s scans, yes.”

“Maybe he took one of the boats?” Gordon ventured.

“Negative, EOS has scanned the dry dock, they are all still down there.”

“And no unexplained life signs?” Scott knew they’d covered this but he just couldn’t accept the answer.

John sighed but answered patiently “No, Scott that was the first thing we checked.”

Scott paced and tried to drag his mind out of the spiral of imagining the various scenarios in which his brother could be somewhere a life sign wasn’t. He needed to compartmentalise. This was just another search and rescue mission.

Rescue. Not recovery. Please not recovery.

“Ok. Manual search it is. Brains, you and Max use the drones to access the caldera and the more remote parts of the western slopes. Kayo, Gordon take Thunderbird Four on a clockwise sweep to check the beaches. Alan, you and I will…”

“JOHN!” EOS‘s voice was shrill and Scott’s heart froze.

“Thunderbird Shadow has commenced her launch sequence!”

Kayo’s eyes widened in shock.

“SHADOW? What? Why?”

Everyone looked blank.

“Is Virgil in there? Can you reach him?”

“Sorry Scott, she’s already cloaked and there’s no reply on comms.”

“Stop the launch then!”

“I can’t, we’re locked out.” John replied smoothly from behind gritted teeth, his eyes flitting between the various holograms he was pulling up and swiping away.

“I can.” Kayo, pulled up her remote access and wrestled with the controls for a few seconds before breathing a sigh of relief. “Ok, she’s not going anywhere. Um…”

Scott was already heading for the elevator to the hangars when his sister’s uncharacteristic uncertainty arrested him. He looked back. She swallowed.

“We may have a slight problem.”

“What? What is it Kayo??” Scott knew he was raising his voice but it was that or burst into frustrated tears which was… not an option.

EOS answered first.

“Thunderbird Shadow halted her sequence on the outside of the cliff face.”

Virgil was suspended over a death drop.

“Can we lock him inside?” Gordon had clearly reached the same horrified conclusion as his eldest brother had. Kayo shook her head.

Brains stepped forward “Unf-fortunately n-not as currently configured. The p-pilot’s ability to exit is always p-prioritised over remote a-access in c-case of… c-compromise.”

“I get it. Not your fault Brains. EOS?”

“I’m working on it Scott.”

“Good, in the meantime I’ll grab a couple of jet packs.” Scott headed for the hangar again.

“SCOTT! Wait!” John had dropped the professionalism which arrested Scott’s momentum faster than a brick wall.

“What now John??”

“Let the others go. You have to change.”

“WHAT?!”

“He can’t see you wearing… that.”

Scott looked down at the dress uniform he had forgotten he was wearing and ice crept down his spine. This… was the problem? He suddenly realised John knew something that he didn’t and cursed himself for not finding out what it was already. But now wasn’t the time.

“Right. You three, take jetpacks and get up there but don’t let him get out before I’m with you. I’ll be there asap.”

“FAB.”

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[skymaiden32]

Happy New Year everyone!

Timelapse under read more:

(Time taken: Approx. 3-4 hrs)

[squiddokiddo]

Thunderbird emoji combos: Brains edition✨

[edorazzi]

A couple more Thunderbirds Are Go comics I finally had time to finish up! 🚀

The Mechanic's grudgingly settling in at Tracy Island, and Brains would love him to open up and become part of the family! Unfortunately there's no way to hide what iR are like in their natural habitat so his efforts are going nowhere...

And the Hood likes to believe he's iR's most dangerous, intimidating, classy nemesis! But the boys are not above humiliating pranks to make him back off. Thirsting after their dad and now taking it out on Scott?! The shame!!! >:0

[turtlefangirl15]

I remember watching every episode with my family the day it aired. One of the few programs we could all agree with. Man, I miss these guys.

Anyway, here's my contribution to the 10th Anniversary. Enjoy!

[brains-ir]

Your concentration on the situation with Gordon is broken by a piercing set of beeps. You’re tempted to ignore them - after all, you KNOW there’s been a security breach and unwelcome people are in Five and that’s being dealt with by Scott and Kayo and Alan.

But this is different. This is the alert for unexpected data transfer. A huge one. Broad spectrum and seemingly random.

Yes it’s encrypted. Yes there are a number of safeguards embedded in the storage code of Five to prevent use of this data being in any way Easy. But given the Hood hacked his way into Five in the first place and nobody yet knows how?

