#fishtankweek

[anthemode]

Sketching

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

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

[astraembers]

FishTank Week 2024! - May 12-18

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

12: Wingman

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

14: Brothers Relaxing

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

16: Comfort Food | Food on the go

17: Memories

18: Pranks

Alts: Love and Laughter | Along the Coastline

Good luck fish wrangling, and happy creating!

See you on the 12th,

Gavii 💚💛

[emtb319]

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

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

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

‘What is it?’

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

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

‘Yes it is.  What’s your point?’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pull the string.

Virgil, even I know better than that.

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

[mrmustachious]

Fishtank Week 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fever - Gordon and tonsillitis.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Disappearance - liesorlife requested: How about disappearance with Gordon

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

Comforting Hug - Gordon and a therapy dog.

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

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

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

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

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

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

[gumnut-logic]

His giggle was infectious.

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

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

His pocket was clinking as he walked over the rocks.

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

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

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

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

They were on holiday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Looked like a tiny lizard of the sea.

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

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

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

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

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

Scott was a sucker for happy brothers.

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

“Woah! Virg, come look at this!”

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

Gordon was pointing at a rock.

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

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

It lit up in bright blue rings.

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

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

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

“Virgil! What? Why? Lemme go!”

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

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

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

“Aww, Virg, c’mon! It won’t hurt us!”

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

“It’s not going to bite me!”

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

“Uh, to see the rings? It’s amazing.”

“It’s a deadly octopus!”

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

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

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

Virgil blinked. “What?”

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

“Understood what?”

“How much fun this is.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Latin bounced down the beach towards him and Virgil grinned.

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

Wha-?

Virgil ran.

-o-o-o-

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

[sailing-on-a-puddle]

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

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

[anthemode]

Can't hide anything from big bro!

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

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

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

[astraembers]

Ficlet: Stillness

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

Angst, btw

~*~*~*~*~

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

This one hadn’t been kind to them. 

Tap, tap

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

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

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

“But I wasn’t making any noise.”

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

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

Tap, tap tap.

“Gordon!” 

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

“I want you to be still for once!”

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

Expelled into tense silence. 

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

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

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

“I know.”

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

 “Virgil, I-” 

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

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

“The quiet?”

“Yes? No?” 

“Gordon?”

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

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

He would never take for granted Gordon’s perseverance. 

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

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

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

“I’m sor-”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I feel stupid.”

“But you feel alive.”

“I do.”

“Then, keep dancing.”