This could be bad. Perhaps the Mechanic might have some ideas?

Brains is still monitoring the sub when a loud beeping sound echoes around the lounge. He quickly brings up the cause of the alarm on the holo-display, and immediately, his heart drops.

Someone is stealing data from Thunderbird 5. All of the data.

There is a brief moment of silence in the lounge, and Brains notices that even @zero-xlent stops his pacing to stare at the display.

This is bad. This is very very very bad.

He is brought back into reality by MAX tugging on his hand slightly. He exchanges a glance with the robot. They have to act quickly.

Brains taps at his comms.

" @scramjettracy , can you g-give us an update of what's going on up there? @squidsinashirt and @doctorspringerspaniel keep monitoring the submarine, but I fear that it may have just been a d-distraction. The Hood is stealing data from the Tracy Island network, and with it, he could gain access to the r-rest of the Thunderbirds. @iam-themechanic we need to figure out how to stop this data breach, any ideas?"

[little-vulpecula]

I'm sorry, but this image is just so funny 😭😭😭

Look at how tiny MAX is!!! and his little wheels!!! (I'm not sure how those wheels actually work XD)

Stupid ITVX won't let me screenshot 😔

[thatkidwholikesthunderbirds]

Here you go!! They just being silly. :3

Feel free to drop me an ask if you want something drawn!!

[squidsinashirt]

Hi Meme King of the Sea!

Can you sum up each member of your family with a meme?

Oh pal. You’ve unleashed terror with this one. They all ended up as gifs from the Office. Don’t ask me why, I am not taking questions at this time.

I’m gonna get excommunicated.

Scott:

Virge:

John:

Alan:

Me:

Kayo:

Grandma:

Brains:

Bonus 1- me and Virge turning up in Two, Scott doing his own thing in One:

Bonus 2 - the Hood:

[colourobserver]

Now that I think about it...

In TAG the fact all of the Tracy family still believed that Jeff could be alive is really unhealthy. Like if we are being realistic, they watched their dad get blown up. They searched for ages, and they did everything they could for years. But getting to the 8 year mark and still not having closure, must have wrecked them. I know it sounds bad, but it would have been far more rational if they just grieved his death like it was a real death and gave up looking for what only could have been a body. I know it's not necessarily a choice to just let someone go, but the fact the Tracy Brothers (specifically Scott and Virgil) were saying they were going to find him, is just wow. Obviously, it's great they didn't give up because well, you know. But still...I think about that a lot.

[skymaiden32]

Secret Keepers

Can be read on AO3 here

Fandom: Thunderbirds

Tagging: @dragonoffantasyandreality @thundergeek59 @janetm74 @katblu42 @liseylou @amistrio @uniwolfcorn @idontknowreallywhy (Please ask if you would like to get alerts when I update or post new stories.)

Continuity: TOS

Synopsis: Jeff’s family are keeping something from him.

Happy Father's Day to all who celebrate! ^^

------

Jeff yawned as he sat up in bed, sparing a quick glance at the barely illuminated clock on the wall. He grimaced. It was seven in the morning, and he hadn’t gotten to bed until three. When would he learn? He huffed; no use laying in bed grumbling, and disappeared into his bathroom to have a shower. Jeff breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the warm water running down his back. Already, he felt a lot more awake, and he was ready to start his day. 

He emerged from his room, ducking out of the way just in time as Gordon barrelled past him, carrying something in his arms that Jeff couldn’t identify. “Sorry, Dad!” His second youngest yelled as he disappeared round the corner. Jeff shook his head. That boy of his was going to get someone killed one of these days, and it was probably gonna be a household member. Luckily for his son, Jeff still felt too tired to deal with it and resolved to just have breakfast instead.

“Oh, Jeff! You’re awake!”

Jeff nodded in acknowledgement at the voice. “Good morning, Mother.”

Ruth Tracy frowned. “We all thought you’d be staying in bed for a bit longer, dear.”

“No point.” Jeff shrugged. “I wouldn’t get back to sleep anyway…”

His mother hummed. “Perhaps you would’ve if you tried.”

He frowned. “Pardon my asking, but why do you want me to get more sleep?” Maybe it was risky to ask the question, but it was one he had to ask. “You’ve always been insistent on all of us waking up early.”

Ruth glared at him immediately, and Jeff realised the risk he’d taken was not worth it. “I heard you get to bed at three this morning, young man. You need sleep.” She took a step towards him, clearly with the aim of herding him back towards his room.

Jeff frowned, trying his best to argue as she grabbed a hold of his arm. “I don’t have time to go to bed, Mother.” She ignored him, now on a mission to get at least one of her family to sleep in. Jeff almost spluttered as he tried, and failed, to resist. “I-I’ve got work to do!”

“Work you can easily do later, son.” Ruth stated matter-of-factly. She opened the door to Jeff’s room, and guided him over to the bed in the middle. “At least try to get some more sleep, Jefferson. Please. You need it.”

Jeff sighed, relenting when he saw that pleading look in his mother’s eyes. “Okay, Mother. I promise I’ll try…”

She nodded with a small smile, closing the door behind her, leaving Jeff to his thoughts. She’d never done that before. And just why was Gordon rushing past his door earlier? What was his son carrying? He huffed, closing his eyes and trying to sleep some more, just as he’d promised his mother. He was tired now, but the mystery was doing it’s best to keep him awake.

It took a few minutes of tossing and turning before Jeff threw the sheets off again, silently grumbling as he opened the door a crack, just in case someone was on the other side, watching and waiting. Looking around, he caught sight of Scott in the hallway, with his back to the door. He was holding his wrist up to his mouth, looking and talking down at an image on his watch. John. Jeff hummed inwardly, listening into what little he could hear of his sons’ conversation. 

“You sure that’ll work, John?” His eldest’s voice was in a hushed whisper. “You know what he’s like…”

“Positive.” John’s voice came back staticky, and Jeff frowned. The signal should be clear as day. He’d have to schedule maintenance for Thunderbird 5. Inwardly, he wondered what the problem might be. Were the antennae crooked? Was it a problem with the solar panels or the on-board nuclear reactor? Was it Tracy Island’s antennae that was the issue? He supposed the answers to that problem could only really be answered by Brains. He came back to the conversation in front of him, only to realise he’d missed a big chunk of it while musing on the comms issue. “...it should be easy enough.”

“Good.” The grin in Scott’s voice was audible. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”

“FAB!” The tiny John gave a thumbs up, and the device shut off, reverting back to a simple watch face. Scott hummed, looking around, before turning towards the lounge.

Jeff watched as he went. Just what was going on here? He didn’t think he’d ever seen his eldest and middle sons acting so secretively before. Well, he made up his mind. He was going to find out. As quietly as he could, he opened up his bedroom door, and sneaked his way down the hall into the lounge. And what he found was…

…His sons setting up some decorations. His mother making some finishing touches to a cake. Brains and Tin-Tin huddled in the corner, fiddling about with some new-fangled gadget of theirs. None of them seemed to have noticed him yet. The banner in the centre of the room caught his eye. 

‘Happy Father’s Day!’ 

Between the increase in rescues and a bunch of yellow tape at Tracy Industries, there’d been so much going on lately. He’d completely forgotten. But clearly, they hadn’t. He could’ve cried. 

“So is John really sure that will work?” Jeff was ripped from his thoughts by Virgil’s voice. The artist was heavily scrutinising a particular decor that was clearly the spacebound astronaut’s suggestion. 

Alan stood next to him, squinting his eyes. “You know what Virg? It will work. It’s space themed!” The youngest Tracy grinned, turning to his brother. “And we all know space is Dad’s favourite place…” He rhymed, a sing-song tone in his voice.

Virgil smiled back. “Yeah, we do know.” They stepped back from the table, revealing a spread of dishes and treats, each one creatively moulded to look like stars, nebulae and the occasional comet. 

“Alright everyone! Looks like we’re all set!” Scott’s voice broke through the organised chaos.

Gordon smirked, almost devilish. “Want me to go wake them up?”

“First of all, Gordon Tracy,” Grandma interrupted, “we all know you, so absolutely not.” Gordon shrugged, unbothered by the accusation. “Secondly,” she turned her head in the direction of the hall. Jeff froze like a deer in headlights. “I think one of them may already know what’s going on…” Everyone mirrored her movements, simply looking at Jeff in disbelief.

All Jeff could do was play it cool. “I’m guessing you wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Oh, come on…” Alan lamented. “What gave us away…?”

Jeff looked between them, eyes landing on Gordon and Scott in particular. “You weren’t exactly discreet.” He grinned. “Although, it is a nice surprise. I assume we’re waiting on Kyrano?”

“But of course, Mr Tracy. It’s his day as well!” Tin-Tin beamed. “Brains and I have prepared a little gift for him.”

“W-We hope it’ll help with those f-fits of his, M-Mr Tracy.” Brains explained. “Or at the v-very least let us know w-what’s going on. I-It’ll a-analyse his brain waves a-and interpret them i-into definitive data.”

If at all possible, Jeff’s smile widened. “That’s great! He’ll want to know just as much as the rest of us. Should I go get him and act surprised with him?”

Virgil gave a thumbs up. “Sounds like a plan. See you in a minute!”

“Don’t lay it on too thick!” Gordon advised as his father left, now on a mission.

It didn’t take long for Jeff to reach Kyrano’s door, giving it a knock. He was kind of shocked at how quickly his friend answered. “Yes, Mr Tracy? Can I help you with anything?”

“Meeting in the lounge. It’s urgent.” He thought it up on the spot. Not ideal, but it would do.

Kyrano looked a little perplexed, and a bit worried, at the adamant tone in Jeff’s voice. “...Very well.” He exited the room, closing the door to follow his employer. “May I ask what this meeting is about?”

“I don’t really know, I’m afraid. My mother’s called it.” Jeff continued to lead the way, hiding his smile. “I’ve never seen her so sure about something.”

No sooner had they stepped foot in the lounge, a cacophony of voices yelled out, “Surprise! Happy Father’s Day!” Kyrano jumped, startled at first. But once Tin-Tin started clinging to him, giving him the biggest hug, he was grinning from ear to ear.

“My daughter. My friends. What a pleasant surprise.” He shared a look with Jeff. “This is for both of us?” A series of nodding heads answered his question. “Thank you. For thinking of me also…”

“Kyrano, how could we not?” Alan stood next to Tin-Tin, squeezing her hand. She squeezed back, eyes gentle as she looked at him. 

Gordon got in the middle of the group, a very serious look on his face. “So, we’re gonna get this party started, right?”

“Yes, of course we are.” Jeff gave his son a look. “Be patient. It’ll be worth it.” He looked around the room, noticing each set piece and decoration that reflected either him or his dear friend. “You all have done an amazing job.”

If you were to ask either Jeff or Kyrano, way into the future, what days stood out to them in their long lives, chances were they would say one particular Father’s Day on Tracy Island. It was definitely worth the suspense. And the secrets…

[neuroticphysiologist]

Feeling down lately? Here's a cute Mini-MAX.

[edorazzi]

More Thunderbirds Are Go comics! 🚀✨

It's been a while but I've had the first two lying around for months waiting to post a full set! In which neurodivergent John sets off people's AI detectors, gets bullied for his fashion choices, and Penelope battles with her conflicting standards when it comes to Gordon...

[the-time-lord-oracle]

Thunderbirds fancast:

Been thinking about if Thunderbirds were to receive the live-action treatment again. Admittedly, the attempt to do it in 2004 didn't go well, but the 2015 CGI reboot proved that with better decision making by the higher-ups, a Thunderbirds reboot can work. So here's my fancast for a hypothetical Thunderbirds live-action production.

Lee Majors as Jeff.

Paul Wesley as Scott.

Daniel Sharman as Virgil.

Dylan Sprayberry as Alan.

Dylan O'Brien as Gordon.

Thomas Brodie-Sangster as John.

Jim Parsons as Brains.

Jessica Henwick as Tin-Tin.

Gabriella Wilde as Lady Penelope.

Ron Cook as Parker.

Daniel Dae Kim as Kyrano.

Sandra Dickinson as Grandma.

Arnold Vosloo as the Hood.

[princesskayjay]

The Slingshot Analysis, or: How a nice comment can still hurt, Kayo's a good big sister, and Imposter Syndrome is a bitch.

@thunderversary-rewatch-party, you guys take metas, right?

So I don't suppose I've made much a secret that Alan's my favorite character. So I don't suppose it'll come as much of a shock that I also spend a lot of time just thinking about him. (I say, running a damn RP blog for him.) This has lead to me over thinking Slingshot in particular way too much. Specifically from Alan's conversation with Kayo while they're repairing the comms on Thunderbird 3. And as it turns out, I have so many, many thoughts about it. And I ramble a lot. Bare with me.

Under the cut it goes - this will get long.

Alan: My brothers always say I make it seem so easy; Like I don't even try. I think I started to believe them.

So, this line. Up to the point that this line is spoken, Alan kind of has been making it seem easy - or at least like he's not taking it very seriously. Like nearly falling asleep while John was briefing him, wanting it to be just a solo mission because he was only picking someone up. And then when Kayo joins in and the two of them head off for the mine, Alan seems more concerned with showing off to Kayo than the actual mission. When he's warned that speeding up will make slowing down harder, Alan dismisses the worry as "Don't worry, it's me." Outwardly, at least, he's got a lot of confidence in his own skill.

Inwardly? Eh.... We see that the moment things do start to go wrong, that confidence starts to slip. We do see he genuinely does know what to do! It's just... That initial moment of "Wait. Do I really know what's going on?"

And then it builds. He figures it out, with some encouragement from Kayo, and god bless her for having his back this whole episode. As stated in the opening, Kayo's a good big sister.

Including her having to tell Ned off multiple times for being rude to Alan. And we do see! That Alan is good at thinking on his feet. Throughout the episode, he's just... really good at taking even the offhand comments that Kayo or Ned say and turn them into a solution to get them out the trouble they're in. Coming to mind, of course, is finding a way to communicate with Ned in morse code, and figuring out how to use the crackers to reroute first the asteroid itself, and then to give Thunderbird 3 an extra kick without using up extra fuel.

Amidst this all though, is the quote at the top of this section.

Alan: I'm an idiot. Kayo: Can you be more specific? Alan: My brothers always say I make it seem so easy; Like I don't even try. I think I started to believe them. Kayo: None of this is your fault Alan; It's a mission. Things go wrong. Alan: But I wasn't ready! Now we're probably going to die! Kayo: Don't say that. You've been through worse. Alan: I've never been this far away from everybody. We're all alone out here. Brains, My brothers; They can't help us! Kayo: Alan, I've known you long enough to know you don't need anyone's help.

So to be clear, this isn't quite the first time that we see Alan get nervous under pressure. The satellite in RoF part 2 comes to mind. It just seems to me that after Ned picks at him, Alan knows that he's getting nervous, and Alan knows that maybe he wasn't taking it seriously enough, and it's getting to him. Especially since I'd imagine a lot of the prior confidence was coming from the thought that he could just call for help if he needed it - He's just a kid, he's still very much used to having the safety net of his family there. And Kayo is at least able to help him get out of his head. Again, she's a good big sister. But are we surprised? She learned from the best how to big sibling. The other thing that stands out, of course, is the fact that the thing Alan quotes is probably a thing he's over heard. (And considering we hear Scott repeat this exact thing later in the episode, it's probably not something he's misremembering.) He probably feels like he's letting them down at this point. Because when the going gets actually tough, he's choking. He's scared - that's not making it look easy, right? He feels out of his depth, he's got no support, is that being so good it looks easy? Because it doesn't feel like it. It's not easy. He's not the man they think he is at home.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

That is to say, Imposter Syndrome. Imposter Syndrome is being defined as follows:

the subjective experience of perceived self-doubt in one's abilities and accomplishments compared with others, despite evidence to suggest the contrary..

His brothers almost definitely meant this as praise, and I find it hard to think of any interpretation where it isn't that's still in line with the characters of the other Tracys. It hurts to feel like you're not living up to how everyone else sees you.

And while it seems as though he cheers up..... ("Sorry I doubted you" "I'm sorry I doubted me too!")

At the end of the episode, when he's giving his debrief to everyone at home? He's having a good time... Until Scott gets up to praise him for doing well on the mission, and that they're all proud of him. At which point, Alan suddenly gets nervous and excuses himself to go to bed. Which is in sharp contrast to the previous energy in his debrief. Wonder if he's still bothered by that thought, huh?

(And when Scott sits down to speak to Kayo, she speaks to his bravery, calling him a True Tracy. But when Scott says to her face that "He makes it look easy, doesn't he?" Kayo seems almost unsure of that. But she saw how much it bothered him when they were talking...)

I don't know how to end this ramble.

Just that Alan almost sees his siblings as Supermen, and he's very decidedly not that yet. Just that Imposter Syndrome is a bitch, and I love Alan very much. And this episode itches at my brain.